"Now my brethren, we see that
God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he
numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth.
Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give
thanks unto my God forever." (Alma 26:37)
Meanwhile, I'm walking down the dark street with frozen ears and frozen toes, a million miles from my own warm home.
It's easy to miss home this time of year.
But how blessed am I, to have something that I miss so much....
I'm thankful for all of the reasons I have to miss home.
I'm so thankful for my family who I love more than life and who's love I can feel from oceans away.
For my strong dad who's testimony and love motivates me to be strong and work hard and be better.
For my beautiful mom who uplifts and inspires me with every aspect of the woman that she is.
For my brothers and sisters who have made my life so much more
colorful, and who I get to be best friends with for eternity.
I'm so thankful for all of my incredible friends! (And especially the ones who actually write me :)
For the house my dad built and the home my family created.
For the mountains that decorate the horizon of all of my cherished memories.
And for those cherished memories. That are stashed in every corner of my red dirt town.
But I'm also incredibly thankful for all the reasons I have to be so far away....
I'm so thankful for the Gospel. And everything its done for me.
For the strength I receive from the Lord everyday.
For the peace and hope that I find from knowing my purpose in this life and in eternity.
For my Savior Jesus Christ. For His example. His atonement. and His presence.
And for the constant love that I feel from God, who is my Father.
I'm thankful for all of the ways He reminds me that He loves me...
Like waking up to a beautifully painted sunrise.
Or like flipping through the Book of Mormon to find a perfect
answer to an unspoken prayer. (Which book itself is the greatest
evidence of His love, and the greatest thing to be thankful for.)
Or the fact that He called me to the best mission on earth....
I am so thankful for my mission!
I'm
thankful for this beautiful country with its special atmosphere and
unique culture, and how its becoming a part of everything I am.
I'm thankful for the chance I have to learn one of the most
difficult (and in my opinion most beautiful) languages in the world.
Even though there are only a handful of people on the whole planet who
actually speak it.......
I'm so thankful for the opportunity I have to serve the Danish
people, and to share with them the most cherished thing in my life.
I'm
thankful that I'm able to help others find and build and strengthen
their testimonies. And I'm thankful that my own testimony continues to
grow exponentially along the way.
I'm thankful for the good times that I'll remember for the rest of my life.
And I'm thankful for the hard times that make the good times even better and make me even stronger.
I'm thankful for the little things and the big things that make all the dark danish days a little bit brighter...
Like my sweet companion/best friend/sister Søster Madison Grant, and
how patient she is with my guitar-playing tomatosoup-craving totally
imperfect self! And that instead of wandering in this foreign country
all alone I get to explore it with the most genuine, loving, hard
working, easy to be around, most adorable girl I've ever been so lucky
to meet.
And for my perfume that smells just like my mom.
And the pumpkin candle that smells just like my house.
And my wool tights and mittens and scarves that keep me a little bit warmer.
And for the handwritten letters that sometimes find their way to my little pink apartment.
I'm
especially thankful for all of the incredible incredible people the
Lord has been so kind to place in my life over the past 8 months!
From my inspiring teachers and leaders and family of missionaries
back in the MTC, to my two awesome companions and all the ward members
and investigators I had the special privilege of getting to know in St.
Louis, Missouri.
And for the wonderful people here in Denmark. Who have
welcomed me into their homes and adopted me into their families. Who
have shown me sooo much love and friendship that I often forget how far
away my own family is.
I'm SO thankful for my mission.
For the 228 days full of trials and blessings and struggles and miracles spilling out of the pages of my journals.
And for the 319 days full of lessons to be learned and memories to be made and stories waiting to be written.
I
love you all so much. I hope you know how thankful I am for you! For
your love and support and your testimonies and your prayers.
I hope you have the best Thanksgiving ever. Eat twice as much turkey and two pieces of pumpkin pie for me ok??
JEG ELSKER JER.
xoxo,
Søster Rogers
"To express gratitude is gracious and honorable, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live with gratitude ever in our hearts is to touch heaven." President Thomas S. Monson (thanks for the awesome quote Mom!)
"I
say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the thanks and
praise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has
created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye
should rejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with
another-
I
say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the
beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath,
that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even
supporting you from one moment to another- I say, if ye should serve him
with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants."
(Mosiah 2:20-21)