It's all part of His plan.

A sure way to find answers when you're experiencing trials
and tribulations is to open your scriptures and read. You
communicate with your Heavenly Father through prayer
and He answers your questions in these sacred pages.

Sometimes the blog posts you read here contain thoughts from Elder Scott mixed with thoughts of my own. Well, today's post is 100% from my favorite missionary and includes a lesson on the reasons why it's necessary for us to face trials in this life. This entry comes straight from a journal entry he wrote on November 6th, and he thought it would be a good addition to the blog. I wholeheartedly agree and loved the insight he shared. 

"Last night Elder Parra showed me that we have 2 English copies of the August 2016 Liahona in our apartment (They are both the same month sadly, haha). I was so excited. I started to read through it during personal study today. It has so many great articles. There are two so far that I have really enjoyed reading and pondering. The first is about being willing and faithful to God’s will titled, “Accepting the Lord’s Will and Timing.” It’s by Elder Bednar and is just an amazing article. In the article he stated that we need to have belief that He (our Heavenly Father) can do anything we ask, and then understand and be willing to go with whatever His will and timing may be. It emphasized a concept that I really enjoy on why we have trials. It says, “Many of the lessons we are to learn in mortality can be received only through the things we experience and sometimes suffer. And God expects and trusts us to face temporary moral adversity with His help so we can learn what we need to learn and ultimately become what we are to become in eternity”. That’s such a powerful and amazing concept. It’s then reinforced by an article later on in the magazine that I really enjoyed by Elder L. Whitney Clayton titled, “Rooted in Christ” This is also just an amazing read as well. It discussed how, like trees, we need to have our roots deeply embedded in Christ so that we can weather any trial or adversity. We need to behold Him. The quote that I really enjoyed from this one is this, “We can’t claim to be nourishing any roots if the things we do and don’t do aren’t calculated to make us better Saints. Safety is found only in the center of the straight and narrow path.” What habits in my life am I doing or not doing that are causing me to walk more towards the edges and how can I fix that so my roots are strengthened in Christ? The article also included an idea similar to what Elder Bednar wrote, “If we don’t experience personal storms and drought, our roots never have a chance to become strong.” 

Also in this issue is an article by Sister Sharon Eubank and she also included the idea, “The Lord sends us or allows daily ‘trade winds’ in the form of problems and resistance in order to strengthen our roots and make us more flexible. Such challenges are actually a gift.” All of this led me back to a sentence I had read in my book, Adjusting to Missionary Life. “Stress is not always bad. In fact stress is a normal, physical and emotional response to the changes and challenges of life and necessary for growth.” So put all of this together and think of just how great of a concept this is. We are given trials, tribulations, challenges ~ all of it so that our roots, our testimonies, can be strengthened. They are all part of our test. We choose how we respond. We choose our reaction. But all of these are necessary. They’re healthy and they’re normal. They are blessings. 

Whoa! Blessings? That’s a crazy thought, but it’s true. Our Father loves us so much and wants us to return to His presence so much that He blesses us with trials and hardships so that we can learn and grow from the experience. So we can be strengthened by the gospel. What a wonderful plan! A perfect plan of our loving Heavenly Father".

Here are a few fun photos that made it through this week.

This is the face of an excited Elder when he
discovers a massive store in Perú that sells
everything you could ever want or need.

Even though it was too expensive on a missionary
budget, finding American cereal was a highlight.

Even Elder Parra seems excited to see that sugary goodness.

This  ketchup loving Elder found one of his wishes.

Companions:
Elder Scott & Elder Parra

Hermana Elsa keeps the
missionaries well fed.

Elder Scott's Pensionista, Hermana Elsa. She makes sure
the missionaries are fed delicious meals every day.
On her birthday the Elder's surprised her with a delicious cake.
She is wonderful and very loved by them!

Hermana Mery has taken such good
of Kyler. I love her so much for
watching over him and making sure he
is always cared for. 

Hermana Mery's birthday cake

Food trucks are pretty prevalent in the
streets of Perú, although Elder Scott
has been told to avoid purchasing food
from any of the trucks.

Taxis are the typical mode of
transportations for Peruvians.
Very few people own their own
vehicles.

One luxury Elder Scott really missed from home
was the ability to take a hot shower. He was so
excited the day he learned they would come and
install hot water to his apartment.

He was a little hesitant once he saw the finished
work because there was a lot of exposed wires,
but the pull of hot water was too great. It was all
good until he touched the faucet and realized
it was still electrified. Unfortunately he blew
the power to the entire complex, but those few
minutes with warm water were worth it he said.

A great week was capped with a trip to
the Trujillo Temple. It was an experience
Elder Scott said was absolutely amazing and
his most spiritual experience ever.