Hsinchu - Week 58 - What does it mean to do more?
What Does It Mean to Give More?
We went on two awesome exchanges this week with our beautiful Miaoli and Xinzhu 3 sisters! Each exchange is a whirlwind 24 hours where Sister Phillips and I split and go out to do missionary work with and learn from another awesome sister in our zone. I loved being able to get to know Sister Oh from Miaoli and Sister Williams (who was in my same MTC district and lives with me now in Xinzhu!) better and see miracles with them!
Also...DECEMBER is here. What the? It's super warm here still! Christmas is coming and #LightTheWorld #光照世人 is happening all around the globe. This week we are focused on serving at a worldwide level! I encourage you to visit lds.org to learn more about what you can do to Light the World this week.
We are trying to Light Taiwan by serving and spending time with the members in our wards and sharing the message of Jesus Christ with as many people as we can. But. As a missionary, it's easy to tell yourself: "I'm not doing enough!" I prefer to look at the glass half full, however, so I often practice rewriting that discouraging thought into a more positive, motivating one: "I have great potential and I could be doing more!" And it's true, we can always give more while still acknowledging what we have given and being grateful for the blessings we have received. As we ask ourselves what we can be doing more to fulfill our missionary purpose and invite others to come unto Christ, we will be excited and encouraged to seek guidance from God for how to become more effective instruments in His hands.
So here's another question, though: what does it mean to give more? We are exhausted when we come home at night. We feel like we talk to so many people all day every day about Christ and coming to church. We feel like we are trying our best to use time wisely and plan effectively. What does it mean to give more because we want to give more? Sister Phillips prayed about this question one night this week and the answer she received was profound and so inspiring that I had to write it in my weekly email.
She asked our question to Heavenly Father and a thought came to her head, the way you do more is by focusing on the way you do it. Do it with a more positive attitude.
As she shared her thoughts with me, I was prompted to reflect on the way I am doing the work and why I am doing the work. I could be pounding the pavement each day but it will profit me little to nothing if I am not going out with a smile on my face, led by the Holy Spirit, filled with charity towards these people, and fired by a love of the Lord and a determination to serve Him. The Savior ministered to His people one by one and He did it because He loved them and He loved His Father.
So Sister Phillips and I have resolved that the way for us to do more is by seeking not necessarily to do more, but evaluate how we are doing the work. I want to be full of more love, care more, believe more, pray more sincerely. And I know we can only be more with and through Christ. Therefore, we will continue to strive to rely on Him so we may, by His enabling grace, give more and be better than we could on our own. This is the Lord's work. He is with us, and we are doing this for Him!
I love you all and invite you to get involved with the first week of #LightTheWorld so you can serve others and serve God! Mosiah 2:17. Have an amazing week.
Sister Maynard going home...
We went on two awesome exchanges this week with our beautiful Miaoli and Xinzhu 3 sisters! Each exchange is a whirlwind 24 hours where Sister Phillips and I split and go out to do missionary work with and learn from another awesome sister in our zone. I loved being able to get to know Sister Oh from Miaoli and Sister Williams (who was in my same MTC district and lives with me now in Xinzhu!) better and see miracles with them!
Also...DECEMBER is here. What the? It's super warm here still! Christmas is coming and #LightTheWorld #光照世人 is happening all around the globe. This week we are focused on serving at a worldwide level! I encourage you to visit lds.org to learn more about what you can do to Light the World this week.
We are trying to Light Taiwan by serving and spending time with the members in our wards and sharing the message of Jesus Christ with as many people as we can. But. As a missionary, it's easy to tell yourself: "I'm not doing enough!" I prefer to look at the glass half full, however, so I often practice rewriting that discouraging thought into a more positive, motivating one: "I have great potential and I could be doing more!" And it's true, we can always give more while still acknowledging what we have given and being grateful for the blessings we have received. As we ask ourselves what we can be doing more to fulfill our missionary purpose and invite others to come unto Christ, we will be excited and encouraged to seek guidance from God for how to become more effective instruments in His hands.
So here's another question, though: what does it mean to give more? We are exhausted when we come home at night. We feel like we talk to so many people all day every day about Christ and coming to church. We feel like we are trying our best to use time wisely and plan effectively. What does it mean to give more because we want to give more? Sister Phillips prayed about this question one night this week and the answer she received was profound and so inspiring that I had to write it in my weekly email.
She asked our question to Heavenly Father and a thought came to her head, the way you do more is by focusing on the way you do it. Do it with a more positive attitude.
As she shared her thoughts with me, I was prompted to reflect on the way I am doing the work and why I am doing the work. I could be pounding the pavement each day but it will profit me little to nothing if I am not going out with a smile on my face, led by the Holy Spirit, filled with charity towards these people, and fired by a love of the Lord and a determination to serve Him. The Savior ministered to His people one by one and He did it because He loved them and He loved His Father.
So Sister Phillips and I have resolved that the way for us to do more is by seeking not necessarily to do more, but evaluate how we are doing the work. I want to be full of more love, care more, believe more, pray more sincerely. And I know we can only be more with and through Christ. Therefore, we will continue to strive to rely on Him so we may, by His enabling grace, give more and be better than we could on our own. This is the Lord's work. He is with us, and we are doing this for Him!
I love you all and invite you to get involved with the first week of #LightTheWorld so you can serve others and serve God! Mosiah 2:17. Have an amazing week.
--------------------------------------
Comments
Post a Comment