Called to Serve: 6 Months a Missionary!

This has been a pretty awesome week! We had a lot of success with finding some new investigators this week. We had some really good lessons that could be a game changer for a few investigators. We are really excited to see what the Lord has in store for them.

Tuesday night and wednesday, I went on an exchange with Sister Willis in Milton. That was really good. I love that missionary work always has the same great spirit anywhere you go. It is amazing to feel how much the Lord loves each and every one of us! I got to testify about the temple in a lesson that we had with a less active. It was really great. The spirit bore witness so strongly. There is no denying that. There is no better feeling in the world than helping others recongnize the spirit. I absolutely love it!

Sunday was great as always! We had 1 investigator at church, as well as two less actives. The entire Pensacola ward was expecting me to be transferred this week, so they were all telling me that i needed to let them know if i was leaving so we could say goodbye. haha That was an adventure... To our surprise, Sister Peterson and I will be staying in Pensacola for another transfer! So I get to spend more time with all these amazing people that I love so dearly. Also, on sunday,Ermlisa got a calling to be an achievment days leader in the ward. So that was super exciting for her! She will do a great job!

Well since this week is Thanksgiving, it is only appropriate that I share what I am grateful for.

I am so grateful that I made the choice to serve a mission. I have learned so many things in such a short amount of time. Things that I definitely would not have been able to learn anywhere else. I have learned how to love people for who they are, Children of God. I have been able to feel of the love that our Father in Heaven has for them, and that is truly incredible. There is nothing more powerful than being in a lesson and seeing the Spirit working within the person you are teaching. It is something I will never forget.

I am so grateful for my parents, and the many important things they taught me as a child. I am so grateful to have been raised in a family centered on the teachings fo the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To witness people who have been searching all of their lives to find the truth has made me really appreciate where i come from. By no means was i anywhere near perfect. Another great lesson that my mission has taught me has been humility and repentence. I often associated the word repentence with negativity, like i had done something terribly wrong. However, Repentence is one of the most beautiful things we have been given. We are given the chance to change, and become better. We are given the chance to see ourselves the way our Father in Heaven sees us, and build upon that. I am most grateful for our beloved Savior Jesus Christ. I think of the many things that he suffered for each of us individually and collectively, making it possible for us to repent, and eventually return to our Father in Heaven. I am so grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is so very simple. Faith, repentence, Baptism, Recieving the Gift of the Holy Ghost and Enduring to the end. It is absolutely perfect. By doing those five simple things, we are able to recieve a "mighty change of heart" we can "become saints thorugh the atonement of Christ." The knowledge of the gospel has blessed my life and has brought such peace, and joy. I have seen it change my own life as well as others that I have shared it with. I know that our savior lives. It is only through Christ that we can return to our loving father in heaven. They have a plan for each of us. They love us and want us to be all that we can be and more. The more gratitude we show to our father in heaven, the easier it will be for us to see his plan for us each individually.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! And remember what you are most grateful for :)

Sister Melissa Jean Wood

Florida Tallahassee Mission