In
all honesty, I totally forgot that it's Thanksgiving this weekend and
next week. It's almost December. Crazy how fast time flies. Before we
know, Maddy's going to be married and it will be the new year!
This
week has definitely been eventful! Last Monday, we traveled to Bacolod
and met up with the rest of my batch going home in December. For our
emigration clearance, all missionaries are required to travel to Manila
for fingerprinting at the bureau of emigration. The trip was exhausting.
At 5 am the next morning, we were in the jeepney on the way to the
airport. From the airport we headed straight to the bureau and were there
processing our papers until 2 in the afternoon. It was the longest
process and was definitely a test of my patience. But what's sad is that
because there was so many of us, it took so long, and we didn't have
time to go through a session at the temple. But once we were finished,
the driver took us to the temple, and even though we didn't have time
for a session, we were able to walk around the grounds and sit inside
for a while. There really is nothing that compares to the temple. From
the outside you can feel of its power and from the inside, you can sense
not only the presence of the Holy Ghost but the presence of our
Heavenly Father and Savior. This past week I've really been reflecting
on what's required of us to not only be baptized for my investigators,
but what's required of us to be worthy to enter the temple. And in the end,
I came away with an even greater appreciation and gratitude for the
Atonement of Jesus Christ. Only through Christ's sacrifice are we able
to become worthy to enter into his holy temple. I was reading in Jacob
in my personal study and came across Jacob 4:7, " Nevertheless, the
Lord God showeth
us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace, and
his great condescensions unto the children of men, that we have power to
do
these things." It really is through his grace, his enabling power, that
we're able to overcome our weaknesses and be worthy to enter his
presence, after we've done all we can do to live and follow his gospel.
There was a ward trip the other week, and now this week the youth are
heading to the temple. Basically, everything around me is about the
temple, so I'm just excited to go back again! But after being at the
temple for a little while, the driver took us back to the airport. We
ended up being at the airport forever though, because our flight kept
getting delayed. We didn't land in Bacolod until after 10 that night. It
was an exhausting trip, but it was fun to be reunited with our batch
for a day. There's a total of 38 of us going home in December!
The
rest of the week went well. With ward conference, the members were very
supportive, and some actually went and did some visiting and home
teaching, inviting less actives to church and you could see the
difference at church yesterday. One thing that I always admire of you
and dad is your diligence to fulfill that calling. There's really nothing
that compares to a friend visiting you not just out of obligation, but
because you love them. I feel like we might not always see the
difference or effect, but I know it blesses them more than we might
realize. We even received a couple referrals from members this past week
which is always a blessing.
This
week being Thanksgiving, I'm grateful for my family, and I'm also
grateful to have spent the past year serving my Father in Heaven.
There's nothing that has brought me more joy than this experience. It's
been hard, but I'll be forever be grateful for the things I've learned of
myself, of the gospel, and of Jesus Christ. I love you all and Happy
Thanksgiving!
Love,
Sister Fitzgerald
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