Family,

Halloween is coming up this week and I will have to say I am excited. Holidays on the mission are the BEST! Last sat. we had the funnest Halloween party I have ever been too. It was our ward party and around 300 people showed up. We had a DJ, costumes, chili cook off, candy, investigators, and even a haunted house!

This week a sweet girl named, Kenya was baptized in the American Lake Ward. We met Kenya about 4 weeks ago during conference sessions. Sister Grenfell and I went outside tracting for about 45min and while we were walking around that is when we met her. She said she was interested, but she was in a hurry on her way to the library. We switched info and went on our way. We tried calling her a couple times during the week and no answer.

A few days later while talking the the American Lake Elders we found out they were teaching a girl named, Kenya! Her phone had gotten shut off for a few days and that is why we couldn't contact her. The brilliant girl she is (literally) she went on mormon.org and requested missionaries. Well sadly she was not in our area, but she was great and always wanted us to be involved in everything she was learning. :) She is so sweet. I am grateful she now has a ward family of her own. Her mom will be deployed to Afghanistan in a few weeks for a year and she will be left alone.

This Sunday at church was amazing. Steilacoom I feel like is pretty much run by recent converts. I looked over during sacrament and every person who was preparing it were all recent converts of a year :) Then the three speakers in sacrament were also returning less actives and a recent convert. It was great to see that the Gospel of Jesus Christ really does bless and change lives. Would they have lived a good life without it? Sure, but now they are living the best way of life. They don't just see this life as a part of there day anymore, they live to prepare for eternity.

This morning I was re-reading a talk that changed the course of my life, while on my mission.. It is called , "sufficient to save us" by, Brad Wilcox. He talks a lot of about grace and what that is. I always taught the definition of grace, was after all we can do, Christ will fill in the rest. But what if were not even doing all we can? That is hard and takes a lot off effort.

He teaches us that, "Jesus Christ doesn't make up the difference, He makes all the difference." Jesus Christ filled the WHOLE space. He paid our debt in full. He didn't pay just a few coins. He paid it all. He explains, "fulfilling Christ's requirements is like paying a mortgage instead of rent or like making deposits in a savings account instead of paying off a debt. You will still have to hand it over every month, but it's for a totally different reason."

"The repentant sinner must suffer for his sins, but his suffering has a different purpose than punishment or payment. It's purpose is CHANGE!"

"WE ARE NOT EARNING HEAVEN, WE ARE LEARNING HEAVEN"

How grateful I am so know that Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father love us enough to help us change, to help us learn and struggle, so we can learn valuable lesson that will prepare us to live with them again. So, when we are asked to do hard things, DO THEM! When you don't want to do it, DO IT ANYWAY. I have learned that it usually isn't the big things he asks of us to change. It is the small things. Loving more, softening your heart, giving up your pride, serving.......but also found out that those small things feel at time like mountains. The scripture in Ether (12:27) really came alive to me for the first time in my life.

"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

I love you all and hope you remember to always be a missionary :D

Happy Halloween

Sister Phillips