Helllllooo dear friends and family!! I hope that everyone is doing incredible and smiling and wearing warm socks. Because really, that is something that everyone could use a little more of. This week was pretty wonderful, if I do say so myself. We met some pretty amazing people, and felt the Lord's blessings quite literally raining down upon us! And let me tell you, it rained  A LOT this week. Like more than usual. But it was beautiful. And made it hard to see. But mostly beautiful.

So this week I have been blessed to see the Light of Christ a lot. This is the light inside of us that we all have, but one that grows brighter the closer we come to our Savior, Jesus Christ. Something that I have learned a lot about this week, is that everyone comes unto Christ differently in their lives. We all have different paths to walk, and different experiences that we need to have. But every single one of them is DIVINE, and tailored directly to our needs. For instance, this week we met a lot of really amazing people (like i mentioned before), and every single one of them had found Christ differently. One had to be cut off from her family in order to find him, another broke her ribs in her old age. Even my companion and I have come unto Him differently, although we were both raised in the church. And everything we do, every word that we say, plants seeds. They plant seeds that will either help someone come closer to Christ though love, happiness, and truth, or farther away, through cruelty, lies, and rejection. It is up to us. And all of the people that we met this week would all be very different people if different seeds had been planted through out their life time. The individual must choose to water the seeds, that is true, but we should always be careful to make sure that the seeds we do plant are always good. 

Also, this week we had another miracle!!! CECILIA CAME TO CHURCH AGAIN WITH HER WHOLE FAMILY!!! Well, except her husband, but I think really he just needs some TLC. But oh my goodness, I dont think you understand just what a blessing it is. She is working so hard to being able to be ready to be baptized and not just come unto Christ, but to follow in His perfect footsteps. She is starting on the path that leads back to Christ, and eventually back to HIS Father. How beautiful is that?? Really, is just makes me so happy and blessed to be a missionary. THE CHURCH IS TRUE!!! 

Something that I have been thinking a lot about lately is actually something that my mission president taught. There is a Korean story, where in a village there is a giant rock that stands on the top of a mountain. This rock has been there for hundreds of years and has never moved. One day, the ruler tells his people to go and push the rock. So for days and weeks, the people of this village go up to the mountain everyday and push this rock. After months of seeing no success, the people come to the ruler, tired, disappointed, and ready to give up. They tell him that they are failures because they have not moved the rock even an inch. Then the ruler, in his compassion, tells the people that he never told them to MOVE the rock, only to PUSH it. He admonishes them to look at their arms and legs, to see how strong they have become through constantly pushing the rock. That was his purpose all along, and now his people were stronger, and healthier than ever before. Obviously, I think we can all see some relevance of this story in our own lives. This was a big theme in the mission last year, and it really taught me a lot about trials. However, this year, our mission president has told us that this is the year that we are going to MOVE the rock. And how are we going to do it??? CHANGE. My dear friends and family, nothing is impossible, no change too great, or challenge to hard. So what holds us back? OURSELVES. We are the only thing holding ourselves back from seeing the changes in our lives that we wish we had. When we are willing to humble ourselves and look to Christ, the one who makes everything possible, all trials overcome-able, and actually DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT. That is when we will move the rock.

I love you all so much, and I hope that you have an amazing week full of happiness, goodness, and change. And don't ever forget that the key to change is diligence. Dont ever give up on yourself. I will never give up on you. Christ will never give up on you. Dont ever give up on yourself. You are all amazing. Use your gifts and talents. Make someone new smile today. May you look toward Christ in all things and know that you are loved.

con amor,

La Hermana Brooks