Sister Anna Lyn Bryce: It's Not Enough to Serve with your Might and Strength, You have to Serve with your Heart and Mind as Well

Dear Family,

Ahhhh I can't believe Joseph is ten! That's crazy! So wait. He asked the teacher when mom was coming to bring treats to his class? Can he talk now? Because this is news to me! My very favourite picture of all the ones you sent me is the one where Joseph is handing a treat to his classmate with down's syndrome. That's the sweetest thing I've ever seen in my entire life. Ahhhh why is he so cute?!

As far as pictures of Kangaroos go, I had some on the camera card that I lost in Busselton. There are a million Kangaroos down around Bunbury; but unfortunately they don't use waltz around Perth. We're a little too close to the city. But I will keep my eyes peeled, I'm sure I'll be out in country again at some point! I keep meaning to take pictures of scenery but I just forget...I feel like I don't even have time to take pictures of anything. Every Monday morning I take pictures in the car on the way to emails so I can send some...I know I'm a slacker. (: I guess I just don't care as much as I used to.

Okay so I had AN INCREDIBLE week!! Seriously it was AMAZING. We had so many miracles!

So my trainee is Sister Leakehe, from New Zealand. She is Tongan and SUCH a sweetheart. I'm so proud. (: She is fresh from the MTC as of four days ago. She is such a greenie and I love it! Being a trainer is definitely new, but in a good way. I didn't realize how far I had come; how much I've learned since I started just a few short months ago. It's crazy. She is seriously awesome though; WAY better than I was when I first started! We've had so much fun together and so many amazing experiences already.

On Saturday, we got out on the bikes all day. It was SO hot, but it was so good! We were able to follow up with a lot of people, and to teach some investigators and less actives. By about four in the afternoon, neither of us wanted to say it, but we were dying. We were so thirsty. We'd just been tracting, and we asked this one lady for water and she slammed the door in our faces...which was sad and also hilarious. So we were riding, and I got an impression to stop at a random house and knock on the door. We did, and this nice couple opened the door, took one look at us and said, "oh my goodness, come in out of this heat, here let's get you some water!" Oh it was sooo nice! They weren't interested in the message, but their kindness was exactly what we needed. When we left we were just like, "wow". The Lord is really watching out for us! It was a tender mercy, to know that He cares not only about the work we do but also about our temporal welfare. It was a wonderful experience for my companion to have as well. I don't like seeing my daughter suffer. (:

After that, we had planned to go and visit this less active, but turns out I was SO sunburned on my neck - which doesn't even make sense because dad, I swear I put on SO much sunscreen! But yes I was fried. We went back and got the car, and the thought suddenly came to us to go visit this former investigator that Sister Chou Lee and I dropped almost 3 months ago. It was so random and I NEVER would have thought to go back and see her, but we did! And had a magnificent lesson! The Spirit was SO strong, it just slammed her. She told us that the past few weeks have been really hard for her; she's done a lot of praying. When she saw us walking up to her door, she knew that the Lord had sent us to her.

I am loving being a trainer! It is a huge responsibility, but I am doing my best and learning a lot as well. It really makes you step up your game and toe the line! But it's awesome. I've learned so much already!

One thing that I learned this week/over the process of my mission: It's not enough to serve with your might and strength, you have to serve with your heart and mind as well. That may not mean much to you, but it has a lot of meaning for me. When we stand before God, we will be judged not only for our works, but for our DESIRES as well. Which means we have control over what we want, because if we didn't God wouldn't judge us for it. It starts in your head, with what you spend your time thinking about, and your heart follows. For a completely random, hypothetical, unrelated third party example, if all you ever think about is your boyfriend, then that's all you'll want. But if you spend your time focusing on what the Lord wants, what His will is, then that will become your will as well! Trust me, it works. I know. "As a man thinketh, so is he." Proverbs something.

Well, I love you guys! Have an AMAZING week and I will be expecting a long beautiful email next Monday. (:

Love,

Sister Bryce