Squirt by Squirt
VIPI.
Thanks for tuning in to my weekly email this week! If you all remember my email from last week, I am happy to inform you that I am getting better everyday! My companion made a joke that we can't get better all at once, but we have to go "squirt by squirt" just like a sprinkler. It was funny at the moment lol.
This week was good! Like I said, I'm improving every day.
ALSO! I HIT MY YEAR MARK THIS WEEK! I can't believe I've been a missionary for one whole year! It feels like I have been here for such a short time, but time is slowly ticking down. I only have like 5 months left now! It's insane... Before you know it, I'm gonna be home! Crazy!
Here are some super fun highlights from this week!
1. Shadrack! I don't know if y'all remember from a few weeks ago, but Shadrack was a man that lives in Boise, but comes here on the weekends. So, because he speaks Swahili, we have been teaching him on weekends. He said a few weeks ago that he wants to be baptized! We are so excited for him! The only problem is he is planning on moving, and he wants to make sure he is getting baptized where he will be living. We are hoping that he moves here to Twin Falls! But, he came to church for the first time this week, and he said he wants to keep coming back every week!
2. Faith, Musa, Sengenya: This family is the new family that came into the country just a few weeks ago. They have a relative in Utah who is a returned missionary, so he took them to Utah this weekend! We were sitting at home one night, and all the sudden we got a message from our friends that was a picture of all of them at the temple as a family! It was so amazing to see their family all together!
3. Amuza: This is Beatrice's son and Esther's older brother. It was super hard to help him understand what we would say, and he was very cold to us for a while. But, one day, we said that his questions were good, and they could easily be answered by the Book of Mormon. Although we have said this many times before, he listened and read this time. The next time we went over he was excited because he said that his questions were all answered and he wants more things for him to read! Super exciting!
I honestly can't think of tons more this week, but here is a spiritual thought that I've been thinking a lot about.
I have studied and thought a lot about what to do when doubts come to us. Because, no matter how strong your testimony is, there will always be attacks from the adversary that try to get you to doubt your faith. They come daily, especially to those Satan wants to take down the most. But, there is something beautiful about truth. And that is that it is unchanging. If something was true 3 years ago, or 2 weeks ago, or even 100 years ago, it is true now. TRUTH NEVER CHANGES. It is eternal. So, when doubts come, and they will, no matter who you are, don't doubt the things you have once known to be true. When you hear something, or learn something that makes you doubt what you know to be true, don't freak out, because our entire lives are going to be spent deciding whether or not we believe something is true or not. BUT. When those doubts come, don't let it disregard that truth that you already know. Hold on to those things, no matter how small or big they are, and let the rest work itself out. I know for me, if there is ever any doubt that comes into my mind, I remember how the Book of Mormon changed me. I remember how it felt to read it all the way through the first time, or how I felt that UNDENIABLE feeling when I was reading 2 Nephi. I hold on to those things, and nothing else matters. Because yes, there will always be a lot of doubts in the world, but there are also many many undeniable truths. If it was once true, it is still true now. This is one of my favorite quotes of all time from the end of Joseph Smith History, when Oliver Cowdery describes his experience with the priesthood being restored:
"His love enkindled upon our souls, and we were wrapped in the vision of the Almighty! Where was room for doubt? Nowhere; uncertainty had fled, doubt had sunk no more to rise, while fiction and deception had fled forever!"
He learned truth for himself, and it was manifested that it was truth through God's love and the spirit, and he had no more room for doubt. Maybe he doubted other things later, but he always held on to what he knew to be true. I invite you all to do the same. When uncertainty comes, remember a time when things WERE certain, and remember, truth is eternal.
Well, that was sort of a long email! But, I hope you enjoyed reading a little from the life of Sister Copeland.
I love you all and have a fantastic week!
-Sis Copeland!
Also, if you feel so inclined, I LOVE MAIL. Here's the addy:
1379 Stoneybrook Cir
Twin Falls, ID 83301
Pic of the Week
1. Elder Pitcher taking a quick snooze
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