Unimaginable.

Not enough people have real hope. I will admit I have my days where I really can't see through the thick fog in front of me. That's human. But to think day after day that nothing ever great is going to happen to you--is ridiculous. 

You and I are designed to have the best thing imaginable in our reach. Right now. I know I'm a crazy optimist, but sometimes we think that good things only happen to your best friend, your cousin, or your co-worker (who doesn't seem to be really working that hard,) but guess what? Now here goes the unimaginable...our Father in Heaven has plans for us that are literally so good that no one can imagine them yet. Those He has saved for YOU.

"And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands." (1 Nephi 2:20)

Read it again, and make sure you substitute the word "land" for something that you've been praying hard for lately.

Now, here's the million dollar question: Are you willing to live for it?

I'll be home for [Thanksgiving.]

The holidays have arrived! We're leaving right now to go up to this place:

Tetonia, ID

It's obviously not this green anymore...

And there is now snow on the ground.

So remember how I was talking about my bridge the other week? It keeps getting better. I think the only reason it gets better is because I've kept a miracle journal, and I can go back and actually see what I prayed for and what happened. It's amazing the things you think you'll remember, but you really don't until you go back and look. Like this for instance...

...I got my job back at BYUtv! I start right after I get back from Washington, D.C.. Before my mission, I worked as a PA for BYUtv sports--total dream job as a student, right? That was one of the hardest things to let go to serve, and I prayed a lot to be okay with it. Although sometimes it's hard for missionaries to come back and start sprinting right as they rush into life, that was something I knew The Lord would help me out with. Not specifically that job, but enjoying life and working hard to make it seem seamless.

Speaking of being on TV and Thanksgiving...they would have never allowed me to if I had worked there ten years ago:

Thanksgiving 2003/2013 with Felicia and Mary

Happy Thanksgiving!

Song of the week:

"I've got nothing left to lose, but I'm no pair of dancing shoes...Don't push but don't hesitate. 
Wake me from this slumber...Rush me, but leave time to wake." -Gavin DeGraw

Concept of hope.

“[To have Faith in Christ] means, of course, trying to do all that He says. There would be no sense in saying you trusted a person if you would not take his advice. Thus if you have really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey Him. But trying in a new way, a less worried way. Not doing these things in order to be saved, but because He has begun to save you already. Not hoping to get to Heaven as a reward for your actions, but inevitably wanting to act in a certain way because a first faint gleam of Heaven is already inside you.” -C.S. Lewis

I think I started to understand the concept of faith on one of our trips to Disneyland...

                                                                            

Even when you're not a little kid, it really is as magical as everyone says it is. I don't think anyone could ever go to Disneyland and have a bad day (unless you're really trying to.) It put a hope in my life at such a young age, and gave something to me that I couldn't quite pin down. I didn't have to logically explain why it kept a smile on my face--it just did. 

Alison, Maddie and I went to President Christianson's institute class on Wednesday. He said, "Are you going to question the heart surgeon because you don't know how it works? I don't understand it one bit. And that's why I love it." 

He went on to talk about how none of us really have any idea how He will accomplish this huge task of "saving the world." When we were missionaries, I remember President saying the reason it sounds so familiar, and why we feel a pull to be more faithful is because it's literally in our DNA. It's in our nature to be like Him.  So C.S. Lewis is exactly right. We already have a glimpse of Heaven inside of us. We have to find that talent, that little something that God has given us, and use it to our fullest potential in order to find some sort of concept of hope.

Anyway, onto the events of the week. This one was probably the most fun besides the institute class on Wednesday:

NYRM groupies to the best intramural game on Thursday at 9. I've missed BYU.

Share the good news!

“Sharing the good news of the gospel is easier and the effects more far-reaching than ever before. . . . Perhaps the Lord’s encouragement to ‘open [your] mouths’ might today include ‘use your hands’ to blog and text message the gospel to all the world! . . .with the blessings of modern technology, we can express gratitude and joy about God’s great plan for His children in a way that can be heard . . . around the world. Sometimes a single phrase of testimony can set events in motion that affect someone’s life for eternity.”  — President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

I thought I would just copy the quote from the title page of the Church's social media site because it's fantastic...and because I can't come up with anything better myself. So, does everyone know why social media was even invented in the first place? Satan wants us to think that he created it for his own purposes, but in reality, God's always in charge. He always knows what's going on. It was created for us to share the gospel--plain and simple. Have you ever thought of how we are going get the gospel to the four corners of the earth? Like I said, He's a genius.

When I got an iPad today (!!) after selling my laptop, I realized I could not just read the scriptures and listen to conference talks, but I can have Preach My Gospel read to me and I can study from the most cherished book of the NYRM--Church History in the Fullness of Times. (Okay, I don't know how cherished it was to everyone else, but to me it is like gold.) AND IT'S FREE! Aside from the cost of the actual iPad...but it's the same price as a textbook. Totally worth it. And right now, I'm typing this up right on it. And I could e-mail my investigators back in New York, or post a scripture on a member's wall on Facebook. I'm in a technology shock right now, you'd think I was living under a rock for 18 months! Oh wait...

Anyway, missionary moment of the day I just have to share: I called my landlord in Washington, D.C. today to introduce myself. It didn't take five minutes to have him invited to lessons with the missionaries, and he is excited to talk to me more about it in January. All I had to do was say, "I just returned home from an LDS mission..." and that was it. They ask all the questions, you just have to know how to set the questions up. 

You see, it's all quite simple. People won't think you're stupid. In fact, they'll be wondering how in the world you love your Church so much to share it in everyday conversation, and they'll want to be a part of something that great, too. 

Just open your mouth...or in this case, your hands!

Building my bridge.

My mom calls them bridges. It's those awkward periods in life where you are coming from one thing and going onto the next. Sometimes it's fun to be on them, but if you're on one very long, you get very anxious. Fortunately, I'm building mine pretty fast.

Friday, Allie and I went all out and made it a girls' night--manicures and pedicures included! Finishing out the night cuddling with her while watching 

"The Emporor's New Groove," however, was the best part.

Saturday, right before our session at the Salt Lake Temple, Kadi and I tried to go to Taco Bell for some authentic Mexican food. But of course, on our way, we saw a sign for "New York Delicatessan," and said no more. It was really cool hanging out with my first companion again. Especially our adventures the next night...

After failing to find a single-adult group our age (walking into a 31+ single 

adult activity is kind of embarassing) we ended up here.

Everyone keeps asking me how the transition is going. Really, every returned missionary that talked to me about it before I left New York scared me into coming home--and I think that's what helped! Although everything I do seems pointless, I know in the long run it isn't really. Everyone has made it a very smooth landing back down to earth. I enjoy trying to put my life back together, because I get to start at ground zero. I don't have to do anything I did before, and I don't have to remember any stupid things I did in my pre-mission life. I scored one big tabula rasa.

The best advice was from President Francis. In my exit interview, we counted up the times that I prayed in a day as a missionary, which turned about to be about 30-40 times. He noted that it really wasn't going to be that much anymore, because of a total decrease in lessons taught, companion/site study, etc. However, if I kept up a constant communication with Heavenly Father, by trying to pray just as much, it would be a great landing. My scripture study and strict temple attendance have been crucial in my sanity as well. I didn't even want to risk dropping off the spiritual map.

Let's be honest, though...the biggest I've help I've had is from Jesus Christ. He doesn't just help His full-time missionaries, He helps all of His children. Anytime something gets even close to more than I can handle, I hand it over to Him. He can't do it for me, but He sure can help me find a better way. It's a heck of a lot easier to hand it over to Him from the beginning. 

Eternal perspective, people...it really helps. You can do anything for five minutes. It's basically the same idea with God; our life is like five minutes long in His eyes. 

So yes, the transition has been fantastic.

Where it all began.

A mission can be one of the greatest things in your life. It is the only thing in your life that no one but God can decide. He knows exactly who needs you in the amount of time you've been given. We put our entire trust in Him to send us exactly where we need to be.

When praying about my mission call, where I would go, who I would serve, I had a request that I could serve near a temple of God (and that I could teach the most people in the shortest amount of time). It was a small request, I thought. I already knew I would go wherever the Lord wanted me to go, and be happy about it, but little did I know that a prophet of the Church would go on to say this about the temple that He has placed me next to for the last 18 months:

"I regard this temple as perhaps the most significant, in one respect, in the entire Church," President Hinckley said. "It was right here in the Sacred Grove where it all began."

When I got my call to serve in the New York Rochester Mission, I felt something soft come over me, almost like Heavenly Father himself was wrapping his arms around me. I could almost hear Him telling me, "Here is the place where you will flourish in preaching my gospel. This is where you will bring the light of the gospel to others for the rest of their lives. Here is where you will build my Church." I put my hand over my mouth in disbelief that I had an actual call come straight from God, and not only just a call, but this call. Tears didn't stop flowing as I kept reading the letter from The First Presidency. I realized I was doing exactly the opposite of what my ancestors did--I hitched up my wagon back to the place where it all began. I was going to return to the place they deliberately left. 

So why in the world would I do that? Why only could it be one of the greatest things of my life? Well, it was all about my attitude. It could have been the most horrific experience of my life, as it obviously was for Joseph Smith and my ancestors that followed him from New York all the way to Nauvoo. So why even try to serve a mission in the first place? I'm getting yelled at while freezing, then the next moment I think I'm going into a heat coma, I haven't heard my own mother's voice in over seven months, and we saw one of our best investigators hiding when we came to the door (for the fifth time.) So, with that being said...

I am overwhelmed with the love I have for the people in New York. My heart explodes, and I kinda even start shaking on the inside when I talk about it. I could have totally been miserable for those approximately 545 days I spent on the battlefield. But, couldn't have hand-picked a better place to serve Him. 

Not in a million years.

The Real Deal

Spring cleaning can (sometimes) be a wonderful thing.

Except now it's fall, so I guess I should call it Fall cleaning. Anyway, in digging up all of my old things, I found my C.S. Lewis quote book I bought a couple years ago. In it, I discovered this gem:

"It is quite right that you should feel that 'something terrific' has happened to you...accept these sensations with thankfulness as birthday cards from God, but remember that they are only greetings, not the real gift. I mean that it is not the sensations that are the real thing. The real thing is the gift of the Holy Spirit...it will be there when you can't feel it. May even be most operative when you can feel it least."

-C.S. Lewis

Now, coming from a man who was not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, this is epic. Even if he was a member who studied this kind of doctrine on a daily basis, it still is epic. He recognized that he did not have the Gift of the Holy Ghost yet, but had the Light of Christ. I spent a lot of my mission wondering if I actually could feel the Spirit's influence, and how in the world I could figure out how He even operated, but then looking back--I realized that He was the only One guiding me. I have this Gift of the Holy Ghost that C.S. Lewis talking about, and it is operative on how obedient I am. Not how much I think I understand it. How amazing is that?

I thought it was pretty amazing back in '95!

Stronger than gravity.

"The feeling of love from our Heavenly Father is like a gravitational pull from heaven. As we remove the distractions that pull us toward the world and exercise our agency to seek Him, we open our hearts to a celestial force which draws us to Him." -Elder Paul E. Koelliker

Our favorite study place--on top of the Hill Cumorah

Let's be honest, I'll weave my mission throughout my entire life. It absolutely will bleed through to this blog! I can't not talk about the single greatest thing that has influenced my conversion to Jesus Christ. Today, while sitting in church, I felt such a strong sense of accomplishment for what I just completed, and a duty to continue my labors for the Lord. My training wheels are off--and I'm still running! 

Sister Correia...the best trainer in the NYRM.

And the single greatest thing that happened today (besides giving a second homecoming talk) was seeing the Elders in my home ward, practically tackling them with questions. What I would give to let them know how grateful I was that they are still out. What an incredible army we've got, with an even more of an incredible Boss. When I come to Him, He gives me that gravitational pull of identity, purpose, and divine design that any human soul longs for on a daily basis.

I wish I could comprehend 1/1,000,000th of how much He loves you and me.

Yellowstone Bound

It's been quite an eventful week! I don't think I've even had time to sit down and think about what I'm doing next week. (I've tried to keep a scheduled weekly planning session from the mish, but it's just not working...)

Anyway, this is what Alison (Sister Jones), my dad and I did last weekend. It was Yellowstone's last weekend open, and we got the benefits. I would try to explain the beauty of it, but I think pictures will do a way better job than I ever could.

 The whole time I was there, I was wondering how on earth someone could see this, and not believe in a Supreme Being. There are way too many things that I saw last weekend that were perfect. It gave me such a humbled and peaceful feeling that I had been serving that same God for the last year and a half....and will continue to serve, with all my "heart, might, mind and strength."

And this is us in our early days at the Hill Cumorah Pageant 2012! 

We're just missing our other half...Sister Adams...

"This is a paradox of man: compared to God, man is nothing; yet we are everything to God. While against the backdrop of infinite creation we may appear to be nothing, we have a spark of eternal fire burning within our breast. We have the incomprehensible promise of exaltation—worlds without end—within our grasp. And it is God’s great desire to help us reach it."

—Dieter F. Uchtdorf