Prayer:

The key to all healthy relationships is communication, is it not?
Well, why would that be any different between our relationship with
Heavenly Father and ourselves? To me, it only makes that communication
more sacred.

PRAYER ----> the way we are able to communicate with God as we express
the desires of our heart and give thanks for all we have received.

The bible dictionary gives us a beautiful definition as it highlights
the significance of prayer when it states that prayer aligns the the
will of the child with the Father, but by securing "for ourselves and
for others blessings that God is already willing to grant but that are
made conditional on our asking for them". How important it is then for
us to not give cliche and memorized prayers. If we want personal and
specific blessings, ought we not to ask for them in such a way as we
offer personal and specific prayers?

Prayer goes beyond just asking though. Yes, we may feel we are in need
of a great many of things, but do we not already have a thousand
blessings as well? And where do those blessings come from?? All
together now...GOD!

Let's remember two things:
1. "Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking
things for granted."
2. "Sincerely giving thanks not only helps is recognize our blessings,
but it also unlocks the doors of heaven and helps us feel love." -
Thomas S. Monson

Personally, I'd much rather have the blessings of heaven pour down on
me as I unlock the doors of heaven through being grateful. I know that
as we live in thanksgiving that God's love and protection will be more
apparent to us. I've seen gratitude do just that in my life and it
assure you, it will work for you too. As it does, praying will be part
of who you are.

"As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward
God (namely, God is our Father, and we are His children), then at once
prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part" - b.d. Prayer

Prayer may seem like such a basic thing, and it is, it lays the
foundation for many things. But, just because something is basic, that
doesn't mean it is small or insignificant. In my life, prayer plays
the opposite role. Through prayer I am able to feel loved, comforted,
guided, blessed, strengthened, forgived, peaceful, humbled, understood
- the list is remarkable. GOD IS REMARKABLE!

Life's a party.

Life: As we are walking along, setting goals for ourselves, sometimes
God decides those goals aren't exactly what he was hopping for because
there is something more critical we ought to work on. By presenting
certain trials or people in our life, we are able to align our will to
his and learn just what those things are he would have us accomplish.
In the end, if we are humble, we are always able to see that his way
was what we really needed.

Party: I vaguely remember being a youngin. And by youngin I mean about
5 or 6. When we were little, piñatas were the thing to do! I hated
being blindfolded, oh the disadvantages. And then being spun after
you're already blind?! Who on earth thought of that?? I remember
watching my cousins go, blindly being forced into circle after circle,
and then faced in the wrong direction only to walk away from the
piñata they wanted to hit. We would all laugh until they found their
way to the piñata, then we held our breaths. Would they hit it?
Secretly I wanted them to so I could charge the scene and grab the
sweets! But then if they did that would mean my chance would be over!
No dinosaur smacking for me. Man, I wanted to show off my wicked
softball swing I'd been working on all summer!

Life is a party: luckily in life we don't have to worry about our
cousin succeeding in connecting the bat to the paper mâché structure,
we each get our own piñata. However, with each piñata I'm afraid we
still have to go through the torture of being blindfolded (going
through the veil) being spun around (satan's and his servant's cunning
deceitfulness) and then being mocked at because we don't know which
direction we are walking toward (worldly pressures judging us for
being unique and following our own guide). It's tough.
Luckily we know we have the most loving father who only wants the best
for us. When we are trying to do what's right and when are sincerely
seeking for the sweets, he will be there, whispering in our ears which
way we ought to turn to do so.
In life, our path to this piñata is a whole lot longer than at a
child's birthday party. The pathways is full of twist, turns,
potholes, speed bumps, forks in the road and every other deterrence
you wish to add. (Silly satan, tricks are for kids!) Although that
sounds treacherous, may I reaffirm that hope I previously mentioned?
Our kind, loving, protective Heavenly Father is mindful of your every
step "for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee"
(Hebrews 13:5).

I am so grateful that He is there to stable me and to guide me, just
as he is for you! There is no way we are able to obtain that reward,
which is so much greater than anything we can imagine, without him.
Let him be your guide.

Mini update:

There are so many thoughts going through my head right now on
different posts I want to share - different topics I could rant about,
different pictures I want to show, and many stories that would be
enjoyable.

Maybe I should start getting better at remembering to update this bad
boy so things don't have to be so hard?
There's an idea.

For starters, recently I had a change up of scene. I am now serving in
Rego Park, an area in Queens, NY, and I love it here! I'm still trying
to learn how to be a city girl and to be honest, I'm really quite
enjoying that process. The city is growing on me! This new ward, Rego
Park 2, is remarkable! The members love missionaries and missionary
work and they are so kind and friendly, always making jokes and
laughing up a storm. The funny thing about this ward though is the
majority of them speak English. A blessing and a curse. I can hold my
own in Spanish but if you can speak English? Heck, let's do that then.
One more highlight about this area: I live next door to the church!
(just like back at home in Cali) but the thing is, it's not just a
church, it's the mission office too! By golly gee, I am a lucky bee!

Now, let's talk companions. It's funny how with each and every one of
my companions, I seem to be a different person. They bring out certain
characteristics that other companions don't. With one companion,
missionary work was all there was, jokes were beyond us and there were
never enough people to visit. With another companion, every little
thing we did was new and exciting wether we succeeded or failed.
Everything was joyous! With one companion I had, sarcasm became the
only language I knew. Another, we had so much fun together that
through the laughter and smiles people were able to see true joy and
wanted to know how to get that for themselves. The differences between
them all astound me. I am grateful for each and everyone of my
companions and am excited for those I will be able to serve around in
the future as well!

My current companion is very thoughtful in what she does. She thinks
of the reasoning behind things, her purpose and her desire. She is
such a good example to me in that aspect. I find it intriguing to
pinpoint the reasons I do what I do as I reflect on those stories that
helped shape me into who I am today.

As I reflect on my own background I tend to draw parallels and relate
my odd happenings to the journey of life. This includes big things as
well as small things.

I decided that within the next few weeks I will document some of these
things I'm learning and noticing. Maybe short posts won't be as
daunting to me and I can share my experiences more regularly...

Enjoy!

Back at it:

After a little vacation time at home to have ACL surgery, I'm back in NY, back in Dyker Heights, back into the Spanish, back into the daily study time, back into chasing after buses, back into eating chino bake everyday - back into the wonderful life of a missionary(:

It wasn't all easy peasy to get back into though.

The decision alone just about had me.

Flashback:

Tuesday, January 14th, the night I told my parents I wouldn't be going back out on a mission but that I would be staying home, working until school came around, and taking care of one of the sweetest girls you would ever meet who's mom recently had a tragedy and wound up in a comma. I couldn't leave her in such a state. I thought it was a worth while cause, as did my parents, but they also knew that there was something even better I could be doing with my time. The disappointment was obvious, their faces said it all, but they didn't stay quiet for long as they went on to explain that I had agency, it was my choice and I would have their full support BUT they believed that finishing up what I started, that is, serving the Lord in NY for another year, was the appropriate thing to do at this time.
They didn't push, they simply tried to widen my vision.

 I left the conversation with the intent to think things over. After watching Tangled, my eyes, swollen from excessive cries of confusion, were heavy and I gave in. I woke up the next morning with places to go and people to see. As tradition would have it, I was running late to meet up with Andrea and Cassandra for breakfast. Right before I ran out the door I got a call from my Stake President saying that I had just received permission from mission headquarters to return to the mission so long as I followed the guidelines my physical therapist had given me. He told me I would be flying out Monday morning and my itinerary would be sent ASAP. I told the news to my father, gave him a quick hug, then left before the dam could break and release another waterfall of tears.

Who would've ever guessed I was such a cryer?!

Munching on bagels and sipping our fresh squeezed OJ - the perfect setting to break the news. Cass and Andrea, after talking about school and finances for the first 20 mins, decided it was time to ask me what I was up to. Casually I said, "Well, I'm heading back to New York on Monday." The looks on their faces reflected what I was feeling inside, they were quite priceless as they changed from confusion (Did they hear me right?), to shock (That's less than a week!), to excitement (NY!), to sadness (But we'll miss you!), to happiness for me since after 6 months of waiting I was back to doing what I wanted to do - serving as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Though that was entertaining to watch and answer all of the questions that followed, I'm quite proud of the way I delivered the new to my precious mother. 

After breakie and a bit of shopping at T.J. Maxx for some hidden treasures, it was time to head to the dentist. My mom is a spectacular hygienist. I went to her office to get my teeth cleaned and we jumped right into talking about how breakfast went, how my friends were, what their families are doing, and all of that good jazz. Her boss came in shortly after that to checkup on me and after asking if I have any cool plans for the week I told him, "Well I leave on Monday so I assume my weekend will be consumed in the packing process."

My mother, bless her heart, then asks, "And where exactly are you going to on Monday?"

My happy reply: "New York!"

My mom: "I'm so glad I get to find out that my daughter leaves to New York for a year at the same time the rest of the office does. I thought you might have the decency to tell your mother about those things first." Her boss and I just started laughing, in fact, even as I type this I'm laughing! I can still picture her in her scrubs with a look of both shock and humor.

It was a surprise to her as well as myself.

But the main surprise to me was how much peace I felt after I had FINALLY made the official decision to return to New York to do missionary work.

Before I had so many mixed thoughts and emotions. I couldn't sort it all out. I was having such a wrestle!

Wrestle.

 That reminds me of a familiar story, the one of Joseph Smith when he was trying to pray to know which church was true and he experienced the powers of the devil trying to stop him.

Or when Enos tells of his big repentance story and he tells "of the wrestle which [he] had" (Enos 1:2).

That wrestle is Satan trying to stop us from accomplishing a great work. Why on earth would he want another missionary out on the streets of New York telling people they can be with their family for forever, that when we do wrong we can be forgiven, teaching them that it doesn't just stop at the bible but it includes the Book of Mormon as well since there were prophets in the Americas too. In fact, there still is! We have a living prophet today named Thomas S. Monson! Why would God, who loves us sssoooo much, leave us without any direction? No way folks. He has given us a prophet for just that reason, to lead and guide His church. HIS church! The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is the good news!

Here is your official invite to learn more! Feel free to ask me about any questions you have - that's what I'm here for!

You can also visit this website: https://www.lds.org.