Choose.

GOODBYE 

First of all.  Good byes really stink.  I'm personally not a huge fan.  This last week we had to say good bye to Natali and Jesus, the family who got baptized last week.  Their little daughters gave us a pair of their matching dolls as a parting gift.  They told us they are going to be missionaries someday. 

I brought my ukulele and we sang hymns while we waited for Jesus to get home from work. The spirit was powerful. Natali and Jesus both shared a few words. It was really special. They thanked us for our time and support and said a million beautiful and tear jerking things. What stood out to me was Natali telling us that we're going to be great moms someday and Jesus calling us warriors. 

We ended with a kneeling prayer together. Tears and hugs all around. They forever changed our lives and Christ forever changed theirs. SO thankful that God let us be His hands. It wasn't us who made the change. It was Him. We were just there to answer questions and bug them about their goals. Persistence. 

They had their ups and downs, but now they are SOLID. No worries about those 2. Even though work and family took them to another state, our thoughts and prayers are still with them.

HIT-IN-THE-FACE-GIRL

Went back and saw our investigator who got hit in the face. That afternoon we were with Hermana Madsen the president's wife! They were in town for a training meeting, and she wanted to come out and work in the afternoon. 

We had a great lesson together. Instead of teaching the original plan we taught to the needs of hit-in- the-face-girl. At one point in the lesson she began to cry. "I just want to change, I don't want to be this person anymore!" 

We all put a hand on her, and Hermana Madsen wrapped her arm around her. I leaned in real close and told her how much we love and care about her and how much MORE God does. We told her about how change is possible and HOW TO change. We ended the lesson with a kneeling prayer. Hit- in-the-face-girl humbly and sincerely told God she needed help. So cool to be there for that special moment. If felt as if God sighed for relief, "Finally." He smiled. 

CHOOSE

Something I've learned this last week and throughout my mission is that happiness and positivity is really truly a choice. Yes, there are a TON of mosquitos and my arms and legs itch all day everyday. Yes, our house is sketchy and buggy. Yes, the people lie to us, disrespect us, and insult us. Yes, it is almost 100 degrees and 80 percent humidity outside all day everyday. Yes, our shower is the hose that we weaseled through a hole in the bathroom window. Yes, our hot plate has problems and burns everything. Yes, sometimes I don't like the food and it's really hard to eat. But, do I have to get down about that and whine and complain?  NO.  It just makes it a million times worse if I do. 

So I, Hermana Matesen, I choose to be happy. I choose to kill the bugs we find or make a game out of trapping them and releasing them into the wild. I pretend the hole-y hose is a fancy moveable shower head. When I sweat so much I fill the chair I was sitting in in sweat I choose to laugh about it and take a picture! When people are RUDE I just kill them with kindness and continue to wish them a very good afternoon or send a have-a-great-day their way every time I see them. 

There are a lot of things in the mission (and in life in general) that we just don't have control over. But ya know what we do have control over? Ourselves. So choose to be happy today. Sometimes its not easy. If something fails or goes wrong, try to find the humor or the irony in it and let yourself laugh about it. Remember, it could always be worse! Look for the silver lining in everything. Choose. And choose wisely. Choose happiness.

In 2 Nephi 2:27 it says:

 27 Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.

 You are free to choose. If you choose to be whiney and negative you literally are letting Satan win. Don't let him win. Lets go with Christ on this one and choose LIFE and LIBERTY. To be happy is to be free. And happiness is a choice. Think about it.

Soccer: