We learned there are 210 missionaries in the Sydney North Mission -- 72 who are Sisters! (There were about 12-15 Sisters 18 mos ago in a combined Sydney mission. They have six Training Sisters of which Alex is one who travel throughout the mission training other Sisters and serving with them typically for 24 hours.
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| Sister Training Leaders |
Hello Beautiful Family!!!!!
I love you so much!
Remember the divinity that you have and how much your daughter in Toronto, Australia loves you. I promise that I will make your sacrifices and the days that you miss me worth it. :)
No big deal.
I was in the midst of a Member of the 12 this week! I will be a better person from here on out because Elder Russell M. Nelson came and visited us and shook my hand. He also took the time to help me and change my life.
Here's my letta! xxo
Well! It’s quite the task to try and summarize all that I have learned and experienced this week. This week has been amazing! The most revelatory of my entire mission and I have felt the Spirit teaching me and filling me with love every hour of each day.
At the start of this week we had trade offs with the Medowie Sisters. I worked with Sister E again and it was great to follow up with what we discussed last time and the goals we had set. It is amazing to witness her growth in just a few weeks.
One of the core experiences that I had with God this week came through the most subtle and beautiful answer to my prayers.On Monday night and Tuesday morning I was feeling a little off. Physically I wasn’t feeling well and I prayed and pleaded with Heavenly Father that I could let go of any thoughts about myself and focus on helping Sister E with whatever she needed.
I prayed so hard that I would be feel of God’s love for her so that I could help her and lift her. During companion study, we sang “How Firm a Foundation” for our opening hymn. As we sang the last verse, my heart felt like it might explode! I tried to blink back tears but I felt like Heavenly Father was speaking the words directly to me. The lyrics read:
The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose
I will not, I will not, desert to his foes
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake!
I then looked up the verses in the Bible that corresponds in the scriptures in ISA 41:10 and it says:
“Fear thou not; for I am with thee; be not dismayed; for I am thy god; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yeah I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness… For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, fear not; I will help thee.”
Don’t ever try and tell me that God doesn’t answer prayers! It was the most profound and beautiful experience reminding me of God’s love for me. I know that going through refining trials is a part of our existence, and even though He could, Heavenly Father doesn’t always take the trial from us. But for me that day, it was that little glimpse of hope and His gentle and loving reminder that He will never forsake me, no matter what. No matter the trial and how alone we might feel.
I love those burning feelings I get from the Spirit because I can’t deny for a second the love God has for me and all of His children. In the red book there is a powerful statement that says
“We have a front row seat to the greatest miracle of all; the effect of Christ’s Atonement on individuals and families.”
There really is nothing greater-- than understanding the Atonement and witnessing it in so many people’s lives, including my own. Just like President Hamula said,
“The greatest miracle that we will see is when we look in the mirror at the end of your service and recognize that change that could never have been done by man alone.”
I loved how President Hamula talked about grace and how miracles and eternal progressions are given line upon line and precept upon precept. (2 NE 28) We can’t expect to be perfect today, but we can expect and give infinite thanks that through the Atonement of our Saviour, we can be better than we were yesterday. And that is a miracle.
Along those same lines, I loved how Elder Nelson talked about how the Lord uses the unlikely to accomplish the impossible. He spoke about Gideon’s army in JUD 7 and how his army was reduced to 300 people and the Lord then was pleased when the odds were 300 vs. 150,000. Then, when they won the war, they knew it was only because of divine help.
He chose a 14-year-old boy to restore the gospel; so that there was absolutely no misunderstanding of whose work it is. When the gospel fills the earth, it will be by His help, because He has chosen people like me (weaknesses and all!) to go out and preach the gospel!
When I opened my call to Sydney Australia it was a miracle! When I received my endowment, it was a miracle. When I received my visa it was a miracle. When our investigators come to church it is a miracle! Everything that the Lord blesses us with is to help accomplish his work and we get to be a part of it.
We had the opportunity to shake Elder and Sister Nelson’s hands at our conference. I will forever remember the look in their eyes as I shook their hands; and later, when he and his wife came to the piano as I was playing “There is Sunshine in My soul Today” and thanked me for the music.
The lessons that I learned from Elder Nelson were the things that were unsaid. For me it was the love that I felt from him and the potential that we all have to be like him. It was the first time in my life that I feel like I have been in the presence of someone who was almost like the Saviour. Of course he is not perfect, but I learned from the Spirit that he showed us and helped us feel that that level of sanctification is possible in this life. I too, can reach that level while I am here on earth.
It was witnessed to me again when he left the room. I felt like I was one of the Nephites when the Saviour left and ascended into heaven, because I didn’t want that Spirit to leave. But it doesn’t have to and it has propelled me to become more sanctified.
Teaching as Jesus taught came from a lesson that we taught on the Plan of Salvation (POS). Before we went into the appointment, I prayed that we could teach with the same spirit that E. Nelson did and leave them wanting more because of the Spirit they felt. We were teaching a family and started off by watching the Mormon Message about the POS. I felt prompted not to talk, but to ask if they had an experience they could share how the POS has given them hope. Immediately, a sister burst out in tears and bore her testimony because of a cousin who had been killed in a car accident. At first I was nervous that we had upset everyone and dampened their spirits. I looked at the people’s faces who aren’t members-- a newly wed couple, a few less actives, and grandparents and their eyes were filled with tears because in that moment, I know they realized the potential we all have to receive the fullness of God’s gospel and the understanding of His plan of happiness that extends throughout eternity.
Yesterday in church a member talked about the comparison that we can have with the beloved Disney movie, Lion king! She reminded us how Simba lost his way but because his father appeared to him in the sky and said the words, “Simba, remember who you are” he was able to leave his “sins” and previous rebellion and come back and rescue the kingdom and fulfill his potential.
Elder J also shared the story of the spyglass. My favorite line from the story was after the king had seen the potential of his kingdom, the old man told him: “you have seen what might be, now go and make it so.”
I pray that I will do everything I can to
go and make it so.
I love you to the moon and back!
xoxoxoxoxoxoox
Sista Alex Lloyd
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