always look on the bright side of life

This is Sister Ward who is serving in the Minnesota Minneapolis Mission.
She is our family (Andrew's sister-in-law) and we love her and she is happy!
We are using her photo with permission because she is adorable
and Hermana Schomburg didn't send any this week.

after a few things that have happened this week, i've found myself whistling this song a whole lot, hahahaha

it has been

a week

let me just tell you

dont worry i'm still alive but there are so many THINGS that have happened and that are happening and just holy cannoli okay

let's start then

so we had our zone conference

and

i know there is SOMETHING that the Lord is trying to teach me

there has to be because this thing is just too 

i dunno, just too fishy the situation

so, we go to zone conference, which in the first place, started an hour and a half later than it usually does (???) and we were all enjoying everything and learning and the newbies were presenting themselves all that stuff and after lunch we learned more and all that and we celebrated the birthdays and then

we (we who are leaving soon) all knew what was coming after the birthdays (because the testimonies always come after the birthdays and then you sing a horrible hymn like God be with you till we meet again) and we were like 

:S

and so then they finish the birthdays and president says 'but we're really in a hurry and we're out of time, so let's have a closing prayer'

and so we prayed

AND THEY LEFT

AND NOT A SINGLE ONE OF US GOT TO SAY GOODBYE TO THE MISSION AND WE WERE ALL LIKE

'??¿¿¿???' 

AND NOBODY KNEW WHY

JUST LIKE

WHAT

and well,

para que le voy a mentir [i will not lie]

i was SUPER OUTRAGED for a little bit like

what the heck even

WHAT THE HECK EVEN

what do you mean this special moment of the mission that everybody has to go through at some point has been RIPPED AWAY FROM ME what is even HAPPENING WHERE IS THE JUSTICE

and then i was really sad after that like

whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy why has this happened to meeeeeeeeeeee 

and we went back to the sector and we worked and then when we had our break at 6 and i just layed down and looked at the wall like

what has my life come to

what am i doing

and then after that we worked for the rest of the night and then i started to think real like

okay hermana Schomburg

is it that big of a deal?

but it didnt help that also the rest of the missionaries were outraged or sad because they didnt get to see their old friends say goodbye and everything but i really started thinking and until very recently, i thought that i had found the answer

i thought 'well, with all of the things I've done in my mission and all the spiritual experiences and everything that has happened here, i could never do it all justice with one simple testimony'

because it's true; a WHOLE LOT OF THINGS have happened while i've been here; i've had a whole truck load of spiritual experiences, and a million other things, but in reality, everything that i've done here can be summed up simply

I know that Jesus Christ lives and is our Savior, and that this is His restored gospel and His church and living it's principles of faith and repentance, and the receiving of sacred ordinances like baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring until the end is the only way we are going to be able to fulfill our Father in Heaven's plan for us to live eternally with him, Jesus Christ, and our families. 

or if you want something even more simple,

I know that Jesus Christ lives.

That's all. 

I think i was too focused on what i was going to say, how i was going to include the biggest number of facts and stories in a short time that i didnt realize what i really needed to do. Exactly what i've been doing; testify of Christ. Nothing that I have done in the mission has been thanks to my own efforts or my own knowledge or my own strength; it has been all thanks to what my Lord and Savior has given me. This is His work, not mine. This is His vineyard, not mine. This has been His mission, not mine.

I think that maybe Heavenly Father knew what was going on in my head and said 'nonono, you are mistaken young grasshopper, this is notyour time to shine' 

The scriptures say that we must be a light unto the world, but our light does not come from ourselves. Our light is the light of Christ; it's His light that shines; we are just the vessel. 

So, let us all be a vessel to shine the light of Christ to the world; this isn't about us and our light; it's a whole lot bigger than that. 

I know that Jesus Christ lives! He is my Savior and my Master; I know that my Heavenly Father loves me and all of us and has given us a way to return to Him. I know without a shadow of a doubt that this gospel is true and that it has been restored by Christ himself through a modern prophet, Joseph Smith. I testify that we have a prophet on the earth today, Thomas S. Monson, and i testify that families really can be together forever. I love this gospel; I love my Savior, I love my family, I love the mission! And this I leave you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

And that's all for today! I'm early today because we're going to go climb a hill! Cerro Renca :D and i'm sorry for the lack of photos

also

i received my flight information today 

D:

but anyway, I LOVE YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH AND WISH YOU A WONDERFUL WEEK

AND ALSO A HAPPY 4TH OF JULY THAT WAS YESTERDAY AND JUST A HAPPY EVERY DAY FOREVER AND ALWAYS 

CCCCCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Beautiful hermanas headed to Zone Conference