Angels Among Us

Area: Serenada/Georgetown
Companion: Sister Jessy Montclair
Companion: Sister Rachel Bills

It's good to be in a trio again! It feels like Sister Bills never left. :D She is amazing! Somehow I knew at the end of last transfer that we weren't done being companions. Now, four weeks later, she came back to Serenada, and it feels like she's been here the whole transfer.

This has been a beautiful tender week as Sister Montclair prepares to depart. She is handling it so well! It's neat to hear all the words of wisdom she has for us. It's almost like she is sharing her dying words with us... ;) Very profound!

If there is one thing I've learned on my mission, it is that Angels are among us. I have always been somewhat aware of the angels in my life. I learned that if we look close enough, we see angels everyday. Perhaps not physically, but in each blessing we acknowledge, in each breath we take, in the strength we receive to do what is beyond our own capacity. We can miss it if we're not being grateful. As a missionary I am acutely aware of the Heavenly help we receive day to day. The Lord is so aware of his children and truly does lead us to them.

Several transfers ago when I was with Sister Rowley, we were driving and felt distinctly impressed to go to a street that we hadn't planned. We didn't even really know where we were. We just drove there, parked in front of a house, saw a man outside and talked to him. He had really sad eyes, and said he wasn't interested. He was somewhat bitter towards God. We looked him in the eyes and with power told him that we had been sent from God, who is aware of him and his circumstances. We expressed to him the love God has for him and left him a card. His eyes changed a little. We felt no reason to stay on that street, so we got back in our car and left. I have pondered on that experience again and again. How that man must have needed a confirmation that Heavenly Father is aware of him. I can only wonder about the pleadings of his heart.

We are instruments in the Lords hands. If we look at a violin, we see that there are many elements to the instrument. There's a bridge, the strings, the bow, etc. All of these combine to give it the ability to create something amazing. However, a violin cannot play itself. In order for it to produce the music it is inwardly capable of producing, there must be a master musician. This master musician has the power and ability to fine-tune us, polish and dust our surfaces, and fix when we break. As an authorized servant of the Lord, the music in me is the music of the restoration. We are the message, we are the music. Jesus Christ is the master musician. He is my strength and the author of my faith. As we lose ourselves in the service of God, we find ourselves.

At the end of a lesson we were teaching a woman named {D}, she recognized the spirit and wanted to understand it better. We asked her if she believes that we were sent by God. She thought for a moment then said "Yes I do." She proceeded to explain that she believes there are angels on Earth. She looked at us and said, "You never know what form they'll appear in". I found that very interesting that she would say that. It's true, you never know what form they'll appear in. My mother is an angel in my life. She valiantly raised an army of stripling warriors. She painfully watched when at times, we were injured or lost, but never ceased to teach us that "if [we] did not doubt God would deliver [us]" (Alma 56:47) Without her Heavenly wisdom that she has acquired through much prayer, I would not be who I am today.

Another angel in my life is my Grandmother Rowley who gave me some of the most meaningful advice before my mission. "Don't be afraid". Those words come to my mind often.

It is a humbling thing to bear the mantle of a missionary, who's calling is literally "to declare [his] word like unto angels of God." (D&C 42:6) I love this work, and wouldn't trade it for the world. I took upon myself his name when I was baptized, I put his name on my chest when I became a missionary, and on my heart his name will remain forevermore. I love the Lord. Someday I may not be a full-time missionary, but I will always be an instrument in his hands in gathering Israel. Because that's what I was born to do.

This is my testimony and my witness. I witness that God lives and loves us. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Love,
Sister Record