HAPPY BIRTHDAY ON SATURDAY CARTER AND TAYLOR!!!!! I cannot believe you are already 17 and I am so proud of both of you! Thank you for your example and for being such awesome brothers!
One of the advantages of having a companion that is a music major is that she has spent her mission collecting all the possibly Mo-Tab songs which means I've been listening to songs this transfer that I didn't even know existed. Yesterday we ran into a funny one that we hadn't heard before called "The Dodger". It makes for a good laugh if anyone cares to look it up.
I got to spend a day in downtown Ft. Lauderdale and it was the greatest! I had so much fun and it was cool to be able to talk to different people and testify of the restoration. What was even better was coming back to Pines and having a letter on my desk from Juan (from West Palm). I know I say this every week, but I am just overwhelmed with gratitude for the hand of God in putting me on a mission and for all the experiences and people he has given me over the past year and a half.
To go with the theme that I talk about basically every week (agency/prayer/wrestling before God) I read a quote this week from Richard G. Scott. He said:
"Our Father expects you to learn how to obtain that divine help by exercising faith in Him and His Holy Son, Jesus Christ. Were you to receive inspired guidance just for the asking, you would become weak and ever more dependent on Them. They know that essential personal growth will come to you as you struggle to learn how to be lead by the spirit."
I have been so impressed by the way that God allows us to truly make of our life what we choose. I used to think about "God's plan" as some kind of maze. That we were "allowed" to make our own choices, but that eventually they would result in a dead end and we would need to return to the pre-planned destiny of our lives. But lately that perspective has changed and I have realized that life is even more of a gift than I thought! We are granted this time to learn what we choose to learn, progress to the point we choose to progress, and become what we choose to become.
Agency man. It's an in-exhaustible subject. ;)
I love you all tons!
-Sister Bren Scadden