Post Falls Snow

 it was so cold

​me crying because of the wind

Nicole's Letter: December 12, 2016

"Another Week, Another Letter"

Bula!
Well it has officially snowed here.  I have to admit the first snow fall is pretty pretty.  And also everyone is so friendly when it snows (well at least the first snowfall...probably not nice in January or February but we aren't there yet so might as well enjoy the magic of snow in December.)  I have found that snow is just like sand.  Really hard to walk in, gives you a nice workout. the only difference is one is cold and one is hot:) We were walking all day Saturday (okay well we walk everyday) but anyways it was Saturday and people were saying hello to us and smiling and talking to us! So weird! We met this really nice young mom and we are trying to go back later this week so hopefully it will turn out.  I am praying so hard to teach a family, well just teach someone.  It is a bit slow here.  I just want someone to teach....
Here is what I have learned this week...

Everyone go read Mosiah 23-25... The people of Alma are so amazing.  If only I could be like that.  They had so much trust in the Lord even though there lives were terrible.  I mean they were in bondage and they still turned to the Lord and cried mightly until them.  I mean how many times do we turn away from God because he "doesn't" answer a prayer or our life just isn't going the way we would like.  I am trying to become like the people of Alma and "submit cheerfully and with patience to ALL the will of the Lord".  We have so much to be grateful for and we always have the Lord and he always hears us.  That doesn't mean that he will take us out of "bondage" immediately but he will ease our burdens that we can keep going on.  Even though it might not seem like our burdens are lighter they most definitely are with him.  I love this gospel so much.  It does brings ever-lasting happiness.  It provides hope for us for a better world to come.  No matter how dark the day is he is the LIGHT and light always dispels darkness.  Just like the phases of the moon.  The moon relation to the sun determines what phase it is in whether it be full moon or new moon.  We are just like the moon.  It is our relationship to the Son that gives us the amount of light we receive. 

Also, WHAT I LOVE
We become more significant individuals as we serve others. We become more substantive as we serve others—indeed, it is easier to find ourselves because there is more of us to find.
George McDonald observed that “it is by loving and not by being loved that one can come nearest to the soul of another.” Of course, we all need to be loved, but we must be giving and not always receiving if we want to have wholeness in our lives and a reinforced sense of purpose.
Sometimes the solution is not to change our circumstance but to change our attitude about that circumstance; difficulties are often opportunities for service. It has been said that hell “is to be frozen in self-pity.”
One of the Brethren has observed:
“If we are not careful, we can be injured by the frostbite of frustration; we can be frozen in place by the chill of unmet expectations. To avoid this, we must—just as we would with arctic coldness—keep moving, keep serving, and keep reaching out so that our own immobility does not become our chief danger.”
Spencer W. Kimball, The New Era, September 1974

Also, The BOOK of Mormon has power in it.  It changes lives.  I can see it not only in my life but also in others.  We have a less active that is super rough and has had a hard life but she has read half of the book in a week and I see the light beginning to come back in her eyes. 

So we did get a car but we only have 10 miles a day so we just drive it at night but man is it cold!!  One day the wind was so cold I was positive that I was not coming home with all my limbs...

We met with the Estes family and we have been trying to meet with them since I have gotten here so that was pretty exciting! The dad and one of his sons is a member but less active but his wife and other two kids aren't members.  They are super funny.  I really like them.  hopefully we will meet with them again.  A lot of people are standing us up which is so annoying but one day everything will pay off!!  Lane, our investigator who is suppose to be baptized on the 24th didn't show to any of our lessons and church and won't stop smoking so that is really saddening.  Lee and Dee who is the elderly couple who had us over for thanksgiving dinner is so nice! This week Lee, the grandpa, said he wished that we were his daughters and then Dee said that we are her angels.  They are not interested in our message but they are warming up slowly.  We vacuum there house every week and they just love us and would do anything for us.  I really am grateful for them.  Loving it out here in Post Falls.  There are some tough days but that is life, right?

love

Sister Stevenson