Peace, Be Still

I am left in awe with each week that goes passing by. The time is going so fast & I wish I could slow it down. The transfer came to an end & this time, there's no changes! Each transfer to this point, there has been something of a change. I am used to change & I have been able to adapt easily which has been a huge blessing! I am going to get to finish the training of Hermana Manayay! At first, it was a struggle with her & I'm sure at the beginning I would've told you that I wanted a change. But as weeks have gone by, I have seen so much growth in her. Yes, I still struggle sometimes & my patience is tested, but there are so many little miracles just building up. The other day, we were practicing the lessons & I told her she was going to do them alone. She started to teach & I recognized how much she really has grown. I just sat & listened with a smile on my face. She has huge potential & is amazing! I can't wait to see what she can become as she keeps becoming a better disciple of Christ.

We received a referral from social media from someone who wanted to learn how to exercise faith! We met up with her in the city & she gave us a background & we began to tell her that to exercise faith we pray, we read the scriptures, & we go to church. She told us she had gone to a few churches & didn't like them. So we asked her if she had ever been to ours & explained how it's different. She said, I will go. & we gave her a Book of Mormon & she said I will read this. We asked her to pray about it & she said I will. Oh how important it is to say I will. I will go & do. But when we say I will, we must follow through.

We visited with our friend who will be getting baptized & talked to her about the commandments. She mentioned a struggle with smoking. She told us how much she wants to stop but that it is so hard. But she said also, that she has been praying so much & that she is reading her scriptures, & on Sunday she would normally smoke but instead she finds herself going to church. We know that the Lord is helping her & she knows it too. She has the faith to stop. We pray & pray for her. I ask you to do the same.

Maria has been coming to church for over a year. She hasn't been baptized because she doesn't want to get married & she also doesn't want to leave him. She wants to be baptized so bad & she prays and prays & has such a strong testimony & works on family history all the time. When she prays, she doesn't feel the answer. We know her heart is just closed to the idea. It was so sad because you could see the battle she was having in her head, on her face. Satan is holding her back. She has all these excuses & knows she needs to make a decision. We told her to pray about it again, & as she listens to general conference, she will find her answer. So we pray that she will be able to accept the answer that she receives, as we know it will be to get baptized & do whatever is necessary to do so.

I just want to express my gratitude for my sweet family. Oh how much I miss them. As we sat in sacrament meeting yesterday, we closed by singing "Families are Forever." I found myself with tears in my eyes and the spirit filling my heart as I sang those words. I feel so blessed to be born into an amazing family, with parents who taught us how to live the gospel & how to love each aspect of it. Peepaw, thank you for honoring your priesthood, always. Thank you for your diligence to work & to love our family. Thank you for making me laugh so hard. Meemaw, thank you for all that you have given up & sacrificed for us. Thank you for loving me & for continuing to love me even when I struggle. Thank you for your ultimate example of how to be a mom. & to my dearest sisters, I love you all so much. You are my sweetest examples. Each for your different reasons, but each with such an impact. My life is a blessing because I have you all. & I know it's not the end. We get to be together forever.  & it will only continue to grow. Soon, I will have a new brother!!! Mar, thank you for loving my sister. For loving my family. For honoring your priesthood. We are so blessed to have you.

When life is in commotion & nothing seems sure or stable, when people & things are driven about by wind of doctrine & every wave of society's whims, when nothing seems deep-rooted or solid or permanent, how deeply we need something firm, steadfast, & immovable. How deeply we need a rock to hold onto. Jesus is that rock. The Savior is steady, sure, & rock solid. He is an anchor that is never displaced. He is a mooring buoy that doesn't dislodge. He is an immovable dock. It is we that detach from the rock, the anchor, the buoy, or the dock when we let windage take us & carry us away. The Savior is the "refuge from the storm." He is the anchor of our souls. As I read these words this week, I think. I think lots about what things are pulling us away from the Savior. Find your thing & get rid of it. Find your reason to stay.

It's no wonder as the storms were crashing & all hope felt lost, the Savior called out, & said

"Peace, be still."

Trust in Him. We have no need to fear. He is there, to carry us afloat when we feel like we are drowning. Never let that go. Never let Him go.

I love you all. Enjoy every minute listening to general conference this next weekend. Find a quiet place & listen to the words that God needs for you to hear. I know you all have questions for Him, so listen. You will find your answers, I promise. & I pray that you may be able to recognize those answers, & that you may act.

With all my heart,

Hermana Morley <3