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November 11, 2013

Walk in the Light

This week.
I met Jesus!!! And by Jesus I mean Thomas Kofoed AKA the man who plays Christ in all the newer church films. (He is Danish and lives in Copenhagen.) That was #1 on my mission bucket list and I checked it off on my 7th monthiversary. Looks like my 7th month is gonna be a lucky one :)
Ohh my goodness though, it was SUCH a neat experience to meet him. Thomas is so cool. He has such a good spirit and an incredible presence. He makes you feel special. He has kindness and love pouring out of his countenance. I'm pretty sure that's close to how it will be to really meet the Savior. (except multiplied by 12000....)

Well that's how I want to be when people meet me.

Its great because as a mission we are studying Christlike attributes this month. Get your hands on a PMG book and flip to chapter 6. page 115. Its the best part of the whole book. Read it. Read it twice. Study it. Ponder it. It ROCKS.
At the beginning of His mortal ministry, Jesus Christ walked along the shore of the Sea of Galilee and called out to two fishermen, Peter and Andrew- "Follow me." The invitation to follow Christ is an invitation to follow Him and to become like Him. Through His perfect example, He has shown us the way.

As a missionary, I am a literal representative of the Lord. I wear His name on my chest every day, everywhere I go, for everyone to see. Everything I do, everything I say, everything I am represents the Savior. (no pressure...) 
But that didn't start back on April 10th and it definitely won't end along with my missionary days. You don't have to have a little black name tag with Christ's name on it to represent Him. As disciples of Jesus Christ, His name should be engraved on our hearts, shining through our countenance, always evident in our character.

David A. Bednar said that "Character refers to moral qualities strongly developed, strikingly displayed, and consistently lived." The qualities and attributes we should strive to develop and display and live in order to be like Jesus are faith, hope, charity and love, virtue, knowledge, patience, humility, diligence, and obedience.

Studying these attributes and seeking to apply them and incorporate them into my daily life has really made me realize how far from perfect I am! I have SO many weaknesses. SO much to improve on. SO many things that I could do SO much better.
But before I got too discouraged, I learned that learning to be like Christ is a lifelong pursuit. You follow Christ's example and develop His attributes one action and one decision at a time. And the atonement of Jesus Christ provides us the ability to infinitely do better and become better. He's shown us the way! He is the light and life of the world. "The Lord, the King of Heaven" has promised that "I will be a light unto them forever, that hear my words" (2 nephi 10:14). 

Speaking of light... I'm learning pretty quickly about how miserable darkness is! First of all, the sun starts setting here at 4:00! Its crazy! Then one day our lamp burned out. A few days later our bedroom light went out. The next day our bathroom light died. There isn't even a light at all in our kitchen... so we were down to one tiny little light in our whole apartment! Its a pretty big problem, especially with the winter darkness creeping in at 4:00 in the afternoon! For a few days we were taking dark showers and carrying our little light back and forth between the different rooms and squinting at our scriptures and tripping down the dark stairs on the way out the door. Then in Helaman 13:29, Samuel the Lamanite called me foolish and said "How long will you choose darkness rather than light?"

So we finally got some new light bulbs. And life is so much better.

Moral of the story: 
"Let us walk in the light of the Lord." (2 Nephi 12:5)
Don't choose darkness when you can walk in the light.

Are you ready for the best news of the week?!
FRANCESCO IS GOING TO BE BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!!
Sister Grant and I jumped up and down and hugged each other 17 times and cried and prayed and hugged each other again after we got back from our lesson with Francesco on Thursday. We had just had a nice little lesson about fasting, and then out of the blue Francesco asked us how soon he could be baptized. IT WAS THE BEST THING EVER! We talked about the things he still needs to learn and do to be ready, and then he chose April 12th as the special day. Just the thought of him in his baptism white walking into the water brings tears to my eyes.

Its been a wonderful week. 

I hope everything is wonderful in your lives too! 
If its not, turn on the light. Turn up the light. Carry it with you everywhere. Share it with others. 

All this talk of light reminds me of the 2002 winter Olympics, when I was a Child of Light...
"Have no fear, when darkness calls, 
'cause there's a light that shines within us all.
Although this world can turn so cold, 
when we reach inside we find our warmth.
'Cause there's a flame that burns in every heart, 
And its the will we have, that lights the spark...

Once in every lifetime there's a chance to stand apart
We can show the world our very best, reveal whats in our heart
So the story goes and glory never will end
Inspiration lights the fire within.

And if we fall, we won't stay down.
We will get back up and use the strength we've found.
And we will rise like champions
every obstacle we'll overcome.

And if we stay strong, then our hearts will move us on."

We have once in a lifetime chances every single day! To walk in the light and to share it.
So grab every single opportunity you have! Exercise faith, have hope, be charitable. Show love to your friends and family and everyone around you. Be virtuous, be patient, be humble. Be diligent and obedient in all that you do. 
Jesus Christ is the light of the world. As we strive to follow His example and develop His attributes, we will become more like Him, and we'll always have His light to guide us. 

And we'll fill the world with that light.

Jeg elsker jer. TTYL.
xoxo MKH,
Søster Breanna Rogers


 In the car with Tina and Francesco


 Thomas Kofoed in the tan suit