Love - that is the difference!

Tuesday we did a lot of yard work service for a lady we are teaching.
She is from England and is very proud of that English heritage. She
will tell you she speaks the proper English :) She is very frank and
will tell you what she thinks and I'm not going to lie- My very first
impression was oh my goodness she hates me and I'm going to have to
keep meeting with her. But you know how I am, I love people and
especially the challenge :) I have again found how grateful I am for
my experience as a CNA. I am much more comfortable now with helping
people even if they don't like me at first. I see my younger self
becoming totally discouraged. But with my experiences, my faith in God
and my purpose here, and my love for people, I am much more courageous
and patient with people until they do love me. And she does love me
and I love her. It is so great to see how she is being touched by the
blessings of God. And she has talents that bless the members.

We have lot of lessons with a lot of investigators. The area is great.
I love the town and the people here. The members in the ward are so
awesome. Yes Mom, I get dinner pretty much every night. :) The members
are excited about sharing the gospel with their friends and they trust
us to give us referrals. They not only give us referrals, but they are
excited and want to be so involved. We have members in our lessons
often. It's great because it works so much better when the members
make it their work and take the lead. We receive so many people to
teach and Sister Cozzens and I make sure to stay busy. There is so
much to do here.

A lot of what I have learned this week is that we do stand out as
witnesses of Christ. As we teach, people assume that we are on
missions out of assignment, but quite the contrary. I am here because
I have experienced the Atonement. I have experienced God's love and
strength. I have felt the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost.
When you feel so deeply the love that God has for you, you feel the
love he has for everyone. I can feel the desire that He has for us all
to humble ourselves before Him. All I want to do is share with others
who they are and what they are doing here on earth. Every person has
had God in their lives in some way. We are not sharing something
absurdly new. We are inviting them to have God in their lives more-
something that will bless your life forever. Our message is one that
you can know yourself to be true and act upon. Missionaries love the
people we teach. That I think is the difference that people see.
Because I know who I am and have felt God's love I am blessed to love
everyone I meet no matter the circumstances.