Temples

Hello!

         So Just a little update in the beautiful wa-tac...the weather has not been below 45 degrees this week :) Anyone want to move it Washington yet? Me! I am really going to miss this "winter" weather here. This winter is so bipolar to last, where it was mostly in the 20's and 30's with rain almost everyday and SO cold, but lucky us we haven't had a good rain storm in a couple weeks. Yahoo! Poor Sister Hall hasn't even experienced true Washington weather yet!

Sister Hall and I are working hard and continuing to find the elect. We are finally getting some of our investigators to progress and have starting teaching solid lessons. Our church attendance wasn't great this week :( Everyone was either sick with the flu or getting called into work...dang army! jk. But overall it was a successful week. Each day is so different than the last and you never know what will be behind the next door-that's why I love this work. It always leaves room for surprises and finding really good treasures, but I have learned to find those good treasures you have to WORK. So you- even as home town missionaries work hard, so the Lord can use you to find his elect that are ready and prepared.

This week I had one of the greatest moments yet.....I got to go to the TEMPLE!!!!!

Every transfer President and Sister Weaver take the departing missionaries to the Seattle Temple for the last time. It was almost a very surreal experience for me. I remember all five of us loading up in the Van with President and Sister Weaver as our pilots and on our way missionaries talking about how nervous they were. Side note-One of the main purposes of going to the temple is to ask the Lord if he will accept your offering of these last two years or eighteen months. Now you could see why they would be nervous. My problem was that I didn't think I was going home yet. :/ I'm pretty sure I was in total denial. YES- this has been a really hard realization for me to accept.

 As we were at the temple I had the most peaceful feeling flow through me-I had never experienced anything like it before. As we were preparing to leave the temple I felt as though my little spirit was running the other way of my body. I longed to stay, to keep that feeling, to be safe, to be with God just a little longer. (missionaries with a temple in there missionaries  are SO lucky!)  After we had taken pictures, listened to president share a word of wisdom, I was so peaceful, so content, and finally feeling okay about coming to the acceptance that my time was up and I needed to start a new journey in my life.

On our way home President decided to take us the long way  home. So we got to see the space needle and drive over lake Washington! It was so fun. Downtown Seattle is such a neat place! We then arrived home and on our way to tracting I felt so tired and a little sad. I couldn't figure it out-why am I sad? I just had one of the most amazing days of my life? Then I started talking to Sister Hall about it and something she said nailed it right on the spot. She said, "Sister Phillips you are homesick for heaven and it's okay to be a little sad." It was true. I craved to back in the temple, I wanted to have the feeling again. Who wants to go out to the big bad world after being in the temple? I know that the temple truly is a small piece of heaven on this earth. My spirit recognized it so clearly and so purely that it earned to return. Good thing the temple is only 10 min. from my house..feew! 

I know the temple is the house of God and that we should prepare ourselves everyday to enter. The temple will build us as worthy Latter-Day Saints. It will endow us with power and strength to overcome the natural man.  Nephi taught us, "Do not slacken your strength because of your afflictions. Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say; O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation" (2 Nephi 4:29-30). Do not let the things of the world bring us down, we can do better and we are expected to.

I know that God truly is our father in Heaven. I know that our savior is near pushing us along this journey we call "life" and giving us a million chances to accept Him. I know  that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that as we read it, it will change our desires, it will change our heart and enlighten our understanding. As we have Faith is Jesus Christ and put our trust in him we will inevitably want to desire to be like Him (Moroni 7). 

I love you all,

Sister Phillips