December 22, 2008

The highlight of my week was Zone Conference. I love President & Sister Summerhays so much! My favorite part of it was my interview with President. I had been struggling with an Elder in my district, and since there are 3 companionships in our ward, we work together a lot. It was to the point that I didn't feel the Spirit when I was around him because of my hard feelings toward him. I talked to President about this and how I know that it is my problem and not the Elder's. I know that when I am annoyed or frustrated that I choose to be. I was praying often for charity and patience, but I was still struggling and I was getting more and more annoyed with myself. President thanked me for sharing my struggle with him and told me that by telling him about it, it shows my desire to be good and to do better. He then told me a story about Howard W Hunter asking for a blessing because he was having hard feelings toward someone and it was literally making him sick. President then offered to give me a blessing. It was beautiful. He blessed me with the power that when I hear that Elder's voice next that I would feel the love of the Savior for him. I was also blessed that I would know that the Lord was working on and with that Elder and that I didn't need to worry about him. I hadn't even told President about my desire to help the Elder be a better person (partially because he bugged me, but mostly so he could be happier), but the Lord knew what I was thinking and feeling and He helped me to overcome it too. It was amazing, and it all came to pass. The next time I heard that Elder it was like he was a different person. I understood where he was coming from, what he was feeling, and most importantly what the Lord feels for him. It has made such a difference in my day to not have those hard feelings. I have loved it! The entire tone of my district has changed (all of us struggled with this Elder) but we have one by one grown to love and appreciate this Elder. The power of the Priesthood is amazing. I am so thankful to President and his inspiration to give me a blessing and for the blessing he gave. The rest of Zone Conference was great. As a part of it we did role plays, and since I was new, it was mostly me. With the help of Sister Wilcox I was able to do well and I felt confident. We also did a fun thing- President charged each of us with being a successful missionary. Two witnesses had to testify of our success and then we were convicted. (Basically two people said something nice about each person, but with a more dramatic twist) One of my witnesses was the very Elder that I had been struggling with, in fact that was the first time I heard his voice after the blessing. It was an especially neat experience. At the end of Zone Conference we all re-committed ourselves to the work. I shared a dream I had that my mission was over and I was so upset because I didn't get to teach people or share the gospel. I wanted to share what I had learned from all of my experiences, and that I've been given the experiences to share them with other people and have the chance to uplift them. It was a wonderful day!Congratulations to Danny & Tia! I am so excited for both of you! I can't wait to talk to you on Christmas and tell Tia all the stupid things Danny did as a kid (he ate my chalk that went with a little school house and chalkboard I had). I hope you know how much I love you and I'm proud of you. Thanks to the Moab Ereksons for a great Christmas package and to Ruthie Peterson for the first letter from a friend! You guys cleared the cobwebs in our mailbox! Thanks Grandma & Grandpa for sending the money - I used to buy food for a great Christmas Eve Celebration we are hosting for our investigators that don't have family to spend Christmas with. I'm really excited about it. I love you all! Merry Christmas!

PS Hi! This is Alissa's Mom. Her preparation day (P-day) has changed to Mondays now, so her posts will be updated on Mondays or Tuesdays, depending on how soon I can sit down at the computer. Thanks for all your love, prayers and support for her. Merry Christmas.