Feeling Hot Hot Hot – March 31, 2014

 

These last 3 months have been the greatest 3 months of my mission. I have been in a great area with my best friend, I finally can speak and understand the language without problem, I finally know how to do missionary work even though I’m still learning every day, and I finally learned how to fully depend on the Lord. I have learned and grown SO much in the past 3 months. I feel like I did everything that the Lord asked me to do here and that it´s time to move on. The hardest part about moving on will be saying goodbye to my companion.

 

I was feeling really nervous and anxious this morning for this week and couldn´t seem to find any peace. I prayed to find peace and continued getting ready to leave our piso. About 2 weeks ago I lost some of my memory cards and I had been looking everywhere for them but couldn´t seem to find them. I prayed to find them but they still didn´t show up. This morning as I prayed for peace I also prayed to know that the Lord was aware of me and my situation and that he loved me. About 5 minutes after I prayed I was grabbing a jacket from my closet when the memory cards fell to the floor. I immediately fell to my knees and cried. That may seem like a really small and insignificant thing to you but to me it was everything. It was a CLEAR and DIRECT answer to my prayer to know that the Lord was indeed aware of me and that he loves me. He waited to answer my prayer about finding my memory cards until a moment when it would have more meaning and power to me. He waited to answer my prayer until the moment that I needed it most. He knows! After finding the cards I fell to my knees to pray as tears of gratitude and joy fell into my lap. An incredibly peace swept over me and I knew that everything would be ok. I testify that the Lord is aware of you and that he loves you dearly. He´ll show you too if you just ask. 

 

Looking back over the past year I realize that I am not the same person. I have grown so much. The Lord has been sculpting me and will continue to do so. As hard as the mission has been, I wouldn´t trade it for anything in the whole world because it opened my eyes to the magnitude of the atonement and how much I truly love my Savior and this gospel. 

 

Yes, change isn´t fun but it´s necessary. I´m ready to step into another challenge and let the Lord mold me some more. I know it´s going to be hard but I also know that the Lord will be with me every step of the way! Love you all! 

 

Come what may and love it!

Hermana Israelsen

 

Stand As Witness of God – March 24, 2014

This week we were talking to some people who have lost their faith in God because of all of the trials they have had. They asked why God wouldn´t just take away all of their struggles right when they prayed because they were doing everything that he asked of them. We used the example of Mosiah 24:14-16 to answer their question. In that scripture the Lord says that he doesn´t always take away our trial so that we can show forth our faith in him and later be able to be witnesses of God and say that we know that it was God that helped us through our trial. It allows us to see the hand of God in our lives.

 

God does promise us that during our trials, if we will just turn to him, pray, read the scriptures, worthily take the sacrament each week and keep the commandments that he will help us carry our load. That He will strengthen us and lift the burden with us so that we can´t feel of the stress and sorrow it brings into our lives. He can literally bring us peace, happiness, comfort, joy, and hope in moments of absolute darkness. I have felt that. I know that it´s true. I, personally, have felt of that relieving power that comes through Christ and his atonement. He has helped me get through every challenge that has come my way and has actually helped me have peace and joy through them even though some of them nearly pushed me over the edge. He has NEVER ever left me alone, not even for a second. He has always been there for me and I can stand as a personal witness that I know that his power is real. It works for us today. It works for everyone and I know that it can work for you. Have faith and keep moving forward. Don´t try to do it alone. Why would you try to do it alone when you don´t have to. The Savior walked alone so that we would never have to. I promise you that it is SO much easier and SO much more enjoyable to go through hard times with the savior at our side. Mosiah 24:14-16 aren´t just words on a page but are promises from a loving heavenly father to us. They work and they´re true. I have felt it. I love you all and I want you all to feel of it too! 

 

Have such an amazing week and do something nice for someone today! 

Come what may and love it

Hermana Israelsen

A CHANGE OF HEART – March 17, 2014

I was set apart as a missionary a year ago from today and tomorrow is the year mark from when I left the United States for my mission. I can´t believe I’ve been here in Spain for an entire year already! I honestly don´t know how I feel. I am so grateful that the Lord has carried me this far. One year. Wow. The time seems to speed up as I get further and further into my mission. I honestly love it here!

 

It was honestly just a sweet week. It was hard and we were so exhausted physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually but it was a week where I truly felt like an instrument in the hands of the Lord so it was all worth it. This week I found myself thinking a lot about how much I have changed over the past year. I´m not the same girl I was a year ago from today. I have gone through the ringer over the past 12 months and have passed through a fair share of refiner´s fires but I wouldn´t take back a single day of my mission for anything. The Lord has truly been molding me and changing my heart over the past year. I think one of the biggest changes I’ve seen in myself is my understanding and application of the atonement in my life. I´m a lot more calm when troubles come my way because I have a firm faith and hope that everything will be ok because it´s all in the hands of the Lord. When trials come I have been able to learn how to share my burden with the Savior and let him lighten my load. I have truly learned how to let the Lord lighten my burden. That´s something that will forever bless my life. It took me a long time to learn and I’m still learning it but I now know what it feels like to have my burdens made light so that I can´t feel them anymore. The Lord has done that again and again for me but it has come from diligent scripture study, sincere prayer, heartfelt repentance, and weekly partaking of the sacrament.

 

The Lord has changed my heart and has shown me of his infinite mercy and grace. I´ll never be the same. The mission has been the best thing I’ve ever done in my life FOR my life. The understanding, compassion, comfort and peace that the atonement brings has carried me every day of my mission. I can attribute all of the understanding and gratitude that I have for the atonement to my trials. I am so grateful for all of those difficult and heart wrenching moments because it was in those moments that the lord softened my heart and brought me closer to him. He brought me into his arms, cleaned me up, put me back on my feet and then continued to walk with me. The Lord has been there for me every step of the way and I know without a doubt that he has been there every step of the way for you as well even if you may not have realized it. He is truly the only one who can comfort us, heal our broken hearts, calm all of our doubts and fears, and make our burdens light. All that he asks of us is that we learn of him through reading the scriptures and applying the teachings to our lives, talk to our father in heaven through sincere prayer, and remember him by keeping his commandments! I wouldn´t still be standing without the power of the atonement. The atonement will carry you through your hard times because it has carried me through mine. Be patient, have faith, and trust in the lord. In the end, everything will be alright and if it´s not alright, it´s not the end. 

 

Love you!

Hermana Israelsen

 

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD…..March 10, 2014

I can´t believe that it was a year ago today that I gave my farewell. That seems like a lifetime ago and yet at the same time it feels like it was just last month. Time is a crazy thing out here.

 

Something cool happened this week. There is a place in our area that we always walk in that has always just seemed so familiar to me but is could never figure out why. This week I remembered that when I got my call to Spain I was so excited that I randomly picked a picture of Spain to put on the background desktop of my laptop. It was just a random area of Spain, not anything famous or anything, and now....that little picture is where I work.  That was a tender mercy for me. The Lord knows folks. He definitely knows. 

This week my companion and I had to give a lesson about hope to the other missionaries in a conference. After studying so much about hope I realize how it truly is the anchor of our souls. When we lose hope, we lose everything. Hope is trusting that the Lord will fulfill his promises with us. It´s trusting that as we do our part, He´ll do his. It´s having that belief that all trials will be for our good and that if we´re being obedient He will bless us greatly.

 

My mom sent me an awesome quote by Richard G. Scott that I absolutely love. I don´t have the quote with me but it goes something like ¨Sometimes just when everything seems to be going right, the challenges come. Sometimes they come in doses but when those challenges come and they are not consequences of disobedience they are evidence that the Lord believes that you are ready to grow.¨ I´ve lived that quote a million times over on the mission. There are moments when everything seems to be going perfectly and then in an instant everything falls apart but I will never lose the trust I have in the Lord that everything is in his hands and that it is all for my good. The Lord will never give us things that we can´t handle. So be grateful when trials come because it just shows how much the Lord loves you and how much trust he has in you because he feels like you are ready to grow and come closer to him. That´s something that has been engraved into my heart. When challenges come, be grateful. When we are comfortable in our lives that´s when we stop growing and sometimes begin to decline. We have to keep moving forward with a firm conviction that the Lord will richly bless us for our faith during our trials. Every unjust and unfair thing will be made right in him. We just have to be patient.

 

I testify from experience that as we have trust in the Lord and a firm hope that everything will be ok in the end that the Lord will make our burdens light. Mosiah 24:14-15 has become a firm part of my testimony. I have felt of the relieving power of the atonement. There have been times in my mission where a mountain of challenges have seem to come all at once and that there would be no way to deal with everything. I can´t count how many times that has happened but every time I have tried to put all of my faith in trust in the Lord and do the best I can and he has carried me. At times when I should have been curled up in a ball in my bed sobbing my eyes out, I was out looking for people to teach with a smile on my face because the Lord truly lifted the burden so much that I didn´t notice I had it. It´s something that I will never be able to explain but I testify that the Lord can literally carry our burdens so that they don´t weigh us down. That doesn´t always mean that he´ll take them away but it rather means that he´ll carry us through and teach to do it with a grateful heart. It´s amazing!

 

The atonement has carried me every single day of my mission. Every single day. There has never been a single day of my mission where I haven´t desperately needed the atonement in my life. It has carried me until now and it will continue to carry me until the day that I kneel at the Savior´s feet. So when everything seems dark, and you find yourself losing hope, just remember that the Lord will never let you down and that through him you can find the greatest joy that you´ve every experienced. I love you all and I’m so grateful for all of your love and support to my family during these last few weeks. Miracles happen and the Lord is in control. ¨Be still and know that I am God.¨

 

In the end everything will be ok and if it´s not ok, it´s not the end yet.  

Hermana Israelsen

 

The Infinite Atonement – March 3, 2014

Overall this was a great week. I went through a little pride cycle and in the end once again found the joy that comes from changing our hearts from repentance. I got a little prideful and began to take credit for the things that the Lord had done for us and then began to trust in my own knowledge and talents rather than relying on the Lord. The Lord straightened that out with me quickly haha. He helped me remember that in Him I can do all things but only through him. Man alive, I love this work. 

 

I´ve been stressing out about the littlest things lately and have been a little frantic about the work here. I´ve been learning about a really great lesson these past two weeks. I need to be less worried and more faithful. This isn´t my work but the work of the Lord and He will do it in his own way and in his own timing. I need to just do my very best and trust that the Lord will do the rest. I think that´s one of the biggest lessons I’m learning here on the mission that will bless the rest of my life - learning to faithfully and happily put it all in the Lord´s hands and let him do the rest. 

 

As I’ve begun to do that we´ve started seeing miracles. Did I tell you that two weeks ago we were fasting and praying to find someone who would be willing to change everything to come to Christ and feel of the happiness that comes from the gospel. The Lord always hears and answers our prayers and fasts but does it in his correct timing. The Lord placed someone into our lives. This person is the answer to those fasts and prayers. They are willing to give everything he has to the Savior to come to him. They are finding the joy in repentance as he learns about and keeps the commandments God has given us to bless us.

 

I am amazed at how the atonement continues to carry me. Come what may and love it. That has been my motto and my goal of the mission and the atonement has made it possible. It´s because of the infinite, kind and healing power of the atonement that my burden seems to be made light. It never ceases to amaze me how the lord can carry us all if we´ll merely humble ourselves, repent, and come to him in faith. It truly is the infinite atonement. 

 

I´m so grateful to have such amazing friends and family that keep me moving forward and are there to help me bear my burdens. I feel so blessed to know all of you! Thank you for everything! You have no idea how much each and every letter and email I have received has blessed my life. Love you all! 

 

Come what may and love it because thanks to Christ and his atonement, it´s possible

Hermana Israelsen

 

Blessings In Disguise – February 24, 2014

 

This week I was studying the atonement and found all of the comfort that I needed. Like Elder Holland has said, when you have terrible days and when the world seems to conspire against you, you have every reason to hold your head up. You have every reason to stand tall because when you experience heartbreak and hardship you are coming to know a tiny tiny portion of the pain that the Savior went through when he paid the price for each of us. 

 

When we go through tough and trying moments we are standing shoulder to shoulder with the best life who has ever lived. We are standing side by side with the Savior of the world. So was I heartbroken? Yes, completely but this week I came to feel the atonement in a deeper way than ever before. I came to understand just a little bit more about the magnitude of the sacrifice that he made for me and for that I am so deeply grateful. My relationship with the Savior has deepened and increased so much this week. I feel so much more happy, positive, and peaceful now. I know everything is in His hands and that he knows how difficult this has been for me. He has once again literally made my burden light. Although it was the hardest day of the mission, I am so incredibly grateful for it because it humbled me and brought me back to my knees at the feet of my Savior. It was just what I needed. 

 

I testify of the overarching power of the atonement. There isn´t a single thing in the entire world that the atonement doesn´t cover. You are never too far gone or too unimportant for the power of the atonement to help, heal, and change you. The atonement has carried me again and again, day after day. It is the reason I keep moving forward and the reason that I can say “Come what may and love it”. I promise that the atonement will carry you as well if you will just come to Christ and let Him help. I really am so happy out here because Christ is my joy. I can´t wait for this next week because I’m positive that we´re going to see some awesome miracles. 

 

Love you all! 

Hermana Israelsen

The Gospel of Change – February 10, 2014

 

Overall things are going great. I´ve been reflecting a lot on how much the mission has changed me lately. There is nothing in the world that I would rather be doing right now than serving a mission. It has been the best thing I have done in my life FOR my life. The Lord has helped me to change more than I ever thought possible and the things I have learned will bless me for the rest of my life. 

 

Change - that´s what the gospel is about right? Change. Changing our hearts and views. Changing our view of ourself, the Lord, and the world. The gospel is really all about change and becoming better. The Lord doesn´t expect us to make this change in one night though. It´s by the little things we do that we change most often. It´s when we stop doing the little, basic things that we start changing. As we stop reading the scriptures daily, praying, and going to church every Sunday that we start taking little steps away from the Lord and before we know it we´ve changed into someone that we don´t want to be. The opposite, however, is also true. As we BEGIN to read the scriptures every day, pray, and go to church to take the sacrament each Sunday that we see big changes in our lives. By small and simple things, the Lord will bring about great things. I love you all and I most definitely love this gospel and my Savior. Keep doing those little things each day and I promise you that they will one day qualify you for great things. 

Try a little harder to be a little better

LOVE YOU!!!

Hermana Israelsen

 

HE CHANGES MY ANGUISH TO SWEETNESS – February 3, 2014

I’m ridiculously happy. I love this work, I love my companion, I love my mission and I love the Lord!!!! 

The work has slowed down for a minute here. The Lord is once again trying my faith. I know that there are some things that I need to change so that I can be more effective in the hands of the Lord. I truly need repentance each and every day. The atonement is amazing. I still marvel at the fact that the Lord continues to give me the chance to start over each day even when I make the same mistake day after day after day. I´m trying my best and still fall short but the Lord makes my efforts sufficient. I´ve been thinking back over some of the trials that I’ve had in my life and how they´ve gotten me to where I am now. It also brought me to think about how the Savior is the only one who can change some of the most difficult and bitter moments of our lives into something sweet. He changes our anguish to sweetness. I can honestly look back at some of the most painful and difficult trials that I’ve had in my life with gratitude because all of the difficult moments in my life are made sweet in Christ. He is the reason I wake up each day at the crack of dawn (more tired than the day before), put on a nametag, and go talk in another language to random people in a foreign country all day, every day. He is the reason I get out of bed and keep pushing myself forward. He´s the reason I can do it all with a smile on my face.  

Love you all!

Hermana Israelsen

“Oh it is wonderful to know that our Heavenly Father loves us, even with all of our flaws. His love is such that even should we give up on ourselves, He never will. We see ourselves in terms of yesterday and today. He sees us in terms of forever. He sees us as the glorious beings that we are capable of becoming.¨

Truly Converted…..January 20, 2014

Truly Converted…..January 20, 2014

Where to start. 

I can´t remember a time in my mission where I’ve been this happy! It has a lot to do with my companion. She is the greatest and every aspect of the work is fun together. It also helps that the language isn´t as big as an issue now,  and that I have more experience now. Things are great but that doesn´t mean that we still don´t have hard days. We face those hard days together though! I feel so incredibly lucky to have her as my companion!

 

My comp and I had an experience that I’ll never forget. This woman was waiting for the two of us. She was waiting for our companionship. At the end of the lesson her whole attitude changed. The next time we came back she had read Alma chapter 36 in the Book of Mormon that talks about an experience of repentance and she told us that it entered into her heart with such force that she couldn´t deny that it was true. Ever since then she has been soaking up the gospel like a sponge! She was so happy, energetic, funny, faithful, and positive. She has come to the Lord with all of her heart, mind, and strength. She has truly applied the atonement to her life as she has made changes to bring her life more in harmony with the teachings of Jesus Christ.

 

Watching her change has made me reflect on my own life a lot. Repentance has taken on a whole new meaning to me after watching her. Repentance is truly my favorite word. It´s true what it says in Doctrine and Covenants 18 when it talks about the joy that you will have if you bring a soul to Christ. It´s something that just can´t be put into words. The atonement works. It changes us - inside and out. 

 

Daily repentance is something that has brought me so much joy. Yes, I’m not perfect and yes, I make mistakes everyday but how wonderful is it that I can start over every single day because of the Savior. I can try a little harder each day to be a little better thanks to Him. I love the work and I love the Savior and His gift to me. 

Try a little harder to be a little better

Love you all!!!

Hermana Israelsen

 

Mountains are tough to climb…but the view is breathtaking January 13, 2014

I could not imagine being any happier at this moment. My new companion and I have been waiting so long to be companions and now it´s actually happening. The Lord has been preparing us for 9 months to be companions. I honestly cannot tell you how happy I am to be with this girl. We go SO well together. We teach as one, completely and fully unified. It´s amazing! I love teaching with her, planning with her, talking with her, and working with her. The next 3 months are going to be pretty sweet! We´re going to have to face some challenges together but no worries. We´re gonna take ´em as they come. I have to keep pinching myself to check if this is really happening. DREAMS COME TRUE!

Well, I’ve climbed some crazy mountains over the past 9 months but now I get to take a moment and take in the view. I didn´t know that I could be this happy. The Lord has blessed me with an amazing area, phenomenal companion, wonderful leaders, a great ward, and miracle investigators. I am full of gratitude to the Lord. I know I still have quite a few more mountains to climb before I come home but I’m looking forward to them. If every mountain had as great of a view as this one than I would sprint up every mountain. 

 

Just know that I´m happier than I’ve been in months and months! The Lord is just getting started here. We´re gonna see some big miracles here in the next 3 months.

I´m so grateful for every challenge I’ve had on the mission. There are some challenges that I would never ever repeat but that doesn´t mean I’m not grateful for them. Have an amazing week and just remember that trials don´t last forever. There´s always a little break to take in the view. The Lord will be there to show it to you.

Love you!

Hermana Israelsen