Misson Series: The Good You Do

As I watched this video it reminded me so much of my life as a missionary.

Every day we plan, make back up plans, have countless things to do.

And everyday, usually, those plans never work out.

Tears came to my eyes as I remembered those days

Where it seemed like nothing went right.

Where I felt like an absolute failure.

Like nothing I did that day was right.

I came home discouraged and wanted to just give up.

Some days, nothing went the way we had planned, but it went the way God wanted it to go.

That was amazing!

I remember one night in particular, we had lessons planned

Slowly, they started canceling. one by one.

NO NO NO! not today.

A thought came to visit someone.

We did and it was so great!

"I really needed someone today and then you showed up."

I was so glad that I could help in some small way.
And that was a powerful lesson to me, that we can always be that angel that someone needs. 

“You never know. You never know whether you do any good. You never know how much good you do.”- Gordon B. Hinckley

~Linz

Source: Talk

One month! God is Mindful

It was fitting that at the one month mark since I have been home....
Which...how did that happen so fast?!

I was able to go to FORT COLLINS! and see Kelsey get baptized!
It was incredible that this trip actually happened.
I am reminded over and over again how God's hand is always in my life.
Ready for a story?
Kelsey told me about a week after I got home that she decided to get baptized.
I was elated! understatement 
I had already set up a crepe party for sunday night.
I looked at flights which were pretty cheap but I would get back late and would not have a car to get from Denver to Fort Collins.
I asked around and nothing was looking really positive.
I wanted to Go!
So the Monday before the baptism, my roommates and I were out being immature and scaring people.
I ran into K.  and he said he lived with G. and H.
So we went over there and tried to scare them. Fail.
But it got brought up that Kelsey was getting baptized and I wanted to go.
They thought about it and wanted to go too.
We would leave and get there just in time for the baptism and then come home in time for the crepe party!
Guess what?
It worked out and I had a fantastic weekend!
Tcby, Silver Grille, Awkward YSA dances, cake pops
I got to spend time with Moriah!
Just to name a few
Here are some pictures!
I was able to be with some great people.
I felt like a missionary again because I felt like I was in the right place at the right time.
Life is good!

The drive to Fort Collins. Fall is here!

~Linz

Series: Book Of Mormon

Tonight we had dinner with the Sister Missionaries and we talked about the importance of the Book of Mormon.
How it is the keystone of our religion.  

I have been working on this post and felt impressed that I needed to finish it and share it.
So here it goes:
I Love the Book of Mormon. 

It was one of the few books that I could read the past 18 months.
I am so grateful I had the opportunity to be immersed in this divine book.  

The power that comes from this book changes lives.

I love to hear people's conversion stories that come from this book.
There are countless conversion stories I could tell, including the one about me.
How it brought me peace in a troubled time. 

It teaches one to become better. 

The stories in  the Book of Mormon aren't just stories, they happened to real people. 

They are written for us to learn from, to grow, to understand. 

It can heal a wounded soul. 

Comfort a worried heart. 

Calm a frantic mind. 

It will bring you closer to God, more than any other book can. 

It's another testament of Christ. 

It has His teachings in it.

If you haven't read the Book of Mormon, I would invite you to do so.
Take Moroni's challenge and find out for yourself. 

Let it change your life!

"For 179 years this book has been examined and attacked, denied and deconstructed, targeted and torn apart like perhaps no other book in modern religious history—perhaps like no other book in any religious history. And still it stands" -Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

~Linz

Series: On being Grateful

Something I learned early on in my mission is that I need to be grateful. 

I was going through a hard time. 

In those hard times we tend to look at everything negative and question where are our blessings are. 

I was advised to look for miracles and blessings that happened that day.
Every night as I wrote in my journal, I would write something that happened that day that I was grateful for. 

Sometimes it was small, sometimes I had to search really hard. 

But there is something always there.  

And something changed, my attitude and outlook did. 

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Today I am grateful for a loving dad. 

When I was having a rough patch, he could tell. 

He put his busy work time on hold and listened. 

Then he told me what I needed to hear. 

It may seem small to others, but it was huge for me. 

I am grateful for a dad who always believes in me. 

"The choice is ours. We can choose to limit our gratitude, based on the blessings we feel we lack. When we are grateful to God in our circumstances, we can experience gentle peace in the midst of tribulation. In grief, we can still lift up our hearts in praise. In pain, we can glory in Christ’s Atonement. In the cold of bitter sorrow, we can experience the closeness and warmth of heaven’s embrace."

~Linz

Series: A New Chapter

Its weird being back. 

I guess I didn't realize how being a missionary became so apart of me. 

The name tag, the skirt. Constantly being "on stage"

I went to the store today, someone looked at me, I looked to where my tag would be, it wasn't there. oh. 

Sometimes, I feel like a stranger. People look different. Taller, older looking. 

It's weird how a mission is so simple, so hard, so difficult, so good. 

Somethings have been easy to handle coming home, others not. 

Things that were once "important" aren't anymore. 

Do I jump into "normal" life or cautiously stick my toe in.  

Things that were clear, became muddied, confusing. 

My testimony has grown, the gospel is simple, the atonement is real!

The effects I saw that it had on people. Astounding. 

My beliefs were mocked, laughed at, challenged. 

It made me stronger, more sure of everything.

The gospel is really so simple.

These people will be apart of my life forever.

That makes me happy.  

I'm writing a series of what I learned from my mission. It's more for me than it is you. I can't be selfish though and keep what I learned to myself.  That would go against everything that I learned these past 18 months.  I gotta keep being a missionary :)

~Linz