Finish Every Race You Start

Hello my beloved family, friends and random blog creepers!

I have almost been here for four weeks! Reassignments come next week, and Thanksgiving is this week! Crazy, right? It feels like it hasn't even been that long. Speaking of reassignments, my friend Sister Dakotah Thornton got her visa, and left for Brazil this morning. She just got here last Wednesday...it's kind of a funky system these consulates have going on. Oh well. The Lord knows where I belong, and it'll be amazing as long as that's my attitude about it. My companion, Sister Seal also received notification that her visa just has to be picked up from the LA consulate. Crazy! Also, I saw Sister Melanie Morales, and it was a beautiful reunion! 

So here are some words of inspiration from one of this week's devotional speakers, Stephen B. Allen:

FINISH EVERY RACE YOU START. Earlier this week we heard about an Olympic runner from South Africa who had a hard time adjusting to the high elevation in ...Mexico? he fell and tore a ligament during the race, but kept going. When he crossed the finish line an hour after the last participant, they asked him why he didn't just stop after he got injured. He said "my country sent me here to run in this race. I didn't come here to do anything less of that." Those aren't the exact words, and I don't remember his name, but he taught an important lesson. There are a lot of trials in life, and it's not about finishing first. He has been remembered far longer than the winner of that race, because he had the strength to endure his trials.

Another quote I really liked was from Sister Yost. She served a senior mission with her husband a few years ago. She asked us the question "Have you been to the Edge where miracles occur?" She explained that sometimes we are so bent on having things our way or we don't have enough faith to trust in the Lord. If we do, however, go out on a limb and do the things we are asked, follow our spiritual promptings, the Lord will help us to work miracles. It won't always be what we expected, but the Lord knows what we are capable of, and He trusts us with His work. We need to trust Him too.

So here's a silly little story: For those of you who don't know:  I am directionally challenged. I don't do well with maps (I am working on that), but my greatest downfall is left and right. Today one of the elders in our new district needed to know where the supplies closet was. I told him it was down the hall on the ...on the ... I held up my hands...on the...shoot! Somehow the finger trick didn't work this time! SO I'm just sitting there in front of my district and these new elders staring at my hands all perplexed for a few seconds before Sister Hollister says "On the right, Sister Arthur." I have a lot of experiences like this, and I think one of my purposes in life is to provide comic relief for people who don't laugh enough. I'm down with that.

Eu sei, que a trabalha, que o Senhor tem para mim para fazer e uma obra marvilhosa, e que ele nos ama muito!

I know that the work the Lord has for me is a marvelous work, and he loves us all so much!

Love, 

Sister Arthur