Give Me Mountains to Climb, Rivers to Cross

December 16, 2015

Hello!

It has been a big week! A lot has happened. The biggest being, this weekend was transfer calls... and Sister Allen and I got our boats rocked. We were fully planning on staying together from what it sounded like with talking to the assistants and president all transfer, but the Lord had a different plan for us. Sister Allen is staying in Mountain House and will serve with Sister Munns and I will be opening a new area in Ripon with my new companion Sister Wilkins. I was very surprised and sad at first to hear this news, I just love Sister Allen but we will be working together very closely still. We are both still sister training leaders and our companions are not, so we will need to still council and help each other out about how to best help our sisters. Although, we will both have separate sets of sisters to work with. We both will be over 2 companionships separately it sounds like. I am nervous to be a sister training leader over sisters alone but I know that if I was called to do it, God will prepare me to. I am pretty sad to leave Mountain House too. I have grown really really close with all of the members as well as the people we are teaching. There were a lot of sad goodbyes. I think what made it a little more sad was that sister allen and I had our whole christmas day planned out stacked with awesome appointments and now I will be opening a new area during christmas. I have faith that good things are going to happen and that christmas will still be well spent in Ripon. It is also the area of which the mission home is in, so the ward that is for President and Sister Plamer. I am sure they float around most sundays so I will not see them every sunday, but it still makes me a little nervous! So yes, it was a lot of sad goodbyes- especially to sister allen- but I am excited for the change. I know they are opening the area up again because people are prepared to come unto Christ there. 

I have read Matthew 7:9-11 a lot during this transition and just this transfer in general and I have a testimony that God only does good things for us. They may seem unfair or bad at the time but everything from Him is good. He will not give us a stone when we ask for bread, or a serpent when we ask for fish. He loves us and wants us to grow, and gain experiences here in this life that will mold us into the people He needs us to be so we can return to live with Him again. He sees the bigger picture and I trust in that. There is this really awesome (possibly cheesy) song I heard the other that really hit my heart about this. It said, "Give me mountains to climb, give me rivers to cross, give me something that's going to make me better than I was. Give me mountains to climb, because I know that it's taking me higher than I ever thought I was." This transfer has had its hard moments but it is all making me better. It is preparing me and shaping me for future experiences. I have grown so much in personal prayer and in my faith in ways that I would not have other wise. My testimony of the sacrament and of the enabling power and grace of Christ has increased. Heavenly Father needed me to feel and experience those things so I could grow. So I know that in hard times when I don't understand why God is giving me such a mountain to climb, I need to ask what do I need to learn of change because of this.. not get down on myself and feel bad. He loves me, and He only gives me experiences for my benefit. I am so blessed to have had this transfer with Sister Allen, I couldn't of imagined it with any other sister. I am a much better leader and sister because of it, and because of her.

Other than that big news, our week was busy with exchanges. On every single exchange I went on, I saw miracles happen. It is amazing to see those miracles happen with the other sisters in their areas- especially the ones that are labeled as "dead areas" (which side not I do not believe in dead areas..if there were not prepared people there then the lord would not have placed you there and would not have opened a new mission). I think what is most amazing though about this calling is when we are helping a sister who is discouraged or struggling and we get to see her change her heart and have more hope. It really motivates me to build my own faith and my own testimony of the work going on here in the mission because when those times come, and they come to us all on the mission believe me, it is such a tender mercy to have a sister to lean on. To pull from her faith and her trust in God until the sister can find her own again. 

You are in my prayers. I am excited and anxious to write you about Ripon! It will be a new adventure for sure! I love you!

all my love,

Sister Neeley