Hello!!

Hello my dearest loved ones!!

Well first of all we have heard news about moving! We were told last

week that we are officially moving!! And then President called today

and told us that we are moving to Macungie, Pa on April 30! Which

should be fun! Anyway!

I hope everyone had a great week! My week was pretty hard, but in all

honesty I wouldn't want it any other way. Because the way I see it if

it isn't hard then you're not growing. Plus, what do you expect as a

missionary?! :) all the best things in life never come easy. I am

grateful for the hardships. Because it's in those times, that I found

we grow the most. And that's exactly how this week went! It was hard

but I learned SO much. And honestly this week was very uneventful, and

so considering what to write about I figured I'd just kinda make this

email one big giant spiritual thought! :)

The one thing I have tried to study and learn most about this week(and

since the very beginning of my mission) is agency, and all it

encompasses. Not only is our agency a gift from Heavenly Father and

allows us our freedom to choose between right and wrong and good and

evil, but but it's our ability to choose in the biggest and the

smallest decisions in life. This week I watched a few people who I've

become very close to out here, go through some pretty tough things.

(sorry to be so vague but i can only leave it at that) But watching

how drastically different some peoples attitudes were compared to

others. I watched how two sisters, Beth and Annie who were in the same

situation, handled it so differently. Beth was trying, in whatever way

she could to handle things in a positive way by trying to have faith

through this temporary trial that had come up and Annie was acting as

if she were ready to just give up entirely, because everything was

just getting too hard. I kept wondering what made the difference in

this situation and then it hit me. They were both simply exercising

their agency. One chose to try and be encouraging, have faith, be

positive, and keep going. While the other simply complained, acted

out, and just flat out had a bad attitude. (sounds harsh i know haha

but its true.) Now this doesn't mean that one sister was better than

the other, it just simply means that they both chose how they were

going to react to the situation. Over and over again i heard Beth

remind her sister that her attitude was her choice. I later asked Beth

how she was able to stay so calm while her sister was acting the

complete opposite. She told me that she had realized how much of her

attitude was her choice. And that even though she felt like getting

angry with her sister, she simply chose not to. She knew that if they

both acted in a negative way then there wouldnt be an opporunity to

progress and grow, but rather it wouldn't do either of them any good.

I found that to be very true. All turned out to be well and Beth and

Annie were fine.

But immediately after this I thought about the key role of the gift of

our agency. And during my personal study the other day I remembered

these famous verses from Doctrine & Covenants 121 when the Lord is

speaking to Joseph Smith and he says,

"My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions

shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God

shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes."

And then immediately after reading those verses I was reminded of a

quote by President Uchtdorf when he said, 'it's not the adversity

itself, but rather our reaction in the face of adversity that will

determine how our life's story will develop."

And I thought about how true that is! The Lord even told Joseph that

Himself. And as I have been studying the scriptures more and more (I

SERIOUSLY LOVE THE SCRIPTURES!!) I saw just how often we see this very

principle of agency being used in the midst of trials throughout the

scriptures. For example...Laman, Lemuel, Nephi and Sam. More than a

few times they were all in the same situations. But Laman and Lemuel

just complained and always had bad attitudes. Whereas Nephi and Sam

looked forward with Faith, and they knew that no matter how hard their

trials, the Lord would deliver them. And how many other times do you

see this pattern throughout the scriptures?? Countless times I can

tell you. I could seriously go on and on. But time is running short

haha... But my dear sweet Eminem sent me this quote by President

Monson when he said "Decisions, Determine, Destiny!" And obviously

that is so true.

Our decisions determine who we become, and our attitude towards those

situations and decisions show how willing we are to try and become

more like our Savior.

I also read over the conference talks again and one in particular was

one of my favorites. It was called "Choose To Believe" by Elder L.

Whitney Clayton. And if you remember he told the story of a young girl

who was in a plane crash with her family. Everyone in her family was

killed in the accident and though she had suffered much already she

set out looking for help. He goes on to explain how as she was

wondering through the darkness she climbed up to a peak and saw a

light out in the distance. She hoped that if she could just get to

that light she could find help. And so she kept pushing her way toward

that light.

He said "she saw a light in the distance and fought her way to

it--notwithstanding the wild countryside, the depth of the tragedy she

faced, and the injuries she had sustained. It is hard to imagine how

[she] managed to do what she did that night. But what we do know is

that she recognized in the light of that distant house a chance for

rescue. There was hope. She took courage in the fact that no matter

how bad things were, her rescue would be found in that light."

Throughout the talk though he applies it to us personally and though

he seems to be speaking more specifically about our personal

testimonies I thought it still applied in this respect also because I

love how he talks about agency and how it is our CHOICE. He goes on to

say:

"After the crash, [she] had a choice. She could have chosen to stay by

the airplane in the dark, alone and afraid. But there was a long night

ahead, and it was just going to get colder. She chose another way.

[She] climbed up a hill, and there she saw a light on the horizon."

"Gradually, as she made her way through the night toward the light, it

grew brighter. Still, there must have been times when she could not

see it. Perhaps it went out of view when she was in a ravine or behind

trees or bushes, but she pressed on. Whenever she could see the light,

[she] had evidence that she was on the right path. She did not yet

know precisely what that light was, but she kept walking toward it

based on what she knew, trusting and hoping that she would see it

again if she kept moving in the right direction."

"Our lives can be like that too. There may be times when we have been

hurt, when we are tired, and when our lives seem dark and cold. There

may be times when we cannot see any light on the horizon, and we may

feel like giving up. If we are willing to believe, if we desire to

believe, if we choose to believe, then the Savior’s teachings and

example will show us the pathway forward."

I have found that statement to be so true. There are always going to

be hard times, because without them how would we have any

opportunities to grow? He goes on to say,

"Once she had seen [the light] she did her best to move toward it,

remembering what she had seen. We likewise must give place for the

hope that we will find spiritual light by embracing belief rather than

choosing to doubt. Our actions are the evidence of our belief and

become the substance of our faith. We are choosing to believe when we

pray and when we read the scriptures. We are choosing to believe when

we fast, when we keep the Sabbath day holy, and when we worship in the

temple. We are choosing to believe when we are baptized and when we

partake of the sacrament. We are choosing to believe when we repent

and seek divine forgiveness and healing love...Sometimes progress in

spiritual things can seem slow or intermittent. Sometimes we may feel

that we have lost ground, that we have made mistakes, or that our best

efforts to find the Savior are not working. If you feel this way,

please do not give up--ever. Go right on believing in Him and in His

gospel and His Church. Align your actions with that belief. In those

moments when the light of your faith has dimmed, let your hope for the

Savior’s love and grace, found in His gospel and His Church, overcome

your doubt. I promise that He stands ready to receive you. Over time

you will come to see that you have made the best choice you could

possibly have made. Your courageous decision to believe in Him will

bless you immeasurably and forever."

Sorry I kinda just used half of his talk in my entire email but he

seriously makes the point I'm trying to make better than I ever could!

But if I can say anything to just sum this all up then it's this...

Whatever it is that you're going through just remember that it's your

choice. It's your choice how you react in the face of adversity.

Okay I love you all so very much you have no idea!! Please please keep

looking for ways to come unto Christ this week :)

Until next week,

~Sister Amy Callaway~

 And sorry these are the only pics we took this week :)