One Drop Less

You could say we have been getting a lot of snow

Zone Conference

Talk about a roller coaster of a week. It was all over the place but ended up turning out okay. I think it's during the crazy weeks that I sometimes forget about all the friends and family that are out there cheering me on. Shouts out for all of the support. You all are the best. This week as I was going through the everyday stresses of missionary work I was hit by some of Satan's "A" game. If I'm being completely honest, I was feeling judged, I was feeling alone, but most of all I was feeling the pressure to be perfect. Times were tough, I was really missing my friends and family who are always good at reminding me that I'm actually not the worst. But that I'm doing a good job and that everything will be okay. Instead I just had to push through on the hardest day of the week.

Then I was hit by a talk given by President Gordon B. Hinckley entitled, "How can I become the woman of whom I dream?" What an inspired man. Towards the end of his talk he says, "for you, my dear friends the sky is the limit. You can be excellent in every way. You can be first class. There is no need for you to be a scrub. Respect yourself do not feel sorry for yourself do not dwell on unkind things others may say about you. Polish and refine whatever talents the Lord has given you. Go forward in life with a twinkle in your eye and a smile on your face, but with great and strong purpose in your heart. Love life and look for its opportunities, and forever and always be loyal to the church. Never forget that you came to earth as a child of the divine father, with something of Divinity in your very make up. The Lord did not send you here to fail. He did not give you life to waste it. He bestowed upon you the gift of mortality that you might gain experience positive, wonderful, purposeful, experience that will lead you to life eternal. Of course there will be some problems along the way. There will be difficulties to overcome. But they will not last forever. He will not forsake you. Look to the positive. Know that he is watching over you that he hears your prayers and will answer them, that He loves you and will make that Love manifest. Let the Holy Spirit guide you in all that you do as you look to become the kind of woman of whom you dream. You can do it. You will have friends and loved ones to help. And God will bless you as you pursue your course."  

After reading that, I began to feel a lot better. What a spiritual pump up. The Lord did not send me here (to Norway or to Tromsø) to fail. Sure He knew it would be hard and that I would be challenged but He knew it would be worth it. Even on those really hard weeks when you are feeling the pressure from everyone to be perfect and don't really have friends to talk to you in the area and you just feel judged and alone.  He knew I would need that experience to learn and grow and then use that to help others. Because that's why I'm here. To help and serve. I love Jeffrey R Holland's take on the situation of being a perfect missionary he talked about the monumental challenge of addressing iniquity in the world, "what can one man or woman do?" The master himself offered an answer prior to his betrayal and crucifixion, Mary anointed Jesus head with an expensive burial ointment and Judas Iscariot protested this extravagance and murmured against her. In Mark14:6  Jesus said, “Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me." She had done what she could. Literally live that. Satan is really good at making us think that we aren't good enough.  But all Christ and Heavenly Father ask of us is to do our best. To do what we can. 

A journalist once questioned Mother Theresa of Calcutta about her hopeless task of rescuing the destitute in that city. He said that statistically speaking she was accomplishing absolutely nothing. I can sometimes feel like that here in Norway. This remarkable little woman shot back that her work was about love not statistics not withstanding the staggering number beyond her reach, she did what she could to keep the commandment to love God and her neighbor. By serving those within her reach with whatever resources she had. "What we do is nothing but a drop in an ocean" she would say on another occasion, "but if we didn't do it the ocean would be one drop less than it is." Soberly the journalist had concluded that Christianity is obviously not a statistical endeavor. He reasoned that if there would be more joy in Heaven over one sinner who repents than over the 90and 9 that need no repentance then apparently God is not overly preoccupied with percentages. I think that an honest conclusion is God is happy when his children decide to come back to Him but He isn't expecting us as missionaries to be able to bring all of his children back. He just wants us to do our part. Just share that love like mother Theresa and to do what we can with the resources we have. We need not allow Satan to tell us otherwise. 

That is something I need to apply myself as Satan knows how to get me down and Christ therefore must constantly remind me, like Peter, what he needs. Jeffrey R Holland describe the encounter with Christ and Peter when he said, "then Peter, why are you here? Why are we back on the same shore, by the same nets, having the same conversation? Wasn't it obvious then and isn't it obvious now that if I want fish, I can get fish? What I need, Peter are disciples- and I need them forever. I need someone to feed my sheep and save my lambs. I need someone to preach my gospel and defend my faith. I need someone who loves me, truly, truly loves me," I love what our Father in Heaven has commissioned me to do. "Ours is not a feeble message.  It is not a fleeting task. It is not hapless, it is not hopeless, it is not to be consigned to the ash heap of history. It is the work of Almighty God, and it is to change the world. So, Peter for the second and presumably The last time, I am asking you to leave all this and go teach and testify labor and serve Loyally until the day in which they will do to you exactly what they did to me." Christ needs servants He needs you and me to feed His sheep.

I would challenge you all to pray for missionary opportunities this week or just pray for the full-time missionaries. Just do your part how ever big or small of a drop that is.  Thanks again for all of the support. I hope you all have a wonderful week. 

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Klem,
Søster Blankmeyer