Sister Clifford: Week #16 in Alabama: "Grateful in ALL Things"

Sister Clifford: Week #16 in Alabama: "Grateful in ALL Things"

HI EVERYONE!!! How are you?? I hope everyone had an awesome Thanksgiving week! Mine was GREAT.

This morning we had an awesome Zone Activity at an island were they filmed the movie, "BIG FISH". It was so much fun!!! The missionaries in my zone are so awesome.

Also, next week we are going to the temple which I am really excited about. I love the temple so much. Our P-day will be the same day, so I won't have much time to write home next week FYI!

So first off, so many amazing things happened this week! One of the best weeks ever.

     Quick MIRACLE story from this week! Last Monday night, a ward member took us out to I-Hop for dinner. So we met her there and walked in and right when we turn the corner a guy that worked there yells our names and turns to all the other waiters and goes, "EVERYONE!!! These are my missionary girls. They are amazing. I pray for them and they always keep me in their prayers!!!". It was the funniest/best moment ever. So this man's name is Anthony and we had tracted into him a few weeks ago in a trailer park and gave him a Book of Mormon. He was super interested and so nice, but we lost contact with him until last Monday night. It was such a cool experience because he had remembered us and we were able to find him and talk with him again. Heavenly Father put us there at just the right night. It is moments like these that make the mission the BEST.

      Also, funny story of the week! So Sister Oscarson and I had a feeling the other night that we should go see if a lady named April was home. April was a lady we found a couple of weeks ago and she is so awesome! She has been reading the Book of Mormon but it has been impossible to get in contact with her and all our appointments have fallen through. BUT we decided to try her again a few nights ago & SHE ANSWERED AND WAS HOME. Such a miracle. She invited us in and looked at us right away and goes "Okay what are we reading?" and pulls out her Book of Mormon and we were able to read with her. She is awesome! Now, this is the funny part. After we read, she asked us if she could pray for us and it was the best/craziest thing I have ever witnessed. She turned on a song (YES, A SONG ABOUT PRAYER) AND starts shouting "IN THE NAME OF JESUS!!!" for probably about 15 minutes. It never ended. We just got in our car and died laughing!!! April is so sweet though.. gotta love her ;)

   We got some sad news this week. Our cute investigator Megan moved out of her trailer and left her CRAZY husband. It honestly is a blessing because he was terrible to her, but we are heartbroken because she moved out of our area :( She texted us and thanked us for being such good friends to her. My  heart broke. But the most amazing thing happened! So we decided to stop by and see Megan's old neighbor and as we were driving up, Megan came out of her house and we were able to see her!!! She told us that she had left a couple of things and so her friend drove her back to grab them. She looked at us and said, "you both couldn't have timed this more perfect." We were able to actually say bye and remind her to always read the Book of Mormon. Bearing our testimonies to her was amazing. Miracle #3 this week!

  This week was seriously FULL of miracles!!! Another cool thing that happened this week was when we were contacting in Walmart. We have been trying to get a hold of our investigator Raquel and she hasn't been getting back to us. BUT as we were in Walmart the other night, we saw her!!! She came up to us and gave us a hug and talked with us. It was so amazing to be able to see her again!

    We also were able to have a great lesson with our investigator Felicia and her kids. She loves church, but she feels like she isn't ready to be baptized yet. She has been to church for so long now, loves the scriptures and has been praying a ton. She just kept telling us how she hasn't gotten an answer yet. During the lesson, the spirit just kept telling me to "BE BOLD" with her. Which honestly was so scary to do and to trust that prompting. But I did! She had told us that she is waiting for something to tell her or a feeling to come over her and then she would know it was right. After she said this I looked at her and asked her if she was praying about getting baptized. She then looked at me and said, "Actually I am not". I immediately said, "how do you expect to know if you aren't asking God if it's right?". We then challenged her to pray about it and ask Heavenly Father if it is right. She said she would. She is so awesome! It was a powerful lesson.

   This week, I really challenged myself to trust and rely on the spirit. I prayed this week to be able to know what to say and when to say it. It definitely completely changed my perspective on missionary work. I was able to see so many blessings and miracles because I simply trusted and relied on the Spirit. Being bold can work miracles.

    This week we went on an exchange with the Millbrook sisters and they are AMAZING! It was so much fun! I was able to be with the amazing Sister Farr and it was such an incredible exchange. We had a lesson with their investigator Chuck, who I have been fortunate to teach before, and it was such a a powerful lesson. I have never felt the spirit so strong. It made me really truly love my mission and the work I have been assigned to do. Chuck is an older man and he always tells us how he feels like God is so disappointed in him because of the choices he has made in his life. It was so sad to hear. He wants to be baptized, but is working on quitting smoking. He kept telling us that he just feels like the adversary wants to take him down and he is having a hard time. I immediately shared this scripture with him:

Helaman 5:12

  12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the arock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your bfoundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty cstorm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

And he just looked at me and said "WOW". He then told us how he has been praying this week about the worr "remember". He has asked God in his prayers to help him to remember this Gospel, remember to read the Book of Mormon and to remember to be grateful. After this lesson, I really took time to reflect on the word 'remember', just like Chuck. I thought of the the scripture found in Helaman 11:7.

7 And it came to pass that the people saw that they were about to perish by famine, and they began to aremember the Lord their God.

There is so much power in this scripture. In the scriptures-- During the famine they faced and the trials that were ahead of them, they REMEMBERED God.

We must always choose to remember God and to remember all that He has given us.

Our Thanksgiving Day was also such a great day! We had dinner at 2 members homes and it was such a BLAST. We felt right at home. It was a great day. I love this time of year when we can remember to be grateful IN ALL THINGS.

A quote that I have been really focusing on this week is:

Being grateful in our circumstances is an act of faith in God. It requires that we trust God and hope for things we may not see but which are true. By being grateful, we follow the example of our beloved Savior, who said, “Not my will, but thine, be done.” True gratitude is an expression of hope and testimony. It comes from acknowledging that we do not always understand the trials of life but trusting that one day we will. - By President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

I know that if we trust God and choose to have an attitude of GRATITUDE, everything can change. I am grateful for missionary work and the peace and happiness it brings to me. Some days are hard, BUT it is worth it. My heart is so full. The blessings and miracles I see everyday are AMAZING. I am truly blessed. I love Alabama. I love my Heavenly Father. I would challenge you all this week to truly REMEMBER all that he has given us.

I love you all!!!! I hope everyone has a great week!

xoxoxo

sista clifford