Monday, December 15, 2014

It's Beginning to Looks a lot like Christmas

Hello Family!

This week was transfers!! They took my Sister Newbold away! I was actually quite shocked!  But it seems the Lord has plans greater than we can see so I'm trusting him every single day. It's the best!

My new companion is Sister Harris, and crazy enough she has served in North Platte before! (she was trained here by Sister Stiles... small world!)  So she knows the area better than I do so that's useful!  The ward was super surprised to see her back but it's cool to work with her.  

Our week was kind of crazy!  We were just going going going which is great, but also a bit tiring.  We helped a family move in and are  excited to be helping them adjust to the ward.  We also had some really powerful lessons one with my favorite people the Redhouses... We invited them to read the Book of Mormon every day and if they did we'd act out the tree of life for them.... I never thought that would make an 8 year old so excited, so this week we have plans to act out the tree of life... should be pretty epic.

So weird study experience this morning I wanted to share.  So I have a very distinct memory of watching General Conference with Grandma McMaster October 2003. I don't really know why but it was one of the years you all went to St. George with out me and I stayed with Grandma, but I remember really loving the talk by President Monson about bridges.  This was just a vague memory but this morning I was reading Sister Harris' ensign which happened to be from Oct. 2003 and found the talk by President Monson.  It's a sweet talk and I wanted to share with you the poem from his talk:

An old man, going a lone highway,
Came at the evening, cold and gray,
To a chasm, vast and deep and wide,
Through which was flowing a sullen tide.
The old man crossed in the twilight dim;
The sullen stream had no fears for him;
But he turned when safe on the other side
And built a bridge to span the tide.
“Old man,” said a fellow pilgrim near,
“You are wasting strength with building here;
Your journey will end with the ending day;
You never again must pass this way;
You have crossed the chasm, deep and wide—
Why build you the bridge at the eventide?”
The builder lifted his old gray head:
“Good friend, in the path I have come,” he said,
“There followeth after me today
A youth whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm that has been naught to me
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be.
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building the bridge for him.” 1

So for some reason when I was eleven this poem impacted my life.... and upon reading it again the Spirit was so strong in helping me see that as a missionary we are sometimes bridge builders, we are doing all we can to bridge people's relationship with the Savior and help the find the greatest Joy.  In his talk Pres. Monson talks about how Jesus Christ builds bridges for us and helps us to return to our Father in Heaven.  So it makes sense that in order to become like the Savior we too must be bridge builders.  So when times are difficult it's important to pause when you cross your difficulty, and look back and see how you can bridge that trial and help someone else over a similar struggle.  

Oh I wanted to throw out a thank you to the Japanese McMasters!  I received a big ol diaper box full of Japanese goodies!  Sister Newbold was surprised to try seaweed stuff... haha That was very sweet of you to send!  Thank you thank you thank you!  Sister Harris will love it I'm sure!  We have Zone Conference this week and have to leave at 5:45 tomorrow morning! Woot woot! Pray for us to drive safely!  I get to See Sister Wrubell who got transferred back to York... I'm super excited about that.  Life is really going well as a missionary.  I'm loving every day and I am excited for the Christmas Miracles that await! I hope you all have a beautiful week!  Love you forever!

Sister McMaster





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