Enjoy to the end

I wish I had  one of those magic quills that Rita Skeeter uses in Harry Potter. That would be fabulous if a quill (or a computer) could just take all the thoughts and feelings of my heart and all the great experiences I'm having and lessons I'm learning and just turn them into words on paper faster than I can even think about them. Ah. If only.

This week was jam packed with awesome things. If I had a magic quill I'd tell you ALL about it. But I don't have one. And I'm feeling too lazy to do it myself. So I'll just tell you about 3 of the highlights...

Starting with the BIGGEST HIGHLIGHT OF THE YEAR.

I'm gonna tell you about this wonderful event in scriptural form....

(Alma 17)

1 And it came to pass that as Sister Rogers was journeying from the land of Horsens southward, away to the land of Sjælland, behold, she met with the missionaries journeying towards the land of Copenhagen.

2 Now, these missionaries were with Sister Rogers at the time of the MTC; therefore she did rejoice exceedingly to see her brothers and sisters in the Lord; yea and they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; for they were missionaries of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God.

3 But this is not all; they had given themselves to much prayer and fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught they taught with the power and authority of God.

4 And they had been teaching the word of God for the space of thirteen months among the Danes, having had much success in bringing many to the knowledge of the truth.

My MTC family means the world to me. We entered into the missionary world together! We learned SO much with each other and from each other. With 21 missionaries, our group was the largest group of missionaries to EVER enter the Denmark Copenhagen Mission. We had all responded to the call of the Prophet, and our extra large group was a manifestation of the hastening of the work in Denmark. 

And now, we make up over 1/5th of the entire mission.

SO. President Sederholm called us ALL together. On May 14th 21 missionaries flooded into Copenhagen from ALL over the country. We hugged each other and we laughed and we cried and we rejoiced exceedingly. It was AMAZING to all be together again. 

We had a special meeting with President and Sister Sederholm and the assistants. I felt like every word that was said was meant for me. It was answers to my prayers, even prayers unsaid. It was the guidance and direction and love that I needed from God. And EVERYBODY else felt the exact same. It was truly a hallowed experience. 

We've been missionaries for over a year. And I think we've all gotten to a point where we're kind of just going through the motions.

 We needed a reminder to have fun. To be happy. To stop and smell the roses. To not just endure to the end, but to enjoy to the end.

Check out this wonderful video: 

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2011-06-012-moments-that-matter-most

We would ALL do well to slow down a little, focus on the significant, lift up our eyes, and truly see the things that matter most.

Moving on to highlight number 2. 

We had SEVEN investigators come with us to institute/family home evening on Thursday! 

HURRAH FOR ISRAEL.

Two of those friends are from Romania, and we hadn't even invited them or reminded them about the class... they just showed up. It was interesting, because as I was talking with them they told me how they both had a really terrible day. They'd gotten the news of the war going on in their home country, and found out they might be drafted into the military. 

They were feeling distressed and worried and afraid and down.

And so, they came to our church.

Highlight number 3.

Sister Pearson and I went on exchanges with the sisters serving in the gorgeous city of Odense.

And we had SO much fun serving with Sister McVey and Sister Bishop for the day! Sister Pearson and I wanted to do something FUN to help us all get pumped about missionary work.... 

So we had a SCAVENGER HUNT. 

Before we went out to work we made a list of people that we were going to talk to throughout the day:

someone in a red skirt

someone with a red hat

someone named Rassmus 

someone named Greg

someone with Awesome shoes

an African

someone with Faith in Jesus Christ

a family

someone wearing a cape

someone with glasses

someone with sweet tattoos 

a baker

someone listening to headphones

etc etc etc

We had SO much fun talking to people on the streets as we went throughout the day, and by the end we checked off almost EVERYONE on our list!

Sister Bishop and I even met a guy named Rassmus! 

We even talked to someone wearing a cape.

Make that several people wearing capes. 

You better believe we talked to those guys! Who could pass up an opportunity to contact a canoe full of pillaging vikings?!

Missionary work can get crazy and busy and stressful and overwhelming. 

Life can get crazy and busy and stressful and overwhelming too.

But God didn't send us here to get stuck in a rut. He didn't send us here to walk around and go through the motions like a bunch of zombies. He sent us here that we might have joy.

So have fun! Be happy! Stop and smell the roses. Don't just endure to the end, enjoy to the end.

I'm going to extend you a commitment today. Because that's what missionaries do. 

Here it is:

DO SOMETHING FUN TODAY. 

Do a cartwheel. Eat a snow cone. Make a wish on a dandelion. Talk to someone in a cape. Better yet.... wear a cape.

Just do something fun! Take a break from your crazy busy stressful life and do something fun.

I love you guys. Thanks for reading my ramblings. Thanks for your prayers. 

TTYL. TTFN. HAGS. WWEBD. KOR. 

xo

Sister Rogers.

 

hollansk waffles at the international market in Odense

 Our best friend Ankhaa comes from Mongolia and she ROCKS

 Tulip garden in Odense. I'm in love with springtime.