"Eugene, do you want this all to be true?"
"Yes! Yeah, I do."
And that right there, folks, is all God needs.
This week was full of intruiging contradictions. It was also full of waffles. My loving family sent me one for my birthday, (they know me too well) and the first day of having it we cooked waffles, quesadillas, and chocolate chip cookies in it. Since then we have also made grilled cheese sandwhiches and more waffles. Welcome to "Life Hacks with the Tralee Three!" Next weeks episode: How to conserve toilet paper during a pandemic!
Friday morning while I ran a 5k up and down the hallway to shake off some bad vibes my lovely companions made waffles. Because they're the bestest companions in the whole world. Really, do I ever need to get married if we can just be roommates for the rest of my life? The answer is yes, because of the Plan of Salvation. And also because THEY want to get married one day, which is why they've been cooking more and passing off recipes with me so that I can give them their "Wifeable" certificate at the end of the transfer. Who am I kidding though? I'm like 12.
Let's go back to talking about desires for 1/2 a second and then I'll fill you in on the work here in Tralee because the Lord is hastening his work here in the smallest branch in Ireland!
Alma 29:4
4 I ought not to harrow up in my desires the firm decree of a just God, for I know that he granteth unto men according to their desire, whether it be unto death or unto life; yea, I know that he allotteth unto men, yea, decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable, according to their wills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction.
Perfect. Copying and pasting that took 1/2 a second, so I'm done now. That's all. But really, that's all you need to know. God grants men according to their desires. To determine your trajectory in life, take a good long look inside your heart. If you desire piles of gold but desire to sit on the couch all day even more, you know what comes next!
Eugene desires that the messages we have been sharing with him these past few weeks are true. He really wants them to be. And even cooler? He keeps commitments! He's working towards these desires, and praying to God to confirm the truthfulness of what we've been telling Him, and it's working!! It just makes my heart so happy to see the gospel in action.
We found Eugene by randomly friending him on Facebook and asking if he wanted to learn more. He declined our offer. But then he watched our first Sunday Sunshine Hour and changed his mind! He's watched them every week since and is such a good friend.
Other Sunday Sunshine miracles: our friend Geraldine LOVES them and said she walks around the house afterwards singing the songs to herself and her daughter thinks she's crazy, but yesterday she said, "I couldn't keep all this peace and joy to myself so I shared the link with my friend! I hope she watches it!" We've also been able to reach out to some other member's friends + family through Sunday Sunshine which has been nice.
About those, they are AWKWARD and FAR FROM PERFECT and we don't actually know what we're doing and we miss real church so much, but they're a good little way to bring some light into some otherwise dark n dreary days. We've had a couple people even say that they aren't really religious but that they still enjoyed it. So yay. At least looking like a dork and fixing my hair on camera is worth it.
The Europe Area Presidency invited us to teach the First vision to all the members this spring, so we have gone ham on that and it has been so amazing!! The lessons have been some of the highlights of my whole entire mission these couple weeks. We simply read with them, talk to them about what first sparked their testimonies, and how they've kept them strong and it is SO INSPIRING. It's so touching to hear about everyone's experiences with learning for themselves that it's true! Joseph Smith's experience was for all of us. But at the same time, it was for him. We are invited to each have a sacred grove experience just like him, and I know we can if we truly desire to know our savior Jesus Christ!
And just like that, we're back to that word again. Desire. It's beautiful, when conciously cultivated. Brigham Young said: “The greatest and most important labour we have to perform is to cultivate ourselves.”
Kinda related! We gotta know what we want or we'll never get there. It's been fun to see the ways my desires have changed throughout the course of my mission, particularly my time in quarantine.
Anywho, life is good here in Tralee. We do a lot of our finding from the comfort of our beds and nobody knows. Except you now, but it's a secret. We play phone roulette tossing the phone from one bed to the next, each calling one person until someone answers. It's proved quite effective so far and we've been able to set up lots of appointments to teach people who were formerly or potentially interested!
Speaking of which, I'm going back to bed now, so that's me finished. Thank goodness, You're probably thinking!
Well truthfully I'm NOT going back to bed, I'm probably going to eat some leftover fry bread. I wonder if I can retoast it in the waffle maker?
I hope your week is right as rain! Please let me know what I can do for you! And specifically pray for on your behalf! Or if you have any waffle ideas!
Probably dehydrated,
Sister Allen x
ps. I LITERALLY PROMISED MYSELF I'D MAKE THIS ONE SUPER SHORT IM SO SORRY.
