Sister Bain in the Big Apple: 2017 04/24 “Come as you are, but Don’t plan to stay as you are.”

HI home 🌷

Where has the last month gone?? Transfers are NEXT WEEK. Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat. 😓😑😈

Spring is actually here for real and guess what that means? Tourists for DAYS. But it's fine because TONS of members from around the world want to take pictures with us 😂 YAY.

This past week I stumbled upon some past letters I've written home and I just laughed my head off because my thoughts are always all over the place and then I laughed even harder because this letter is going to be the most scattered of all 😂 Beware.

I've had sooo many thoughts this week that I want to share with you so I hope the spirit can help me organize my thoughts so that you can get a feel for just how much I love being here in New York City and all that I'm learning!

1. Finding people with real intent is hard here. If we do find someone, they live in Brooklyn, Queens, or the Bronx. We never find people that live in our area and if we do, they progress for awhile then fall off the face of the earth in like a month (max). But. Because of our finding struggles, I've learned so much about my Heavenly Father. THIS WONDERFUL WORK THAT WE ARE ALL INVOLVED IN IS THE LORD'S WORK. I know that's true. I know that He loves each of His children individually and He prepares us individually-- and in His own time. There are people here in the Manhattan 1st Ward who are prepared to hear the gospel, but Heavenly Father also knows that Sister Bain needs to learn diligence, patience, hope, and faith in Jesus Christ. Because we don't have solid people to teach, I've learned how much I LOVE TO TEACH and how much I WANT to teach. I've learned that being a missionary has given me a sense of fulfillment- I have something to offer the people of New York City that will change their lives. I've learned so much about prayer. I've never pleaded so much with my Heavenly Father. I've never been so sure of the "secret desires of my heart". Struggling to find people to teach has taught me that the Lord has a plan and WHO AM I TO TELL HIM WHAT TO DO? I love this work. It's hard. It's frustrating. It's tiring. But I know that hardships don't last forever and that the Lord is in even the smallest details of all of our lives. AND I've learned a lot about humility- I do not know how to do missionary work without Him. (So really I don't know how to do life without Heavenly Father and I'm constantly being reminded of why I need a Savior.)

2. I've been reading in Ether and Ether is so underappreciated (sometimes it's boring I KNOW.) But I was reading about the Brother of Jared 💛💛💛 Ether 2 is AAAWWWEEESSSOOOMMMEE. Verse 25 is also AAAWWWEEESSSOOOMMMEEE. The Brother of Jared asks the Lord how he's going to receive light in the barges and the Lord says "Therefore what will ye that I should prepare for you that ye may have light?" The Lord basically asks him "Well, what do you think?" Then the Brother of Jared says "I'm going to get some rocks and I know that if you touch them they'll light up and that's how we'll have light in our barges." I've been having tons of different questions lately about tons of different things and I've been getting frustrated because I felt like I wasn't getting an answer. But. Then the Brother of Jared's experience taught me that sometimes the Lord says "Well Sister Bain, what do YOU think is right?" or "What do YOU think you should do?" He won't always give me specific and direct answers. Sometimes He just wants me to tell Him what I think I should do. The Lord WANTS to know what I think I should do. And I've received a lot of comfort in that- the Lord trusts me to make my own decisions. USE MY AGENCY. How cool is that? So, in the end, ask Heavenly Father for guidance and then get up and ACT.

3. In Relief Society we talked about Elder Holland's last conference talk "Songs Sung and Unsung" and it's soooooooo good. WOWOWOWOWOW. 💛💛💛

Elder Holland said:

"Fortunately, the seats for this particular number are limitless. There is room for those who speak different languages, celebrate diverse cultures, and live in a host of locations. There is room for the single, for the married, for large families, and for the childless. There is room for those who once had questions regarding their faith and room for those who still do. There is room for those with differing sexual attractions. There is a place for everyone who loves God and honors His commandments as the inviolable measuring rod for personal behavior, for if love of God is the melody of our shared song, surely our common quest to obey Him is the indispensable harmony in it. “Come as you are,” a loving Father says to each of us, but He adds, “Don’t plan to stay as you are.” We smile and remember that God is determined to make of us more than we thought we could be."

Basically this talk could be a refrigerator magnet-- it's too good. But I love that in the beginning of this quote, Elder Holland just gives everyone a big hug who feels unloved or excluded and tells the world that EVERYONE has a place in God's beautiful plan. Heavenly Father will never tell His children who are "different" (by the world's standards) to stop singing until they sing like everyone else. Everyone has a place and we're all created differently by DIVINE DESIGN. So, YOU, DO YOU and be yourself. That's how Heavenly Father created you, Am I right?

Anyway, enough about me. How about you? What have YOU studied this week? What's something that the spirit has taught you?? Are you studying the Book of Mormon every day? President Monson said that if you're not, then PLEASE DO SO. 💛💛💛

I love you all so much and I hope that this week is the best one yet. I'm grateful for you!!

Love always,

Sister Bain 🍍