Bonjour ma chére famille et amis! Happy Thanksgiving week! This is one of my favorite weeks of the entire year! I love the opportunity we have to focus on our many, many, blessings. I'd like to take the opportunity today to just tell you a bit about all the things I'm grateful for here as a missionary in Chambéry this week. I am thankful for the Lord putting people who are prepared in our paths. Soeur Cherry and I contacted this girl named Stephanie just before the transfer ended last transfer, and we just had our first lesson with her this past week. I have never met someone so ready for the gospel. She is from an island right next to La Réunion. She told us right at the start of the lesson that she came because she wants to act on her faith. She said she has a lot of faith, but lately she feels like she's been a little lost, and is losing her faith. She said she feels like something is missing in her life, and when Soeur Cherry and I talked to her that one day in the park, she had this feeling that we had what she was missing. She said she could feel that God brought us to her and that we were there to help her find what she's been looking for. She loved every aspect of the Restoration, and by the end we were more than confident in inviting her to baptism. She gladly accepted. The kicker..she's only in Chambéry visiting her aunt, and on the 3rd of December will return back to her island. But, I know she will be baptized there. That's all that matters to me, is that she follows the path towards Christ, it doesn't matter who it is that leads her there. I would have loved to be the one to do that with her, but I'm just grateful for that opportunity I had to see the truthfullness behind the promise that God puts His prepared children in our path. I was literally the happiest I've ever been after that lesson. I felt like I was glowing from the inside out. This work brings true joy. I am thankful for eternal families and the temple, and the fact that I know I will be with my family forever. I had the beautiful experience this week of teaching the Hiseni couple about eternal marriage in the temple. Never have I been as happy to share anything else before in my entire life. With a family that is scattered across the world, not knowing when or if they can be reunited, we knew that message would bring them such comfort and joy. We showed them pictures of our own families at the temple (I shared Courtney and Bailey's wedding pic with our whole family outside the temple) and they LOVED it. They got huge smiles on their faces and said they wanted that exact same thing for their family. My heart was just bursting with love and gratitude for my parents for making the decision to get married in the temple, so that we can be together forever. We explained to them that they will be able to go there if they first get baptized, and with that, they accepted a baptismal date of December 20th! Please pray that they will go through with it! The concept of being able to be with our families forever is one of the most joyous and powerful messages we have to share. Who doesn't want to hear that? I'm also grateful for that message of eternal families after attending a funeral for the brother of a sister in our branch. The saddness that came over this family was immense, because they didn't understand that they can see their loved one again. I got great comfort out of knowing that there are no ends, thanks to Jesus Christ. I am grateful for the many ways the Lord is providing us to hasten the work of Salvation through modern technology! I don't know if you've all heard, but we were just informed at Zone Conference this week about the new mormon message that is coming out called He is the Gift I believe. The Church is buying out Youtube's homepage for like a month to share it or something? Holy cow people! Could you ask for a better opportunity to share the gospel!! Or an easier way to do it!! If you have a facebook, twitter, any form of social media, SHARE IT!! We got to preview the message and it is incredibly powerful. Please share it, along with your testimony of He who is the Gift. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to study the scriptures, the words of the prophets, and Preach My Gospel, every single day. I have noticed a change in my thoughts, my actions, and my words as I have spent devoted time each day to learning more of Christ and how to be like Him. If you are not taking the time each day to read even one of these things, please do it. I know life is busy, but if you don't have time to read the word of God, then you are busier than God ever intended you to be. I promise you there are so many blessings that come from studying His word! If you want to be happier, more loving, more patient, more selfless, more charitable, whatever you feel you're lacking that you want to have; diligent study of God's word can help you develop that. It will always be a work in progress, none of us are perfect, but we sure can improve! Lastly I am grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ. I wish I had words to describe right now how I feel about Him. Sometimes I get tired. I get tired of being rejected. I get tired of people making fun of us. I get tired of being told I'm wrong. I get tired of people breaking their promises. I get tired of wanting so badly to help people see the way, but they don't accept it. But then I stop and think to myself:Jesus Christ was rejected, He was mocked, He was told He was a liar, He was betrayed by His friends, He offered salvation to all, and many turned it away. He suffered all of those same things. And what did He do? He still just loved them. He never stopped. He kept going. He came to earth to accomplish a mission, and He wouldn't return back home until He did what He came here to do. He never gave up, so I can never give up either. I know what I came here to do as well. I'm here to invite people to come unto Him. To learn of His infinite goodness and love for us all. To tell them that thanks to Him, we do not have to suffer but if we believe in Him, we can have eternal life. I'm never going to stop telling people that. Because that's what I came here to do. And even if it's hard in the moment, I know that one day it will all be worth it. That's what I'm especially grateful for this week. What are you all thankful for? Think about it. I will be studying it this week, and I'm super excited to develop the attitude of gratitude that President Uchtdorf described in his April Conference talk. I invite you all to read that! :)
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Love, Sœur Shields "Gratitude to our Father in Heaven broadens our perception and clears our vision. It inspires humility and fosters empathy toward our fellowmen and all of God's creations. Gratitude is a catalyst to all Christlike attributes." -Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Love, Sœur Shields "Gratitude to our Father in Heaven broadens our perception and clears our vision. It inspires humility and fosters empathy toward our fellowmen and all of God's creations. Gratitude is a catalyst to all Christlike attributes." -Dieter F. Uchtdorf