Sister Kathleen Leausa: Sunday, May 23, 2016

Hi everyone :)

Geez. its been awhile, noh? since I've written a weekly email, a "thoughtful" one at least. hah! i wish i could say its because i haven't had time to write one. But, that would be a lie.

This last month has been on of the hardest months of my life. this transfer has been the most challenging one by far. trial after trial, struggle after struggle...challenge after challenge. i can remember a couple weeks ago i wrote in my journal, "i just want to go home." nothing was going right, at least that's what i thought. my comp and i hated each other, our area was not progressing, and it felt like we were getting no kind of help from our ward. in my eyes, everything was just falling apart. i have to be honest, i really did just want to come home.

BUT! "mama didn't raise no quitter!" haha! it wasn't until yesterday at church that i FINALLY began to understand. the topic given to the sacrament speakers was adversary. so, of course, all of them shared about the trials and challenges we face in our lives. one sister, assigned to speak, shared a story about a car accident that their family was involved in. long story short, the accident was caused by the family and as a result, one person died. not in their family, but in the other car. im sure we can imagine the impact of the death of that one man on this family. that a pretty heavy burden to bare; a pretty big trial. the sister mentioned how devastated she was and how at first she had no clue how to deal with the trail. while on the other hand, her husband, he was shaken up too, but he told his wife, " im happy to be going through this trial. it helps me to better understand my heavenly father."

throughout the rest of her talk, i jotted down a few other things about trials in our lives:

Trials help us to use our free agency wisely.
Through trials, we learn to trust the lord more.
Do we see trials and challenges as stumbling blocks or stepping stones?

Tribulation will be our constant companion; everything depends on how we react to it.i took the things this sister said and applied them to my "oh so difficult" mission. and after taking a good, hard look at things, the problem wasn't my comp, its wasn't my area, and it wasn't my ward...its was ME :) my heavenly father has placed in my path stepping stones, and i viewed them as stumbling blocks. he blessed my life with a companion who would help me become more of the woman God intended me to be, and i viewed her as naught. he was asking me to trust him and his plan for me, but i was wanted to complain and beg for things to go my way. he was asking me to endure and i was failing...MISERABLY!

In the book of acts, new testament, chapter 14 verse 22, we learn that we enter the kingdom of god through tribulation. in the book of alma, book of mormon, chapter 38 verse 5, we learn that as we put our trust in the lord, we will be able to get through AND over our trials. and my all time favorite, doctrine and covenants, section 122 versus 5-8. we learn that all the hard, sucky things we go through in life are for our own benefit; to help us gain experience and become more lie our savior, Jesus Christ.

I sit back and think about this last month. at first, what i thought to be the transfer from hell. hahaha! but now, what has become the greatest learning experience ever :)

I testify that god lives, jesus is the christ. only through trials, tribulations, and challenges will we ever be able to understand our heavenly fathers plan for us. only through tribulation will we find TRUE joy. i testify that god DOES answer prayers; hes answered mine in so many ways. and for that i am truly grateful :) for those of you who think the world is ending, like i did, i promise you ITS NOT. hahaha! keep pushing! try looking at things from a different angle. try to see the lesson the lord is having you learn. when you do, i promise you, youll look back at the trail and say, "thats it?!" :) i leave you this week with one of my favorite quotes in hopes that this weeks "trials" are viewed as blessings :)

"THE TEST A LOVING GOD HAS SET BEFORE US IS NOT TO SEE IF WE CAN ENDURE DIFFICULTY. IT IS TO SEE IF WE CAN ENDURE IT WELL. WE PASS THE TEST BY SHOWING THAT WE REMEMBER HIM AND THE COMMANDMENTS HE GAVE US."

I love you all soooo much! and hope you have an amazing week!

Sister Leausa

"This is Sister Janet. She is from Palawan, one of the prettiest places in the PI. She is our most progressing investigator at the moment and i LOVE her! She has a baptismal date for June 11 that we are so excited for."