A HAPPILY EVER AFTER – August 18, 2014

A family we have been teaching was baptized this week. As they were baptized, every heart ache, disappointment, and set back I have had during the past year and a half seemed to be swallowed up in the joy I felt. It had all been worth it. 

 

This morning as I was studying I came across Alma 29:10. It´s a scripture I’ve read a hundred times over but this time it hit me with great force and power. I felt as if it was taken directly from my journal. It has been pretty difficult to find words to describe my feelings lately but this scripture says it all. I KNOW of God´s mercy. I can´t write that phrase without tears filling my eyes. I know of his mercy. I´ve felt it. He has truly extended his merciful arm to me every day of my entire life and he has never given up on me. He has answered every prayer and every heartbroken plea. I am truly filled with joy that seems to fill every space in my life. The Lord has done so much for me and continues to do so. I so dearly love the Lord and my heart is full of gratitude that can´t be expressed.  Oh how the Lord loves us. 

 

      “And behold, when I see many of my brethren truly penitent, and coming to the lord their god, then is my soul filled with joy; then do I remember what the lord has done for me, yeah, even that he hath heard my prayer; yeah, then do I remember his merciful arm which he extended towards me.”

Alma 29:10

 

Someone told me that “In the end it will all be alright, and if it´s not alright, it´s not the end.” The Lord has resolved everything. As much as it hurts and as much as I don´t want this to end I know that it´s time to go forward and start another adventure back in Utah. If you could have learned one thing from me over the past year and a half I so dearly pray that it is of the atonement. It´s through the atonement that God extends to us his mercy. It´s why our prayers are answered in the best way and the best timing. It´s the reason I am filled with such joy. I love you all and I’ll see you soon. I truly love the Lord and I will never regret the decision I made to come out here. Never. It has all been worth it. 

 

Come what may and love it

Hermana Israelsen

 

HIS MERCY – August 11, 2014

 

This week was another one of those weeks of reflection. It was a real eye-opener of how merciful the Lord has been with me not only on my mission but throughout my entire life. We watched the movie 17 miracles with a family this week and I think that´s what triggered all of this gratitude. I saw how merciful and loving the Lord was towards those people even though there were in the worst situations possible. The Lord never ceased to show forth his mighty hand. It´s no different for me.

 

The Lord has never ceased to stretch for his mighty hand and show me his love and mercy. He has truly carried me in every difficult moment when I couldn´t walk anymore. He has taken my angered pleas and changed them into humble gratitude. He has comforted my aching heart and replaced bitterness with sweetness. He has replaced my fear with faith, despair with hope, and worries with peace. He has made up the difference when my efforts just weren´t good enough because he makes ALL the difference. He has changed my heart and desires. He has showed me miracles just when I was about to give up hope. He has provided me a way to do the impossible.

 

I can´t even begin to express the deep gratitude that has filled my soul this week. Tears come to my eyes every time I think about how the Lord has never once left me comfortless. He has never left me alone. Even in those moments when I was convinced that I was alone I came to find that I couldn´t have been more wrong. He has NEVER left my side. He has never left me comfortless. He has never left me broken. He has never retracted his extended hand. He has never walked away.  Never. The Lord has been so much more aware of me than I could ever comprehend. He has truly had a hand in every aspect of my life and I know that will never change. His mercy is extended towards us all and we don´t even recognize it the majority of the time. Every day is full of evidence of the lord´s love and awareness. He is so aware of even the weakest plea for help. We find the greatest strength from our knees. I know it because I’ve lived it a hundred times over. I so dearly love my Savior and my Father in Heaven. My life is full of evidence of their love and mercy.

Love you all!

Come what may and love it
Hermana Israelsen

 

IN HIS PERFECT TIMING – August 4, 2014

Well, all of our investigators left on vacations this week for the month of August. Looks like we´ve got to start from ground one again but that´s ok haha. I’m excited! I’ve finally found the fun in starting from 0. It took me nearly the whole mission to learn but now starting over doesn´t bother me. It´s just another opportunity to see miracles! 

 

Well, once again I had to learn to say, “not my will be done but thine.”  I think that´s a lesson that I just have to keep relearning because it doesn´t always stick. Earlier this week I was on my knees talking about the situation with my Heavenly Father.  I was heartbroken and poured that out to the Lord and he listened, comforted me, and then taught me about his Son.  I was praying to try to convince God to do what I wanted. He quickly reminded me of His Son and how he was able to fully give up His will to His Father so that His Father could fulfill His purposes.

 

After ¨wrestling¨ with God like Enos about the situation I finally came to the decision that I would be ok if this wonderful family didn´t get baptized while I was here. I realized that the only thing that mattered was that they would get baptized in the Lord´s perfect timing. If I wasn´t there for it, it´d be ok. My Father in Heaven helped me to realize that and the spirit brought me such comfort and peace to know that that´s what the Lord wanted me to realize.

 

Once again I was reminded that this isn´t MY work but the work of God and I am merely an instrument in His hands. Everything will go according to His perfect timing. If I can´t be there it doesn´t matter because what matters is that they make a covenant with God. That´s the important thing. The hurt is now gone, I am no longer broken hearted that I won´t be here for their baptism, but rather am filled to the brim with such joy that they´re going to come to Christ! I am so happy for them and don´t have any reason to complain. The Lord has stretched forth his merciful hand again and I couldn´t be any more grateful. That is one amazing miracle for me. I truly do love this work with all of my heart. 

Love you all! 

 

Come what may and LOVE it. Just do it. Life´s better that way

Hermana Israelsen

 

Thou Art Hermana Israelsen and I am God – July 28, 2014

 

It´s all in the Lord´s hands and I don´t have a single doubt about that. 

I was asked to speak in church yesterday about missionary work so I chose to talk about my very favorite aspect of missionary work: the atonement. I talked about how my reasons to serve a mission have changed since coming here to the mission field.

 

I used to want to serve God, serve others, and share my testimony but now it´s so much deeper than that. My desires to be a missionary now come from my deep love and appreciation for the atonement. I want to make that available to everyone because the price has already been paid. I don´t want a single drop of his precious blood to be wasted. I want others to feel of the power of His mercy and grace. I want others to be healed through him. I mainly want to bring others to repentance because I know that´s what brings God the most joy. I so desperately want to make him happy and utilize his atonement. I just get teary eyed every time I start to talk about the atonement because it has truly penetrated every fiber of my being. It´s magnitude has completely changed my life before, during, and after the mission. I´ll never be the same. I´m so incredibly grateful for that. I love my Savior and I so dearly need him. I´m not perfect. I’m weak. But in him I can do all things. 

 

There´s a scripture in Helaman 10 that has been going through my head all week.  Helaman 10:6 “Behold, thou art (insert your name), and I am God.”

 

It is through god that all things are possible. 

Love you all! 

 

Come what may and love it

Hermana Israelsen

DIVINE INTERVENTION – July 21, 2014

 

This week was one of those times that I just sat back in awe and remembered that this is truly the Lord´s work and not mine.The Lord truly knows how to do his own work. 

 

We also fasted twice this week for a miracle to occur and the Lord once again showed forth his merciful and loving hand.

 

Everything about our experience teaching a sweet family has been nothing short of a miracle from an Almighty God. I can only give all of the glory to God because with what has happened it would be absolutely terrible for me to try to take any of the credit because this was one of those experiences that was 1000% God. I feel so much love for this work, the people, and most of all the Savior and my Father in Heaven.

 

Love you all.  Like elder Holland said. You keep going. You keep trying. Keep moving forward. Good things are ahead.  I know that because it´s happened to me a thousand times over.

 

Come what may and love it

Hermana Israelsen

Five Steps to Happiness – July 14, 2014

 

Once again, I fell to my knees in gratitude for the atonement and for the gospel of Christ. I´m so grateful for the relief, peace, comfort, and purpose if gives me. The doctrine of Christ has become such an important part of my life. Faith, repentance, keeping and renewing covenants, keeping the Holy Ghost with us, and enduring/enjoying to the end. Those 5 steps have given so much meaning to my life, joy to my day, and peace to my heart. I love the Lord and I love this work. I will never stop trusting and loving the Lord and my Heavenly Father. Everything will work out in the end. And if it´s not ok, it´s not yet the end.

 

Come what may and love it
Hermana Israelsen

My Dying Testimony – July 7, 2014

 

On Friday we had a multi-zone conference. It was a meeting with about 70 missionaries. I still have more than a month until I come home so I wasn´t expecting this at all but when I arrived at the conference they told me that I would be giving my dying testimony at the end of the meeting. When a missionary is about to go home they are asked to give one final testimony to basically sum up your mission. I was thinking about what I could share to sum up my mission and I immediately knew what to talk about - The atonement. Over the past year and a half the atonement has completely changed me. The atonement has carried me every single day of my mission and will continue to carry me for the rest of my life. That is the best word I could use to sum up my mission - the atonement. It has saved me in the darkest and most difficult moments. It has made the difference when I just wasn´t good enough. It is everything to me. As I’ve come to apply the atonement more I have found happiness that I’ve never had before. I´ve applied that atonement through the gospel/doctrine of Christ: faith in Christ and his atonement, repentance, keeping and making covenants, seeking for and being worthy of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. I don´t quite have the words to describe my testimony of the power and mercy of the atonement. Christ truly makes every unjust and bitter thing sweet in him. He is the way, our hope, and our happiness. I love him so dearly and all that I want is to bring others to him because as it says in Doctrine and Covenants 18 that´s what brings him so much joy. I love my Savior and I love this work. 

 

Come what may and love it. 

 

Hermana Israelsen

 

Tired but Happy - June 30

The weeks are starting to just blur together and I honestly don't know what to say anymore. I´m tired but happy.  There -- that about sums it up. I'm extremely tired but very happy.

 

Not really anything monumental happened this week. Just a normal week of trying my best to do the work of the Lord. I really do feel so grateful for everything. My prayers this week were just of gratitude. Everyone has started with, I love thee, and I love thy son. I just feel so grateful to be where I am, to be doing what I’m doing, and to know what I know. I just feel nothing but gratitude right now. I love these people with a love greater than my own. This love isn't from me but from the Savior. I love my mission.

I have no reason to complain.

 

So anyways, I started re-reading the Book of Mormon from the beginning to see if I can read it one more time before I come home. Over the duration of my mission I have come to develop a very deep and sincere love for the Book of Mormon. It truly is the evidence of God´s love for us. This week was a good week and I think that was partly because I was spending every spare moment I could reading and pondering the Book of Mormon. It amazes me how I still continue to receive answers to my prayers and questions from verses that I've read a thousand times. Oh how wonderful the gift of the Holy Ghost.  I just really like the Book of Mormon.

 

Overall things are good. I´m happy and really trying my best to lose myself in the work. That's what has made me the happiest: losing myself in the service of others.  Better yet: losing myself in the service of the Savior. All I want is to please Him, to bring Him joy, and to make Him proud. I know that there is nothing that brings Him more joy than when we chose to come to Him and what brings Him even more joy is when we decide to bring others with us.

 

I love my Savior with all of my heart. This isn't my mission but it is His. There truly is no other way to live than through Him. He is the source of everlasting peace and happiness and I'll never get tired of letting others know that.

 

Have an awesome week and enjoy the 4th of July!!! HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!!!! GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!  It´s a good place.

 

Come what may and love it!

 

Hermana Israelsen

 

 

MY SOUL HUNGERED – June 16, 2014

We´ve officially entered the summer here....or that´s what I say. Everyone else merely says, ¨Oh sweetheart, it´s merely just starting.¨ There are thermometers on every corner and according to those thermometers we hit 46ºC here on Wednesday. that´s 114ºF. Yes. That is not a joke. Everyone just laughs and says it´s just starting.

 

It started out as an incredibly disappointing week as all of our efforts seemed to fall apart. It seemed that the harder I worked the quicker things seemed to crumble. After an especially rough day, we came home, planned for the next day, and I went back into our room to talked to the Lord. I was frustrated and mad.  I walked into our room and fell on my bed. I looked up at the ceiling and began to express my complete frustration to the Lord. I asked him why everything was falling apart. I was working harder than I’ve ever worked before on my mission and I was doing everything He asked of me but nothing seemed to be going well. I told him, “I’m so sick of being shut down, lied to, yelled at, rejected, blamed for things I didn´t do, failed, let down, and made fun of. I’m done. I don´t want any more of it.” I didn´t know what else to say and just looked at the ceiling in silence. Then it came to me. “You´re not the only one who´s been rejected, mocked, lied to, betrayed, let down, and yelled at. Remember my Son. He went through all of that and so much more.” The very moment that those words entered into my head my whole attitude changed. I immediately got on my knees and began to beg forgiveness for the Lord for what I had said and for my lack of gratitude and faith. I talked to my Heavenly Father about his Son for a while and then like it says in the Book of Enos  “My soul hungered.”  I wanted and needed what my Savior had to offer me: forgiveness, help, comfort, and the chance to start again. I spent the next hour on my knees repenting and looking for every little thing in my heart that wasn´t what the Savior had taught. I begged for help to start again and leave everything else behind. As I finished my prayer I felt more refreshed than I’ve felt in a long time. I felt like a burden had been lifted off of my shoulders. Since then I have had so much more faith, hope, patience, love, and happiness.

 

Since I gave everything to the Lord things have been going up here. We´ve been having a great week since then! Sometimes the Lord brings us to our knees so He can lift us higher. Daily repentance is something that has become so sacred and special to me. Using and looking for opportunities to use the atonement of my Savior has given me so much more gratitude and love for what he did. It has opened my understanding. I am so incredibly grateful for the atonement of my Savior. That he made it possible for me to start over every single day even though I don´t deserve it. I don´t think I’ll ever be able to understand the magnitude of the atonement but I’m sure learning how to be more grateful for it.

 

Come what may and love it!

Hermana Israelsen

 

I’m A Blessed Little Girl – June 8, 2014

This week was a great week!

 

I know that the Lord is so very aware of us and our situation. I KNOW the power of fasting from experience. I am so incredibly full of gratitude for all the trials the Lord has blessed me with because they have brought forth some incredibly rich blessings. I truly don´t have anything to complain about. Yes, I may have trials but overall I’m SOOOO incredibly blessed. I have a great family, great friends, the góspel, good health, and I’m participating in the most important work on the earth. How could I be more blessed? I love the Lord and I’m so full of love and gratitude for all of my refiner´s fires. I can´t help but smile when I think about everything I’ve learned through them.

Come what may and love it.

Hermana Israelsen

 

 

HE LISTENS – May 26, 2014

 

This week I had some neat experiences with prayer. The past month has been a little harder but I´m still happy to be a missionary! I´m just learning a lot right now haha but it was a week that I needed a little understanding from the Lord so I spent a good amount of time on my knees. As

I knelt in prayer to talk to my Father in Heaven about everything that was going on and how I was feeling I had an interesting experience. I begin expressing to him what was going on and what I wanted so that it would become better. I thought I was humbly praying when in reality I was trying to council the Lord on my situation. Like it says in the scriptures the purpose of prayer isn´t to change the mind of God but rather to bring ourselves in harmony with his will for us. As I let go of my own will, cares, worries, wants, and stresses, I finally found some relief and peace. It was incredible. As I expressed to the Lord my desire to do what he needed me to do even if that meant continuing the same as I have He blessed me with peace and relief. The thing that has been standing in the way of me receiving that help has been my own will. I was reluctantly holding onto my own will and wasn´t ready to give it up. As I finally gave him my will and said, ¨Not my will but thine be done¨ that relief, comfort, and peace came. That was the first lesson I was reminded of this week.

 

The second was that as I continued to pray I wondered if my prayers were really changing anything because I didn´t feel any different. I learned a great lesson this week about that as well. Our father in Heaven does listen but he also helps us with our problems in a certain way. He listens first. He doesn´t just magically make everything better the second that we get on our knees and open our mouths because he has to teach us a little first (I do believe in miracles though and there are moments where the Lord will give us an immediate answer to our prayers if we ask). Anyways, he listens first. He listens, comforts, and then always always always begins to teach us about his Son Jesus Christ. As we begin to learn about his Son, that´s when we find peace, comfort, understanding, miracles, and solutions.

 

So if you feel like the Lord doesn´t listen or answer your prayers because things aren´t better, please ponder this. Our loving Father in Heaven listens to us but knows that the only solution is through his Son Jesus Christ so he dearly wants us to learn of him as he helps us. So look at what the Lord is trying to teach you about his Son and I promise you that you´ll find you´re solutions there. The Lord also knows what´s best for us. Sometimes what we ask for isn´t what´s best for us even though we may be convinced that it is. Once again, as we trust in him and trust that his way is better things will all come together for our good. Everything will work out if we´ll just put our trust in the one who can see it all. Love you all. Every struggle we have is to teach us more about our need for the Savior and how His atonement applies to us. Look for those lessons.

Come what may and love it!

 

Hermana Israelsen

 

ONE ANSWERED PRAYER – May 19, 2014

 

I´ve been thinking again about how good change is for us and yet how hard it can be. I began thinking about all of the refiner´s fires that the Lord has asked me to walk through over the past 14 months and how many blessings have come from those moments. I´m completely filled to the brim with gratitude for every trial I have had and for what has come from them. The things that I have learned will not only bless me on the mission but will bless me for the rest of my life. The Lord has slowly been chipping away at some rough edges and working on purifying me. He still has a lot of work to do but I can say that I´m a better person now than I was 14 months ago. I still have far to go but that´s just life.

 

My current relationship with the Savior can be traced back to one single prayer offered 13 months ago in the MTC. One single plea to be able come to know the Savior better, to have a trial of my faith, to purify and purge me resulted in more blessings than I could have ever thought possible. I´m so incredibly grateful for that one night and that the Lord heard that prayer. There have been a lot of trials and a lot of tough moments but also some incredibly sweet ones. My Father in Heaven never fails to listen to me and teach me about his Son, Jesus Christ. I know that Christ is my personal Savior. He understands all of my struggles, worries, pains, and problems. he truly knows how to succor his people. He knows exactly what I need to keep moving forward thanks to the atonement. The atonement has changed my mission and my life. I love you and I love the Lord.

 

Come what may and love it!

 

Hermana Israelsen

 

Put Your Faith Where Your Worries Are - May 12, 2014

 

The past 5 months have really taught me an important principle about faith in the Lord. A few months ago I was getting a little too stressed out about the little things that were going wrong every day and began focusing more on my worries than my faith. I´ve always known that I need to trust in the Lord and his timing and I’ve always tried to live that principle but in the past few months I really came to learn the principle of worrying less and letting the Lord do more of the work. I´m not saying that I am working less and expecting the lord to just magically make things right. What I learned is that I need to continue doing everything that I can but trust that the Lord has all power and will provide a way in everything if I’ll just trust in him. There´s a reason for everything that happens.

 

 

Love you

Come what may and love it!

Hermana Israelsen

 

AN INFINITE LOVE – May 9, 2014

So news first.  I got a call last Saturday from President  and he asked me if I would train a new missionary. So looks like I will be finishing my mission training a new missionary. I’m really excited and that´s exactly what I need. I need the boost that comes from a new missionary because they are just so full of faith, energy, optimism, and excitement. I´m nervous but I know that it´s going to be fun.

This week was full of little tender mercies from the Lord. I was having a Little bit of a tougher week and asked the lord for a Little push to keep me going so that if could do his work. I just needed a little reminder that he knows my situation and is providing a path for me. That answer came very quickly. Today we were at la Fería where there are thousands and thousands of people gathered and someone grabbed my arm, flipped me around, and just hugged me. I was so confused as to what was going on and could only hug them back just hoping that I knew them. haha. As I pulled back I realized who it was. It was one of the members in my Ward in Elche that had taken care of me in my most difficult moments. Her family is from here and she just happened to be visiting here this week and felt like she should go to the fería that day. Out of all of the Thousands and thousands of people there we just happened to run into each other. Obviously it wasn´t just coincidence and that there was divine help there. I was absolutely overcome with joy. I could hardly speak as I just hugged her again and screamed. That was the second witness for me that the Lord is so very aware of what I am doing right now. I could not be any more grateful to the Lord for his mercy and love. I know that he is very aware of me right this very second. I can´t deny that.

I’ve found again and again that the Lord will never pass up an opportunity to show his children that he loves them. If you wonder if the Lord truly loves you and is aware of you please go ahead and just ask him. He will be more than willing and joyous to show you just how much he loves and cares for you. He´s done it for me a million times over and I know that he´ll continue to show me his love for me if I’ll just look for it.

As it says in the scriptures there is absolutely nothing that can separate us from the love of the Lord. Don´t ever think that you have lost the Lord´s love and that he has forgotten of you because that is frankly impossible. ¨the Lord´s love is there for you whether you deserve it or not.¨ He loves you so dearly and knows who you are. He knows your situation right now and what you´re praying for. Don´t forget how much you mean to him and if you don´t believe me why don´t you just ask him yourself.

Also, don´t forget

Come what may and love it

Hermana Israelsen

Everyone’s Thirsty – April 28, 2014

 

I just got my trunky papers this week. For those of you who don´t know, trunky papers are what you get when you have to start making arrangements to go home from the missions. I was pretty upset. One phrase really just killed me inside it said “In preparation for the arrival of the end of your mission service.” That one sentence was like a dagger in the heart. I’ve just decided that I’m going to enjoy every second that I have left and not really think about it because there´s still plenty of time in life.

 

This area is still the hardest one I’ve worked in yet but in truly do just love it. About 9 of the 10 people we talk to are completely atheist and don´t hold back in letting us know what they think of us and our missions ;) Haha but the Lord has definitely placed some of his choice children here in the pueblo. Things are getting better every day! I feel very blessed to be able to be here and see the Lord perform some incredible miracles here. I have no doubt that there are many more prepared people waiting here for us and no amount of heat is gonna stop me from finding them.

 

The mission has completely changed me well not quite. I was trying to figure out why and how this week when it hit me. The mission itself hasn´t changed me. Just because I have a nametag on and have worn a skirt for the past year hasn´t meant that I’ve changed. It´s the atonement that has changed me inside and out. My mission has helped me see the infinite power of the atonement in my own life and in the lives of those I love. My mission has pushed me to my very limits and made me use the atonement in ways that I never had thought of before. My mission has expanded my understanding of the atonement and of the gospel. It´s the atonement and the gospel that changes us. The atonement has carried me every single day of my mission and will continue to carry me for the rest of eternity. I’m sorry that this email is so short because I so dearly wish I had the time to express my thoughts about the atonement. My mission has changed my focus from being on myself, to others, and finally on the Savior.

 

Come what may and love it!

Hermana Israelsen.

 

 

Sunday Will Come – April 21, 2104

 

Because Easter was just yesterday I have been thinking a lot about an old talk by Elder Wirthlin. So these have been my thoughts during the week. I think we all have many moments in our lives, and they may even happen frequently, when we look forward and question if we can go any further. We may wonder when the challenges will end or when we´ll find relief. We might question how this could possibly be for our good or in the most desperate of moments we might even wonder if the Lord really has a plan for us.

 

 As we all know this weekend was Easter weekend. On Thursday Christ went to Gethsemane and suffered for every one of us. On Friday the Savior was crucified. I´m sure Thursday, Friday and Saturday were filled with challenges, pains, and struggles for everyone. It was Sunday however that the Savior fulfilled his promises and rose again. He broke the chains of death and made it possible that we could all live again. That beautiful Sunday morning was what gave all of that pain and suffering a purpose. That Sunday morning gave us all hope and purpose. So for those of you who feel like you´re at the end of your rope, who feel like you´re too weak and tired to move on, or feel as if your load is too heavy just remember that just like for the Savior it didn´t last forever. Thursday and Friday were more difficult than we can begin to comprehend but Sunday came. That glorious Sunday came and brought us all new life. I add my testimony to Elder Wirthlín´s as I say that for any of you that are struggling, burdened, or discouraged - Sunday will come. There will be relief to your suffering and an end to your trial. I don´t know when but I do know that Sunday will come. The Lord will fulfill his promises to you and will give you all of the blessings he has promised you if you´ll just hang on for a little longer and be faithful. Sunday will always come. Like it was for Joseph Smith your trials, problems, worries, and struggles will only last for ¨a small moment and then if thou endure it well, god shall exalt thee on high.¨ ¨peace be unto thy soul¨. I testify that Christ lives. He lives so that we can live too. Because of him, Sunday will come for us all. I love the Lord and I am his representative. Sunday will always come.

 

Love, 

Hermana Israelsen 

 

Huele – April 14, 2014

 

 This new area is probably the hardest area I’ve had the whole mission which is just fine. These last few months will be my biggest challenge yet but it is only fitting because I´ve grown a lot stronger on the mission so the challenges have to continue getting harder as well.

We´ve got a lot of work ahead of us over the next few months. Right now we don´t have a single person to teach. We are starting from nothing -absolutely nothing - but it´s really cool because any progress we make will be miraculous and we´ll be able to see the work of the Lord move forward. In a few weeks we´ll be able to look back and see how much the lord prepared our way. I know that there are people there waiting for us. I know it. The Lord has people prepared to receive the gospel there. I´ve seen it a million times before in my mission and I know I’ll see it again here. All we need is faith, hard work, and time. The Lord will help us find those prepared people after he has tried our faith a little. We´ll find them soon.

 

At first it was frustrating to get put here because this is my last area and we´re starting from zero. It kind of felt like I was starting completely over but as the week went on I realized what a blessing it is that the Lord gave me the chance to start again. He is giving me the chance to take everything I have learned over the past year and put it into action here. He´s giving me the opportunity to work with this area and these people from start to a point where it´s all progressing. I can´t wait. What a blessing that is for me. This will be a big challenge but that´s exactly what I want and need. I want to be pushed even harder to come to know the Lord more deeply. There are still so many things that the Lord needs me to learn so come what may and love it. I am so happy to be starting this new adventure and I am positive that the Lord has so many blessings waiting. Even though I can´t see what the Lord has planned I have faith that it will all be for my good. I have faith that he knows what he´s doing and this is all for a divine purpose. I´m super happy here and really excited to get working this week. I know we´re going to see so many miracles and that next weeks email will just be telling you all of them. Well, it´s time to go but know that I have faith. I have faith in the Savior and that faith will never fail me.

 

Love you all!

Come what may and love it! 

Hermana Israelsen

 

Change Just Might Be the Best Thing For You – April 7, 2014

This last week was crazy, wonderful and heartbreaking at the same time. My new companion was working on some residency stuff for Spain during the week so I had to stick around Malaga until Friday but I’m not complaining because it gave me a little more time to spend with my sweet companion. Saying goodbye to her was incredibly painful. It was heart wrenching to say goodbye because these last 2 transfers with her have been heaven.

I know that that Lord has other challenges and people prepared for us though so that´s the only way I could say goodbye to her and to Malaga. My companion has truly blessed my life so much. She taught me to lose myself in caring for others. She is so full of charity that it just spills over to all those around her. She taught me how to listen to others and care about them the way the Savior would. She Works hard, is incredibly humble, and loves the work so much. I couldn´t ask for a better example of love and pureness. She´s one of the best missionaries I know! I couldn´t be more blessed to have been her companion for 3 months. After 3 months of pure joy though I guess it´s time for another challenge.

 Conference was absolutely incredible this weekend. I think that was the best conference I’ve been too, mainly because I think I was the most prepared I’ve ever been. I had a list of questions that I wrote down before the conference and every single one of them was answered. Every single one. The Lord is so aware of us! I really asked for the Lord to let me know that he was aware of me during the conference and he definitely answered that prayer loud and clear. This last week I have been sharing my favorite scripture, Helaman 5:12, with everyone to say goodbye and have been thinking about that scripture a lot.  This scripture was quoted in MULTIPLE talks during the conference and I know that the lord inspired his servants to say it. I know it was meant for so many purposes but one of the purposes was to let me know that he knows my situation and loves me.

This weekend has been rough because of the change I went through this last week. Changing areas and companions is never easy and never will be easy but it´s necessary. Change.  I have a love/hate relationship with that word. Change can hurt and continue hurting for a little bit but change can also be the best thing for us. When we get comfortable we are no longer progressing so sometimes change has to come into our lives to ¨stir us up unto a rememberance of the Lord¨. As much as change can hurt it is so incredibly helpful and brings so many blessings. The scriptures even talk about change like having a change of heart, repentance, a change of belief, a change of attitude...etc.  Like my trainer taught me, change is the Lord´s opportunity to mold, prepare, strengthen, and bless us. It´s so important and necessary to our progression and ultimate happiness. To those of you still trying to adjust to a recent change and feel like you have a heavy heart, don´t feel like you´re alone. You´re far from alone. Just remember that it always gets better and that change makes us better and helps bring us to the Savior. Things will get better I promise! I know it because I’ve gone through it a million times on my mission. I am going through it right now with the change of being in a new area.  I just miss my last area so much but I know that the Lord needs me here. It´s not that I don´t like my new area, it´s actually quite the opposite, I love it here, it still doesn´t mean that I don´t miss my comfortable little bubble I formed in Malaga. My heart has been broken since leaving Malaga but the Lord is healing it. I KNOW that things will get so much better and that I will absolutely love it here. I´m here to sacrifice my time and concern into the service of others so that´s exactly what I’m going to do. I’m going to do just as president Uchtdorf said and be grateful for all of this change and for the challenges that lay ahead. They´re making me better. I love this work and I love the Lord!

So just a quick little shout out to my trainer. This girl is amazing! She taught me to lose myself in the work and give it everything you have. Her´s has always been the little voice in the back of my head pushing me to work a little harder and become better. 

Come what may and love it!

Hermana Israelsen