Sister Jessie Louder: Because He Came

Hi miss you all ❤

This week has been crazy busy. Tuesday we had tradeoffs! I got to stay in my area, and I got to be with Sister Fokofuka. She is probably one of the strongest people I've ever met. She has been through so much but still continues onward with so much faith in Christ. She is such an example to me and I'm grateful we got to spend the day together:) We saw more miracles of timing that day. We finally got to meet the Iakopo family. We have been trying to catch them this entire transfer, and our connecting bus ride that day just happened to be right across the street from their house so we decided we would go try and catch them one more time before the next bus. We got there during the mom’s short lunch break. Her and her son let us in and were soooooo kind and we connected with them so well. Her son, Princeton, who is 12 is not baptized so we are going to try and work with them!! SO EXCITING. I am a witness of God's perfect timing and His miracles.

We had a great lesson with this man named Steve. He had been visited by other missionaries once before we visited him. He says that missionaries are just so happy all the time and he doesn't know why. He told us that he doesn't believe in God and that he never will. I was able to testify to him that God IS our loving Heavenly Father, that He lives, and knows us perfectly. I felt so much love for Steve and knew Heavenly Father loved him too. The Spirit was so strong. He told us we could come over anytime. This visit brightened my entire week.

Wednesday we had our mission Christmas conference which was super fun. We had a very spiritual morning and a fun afternoon playing sports in a huge field with the nice and heavy bushfire smoke. Haha. (Hopefully it gets better soon cause boy of boy the smoke is badddd) This weekend we had our ward games night, (didn't really go cause island time is real and they don’t start till late and so we had to go home), our ward Christmas party (we could go for a little bit cause island time again lol) and we went to the temple lights last night with some of our YSA!

My love and appreciation for the Spirit increased this week. In certain lessons I noticed the Spirit working through me. As soon as I opened my mouth and started talking the Spirit brought things to my mind and I was able to share those thoughts with the people we were teaching. I am beyond grateful for these moments, and I'm grateful I can recognize these moments. The Spirit is a gift from God!

I hope we can all see the good in each day. I'm grateful for my family and friends who are supporting me through this journey. I'm grateful for the harder weeks because they allow me to grow and draw nearer to my Savior. I know that true happiness comes only when we choose to forget ourselves, serve others, and follow Christ. I'm grateful for this Christmas season and for the time we get to reflect on why we truly celebrate Christmas. I know that because He came, we get second chances. I know that because He came, we can find peace in this life, and I know that because He came, and I can be happy now and for eternity. I love my life because of Him.