This transfer is all about: Using the Atonement to Change

Good Morning All!

I hope you are doing well and staying warm. Here in Colorado, we have had more snow. I hope the snow is coming now because the temple walls are all up and complete. *checks the live webcam* Mostly complete! YAY! I can't wait for the temple to be finished. The blessings of the Gospel will continue to move at an astounding rate that will hasten the Lord's work exponentially. And I get to be the teeny-tiniest part of it all. It's great!

This week has been a grand adventure. Sister Wait and I were able to go on exchanges in Bertheoud Monday night to Tuesday night. We had a blast. As we were trying to find a less active Sister in the Bertheoud ward, we ended up taking a scenic tour on Flatirons Mountain. It was awesome. We took some fun pictures.

We made some great visits and taught some really good lessons this week. More than we have since I've been here. It's been really nice. I hate not feeling like I am accomplishing my purpose as a missionary, and teaching is one of the ways I feel like I am "inviting others to come unto Christ" as I help them to strengthen their faith, repent, make and keep sacred covenants and enjoy the Spirit more in their lives. 

And the best part of this week was being able to fast and give offerings to the Lord. I have a really strong testimony of tithes and offerings. I know that the Lord is mindful of us as we offer our sacrifices unto him.

So, we are beginning the third week of this transfer, and I have already seen a transfer theme for how my prayers are changing; how my studies are changing; how the work is changing, and how I am changing. This transfers theme is Using the Atonement to Change. And boy has it been a powerful experience!

It is just so cool to see how the Lord is changing me everyday. But it's scary too! Sometimes it feels like I'm climbing a steep mountainside. The closer I get to the top, the steeper and more treacherous it becomes. But I keep moving forward. And then sometimes, like today, I hit a really rocky patch and I slide backwards down the mountain. But I pick myself up. I wipe the dust off my clothes and patch up the bruises and cuts and keep climbing upwards. But it is SOOOOO easy to just give up! (That's what I've been contemplating today.) To look at the top of the mountain and think - "it's so far up there. I can't do this." It's at that point that I fall on my knees and pray for help. I share my progress with Heavenly Father, and I find another opportunity to learn about who I am, about who God is and about how he is molding and shaping me. I know that this journey I'm on is changing me for the better. I know that if I keep looking forward past the clouds and the rocky slopes that I can reach the top. But you know.... as I bare testimony of the things I know it becomes easier especially as I share what I know with my Heavenly Father.

Using the Atonement to Change is a really long process, and it is totally worth it. This week I haven't felt happier or felt the Spirit so strong in a long time! I have been on fire. I have had energy that has come out of nowhere. I know the Lord hears and answers my prayers and desires me to find my way back home to him. I know he is helping me to accomplish my goals and desires, so I can become the woman that he knows I can be. I know he loves me and is mindful of me in EVERY circumstance, and I know he feels the same about ever single person here on this earth - including YOU!

I am grateful to be a Disciple of Christ! I know he lives. And I know that it is only in and through Christ that we are saved - LITERALLY SAVED!

I love you all. And I hope this helps you in some way. (I don't always mean to get on my Missionary Soapbox, but when I do... Watch out world Sister B.'s here to stay.)

You're great! Remember to SMILE - because for some people, a Smile is all the happy they see in the world.

Love you,

Sister Bryans