Ouch.

Hey y'all! It has been another wonderful week in Bethania!

Tuesday we did a lot of usual missionary things, and then we went to mutual/activity days with D and her mom. It was a mother-daughter activity, and they both loved it! Everyone was very kind. Wednesday was district meeting, as usual, and it was wonderful, as usual. We got to practice giving church tours, where we give investigators or potential investigators a tour of the church building and explain all the rooms and programs. We even have an app with videos that explain most of the functions of the church. It helps me appreciate how beautiful and sacred our church buildings are. 

On Friday we went on exchanges! I stayed here with Sister Schow. We had a good time. I had some new experiences at the stables- bathing a horse and grazing them outside while they dried- which led to more new experiences- being kicked by a horse and being stepped on by a horse. The good news is, both incidents were accidental, there were no hard feelings, and my foot feels good as new now.

We also had another lesson with D! She is so great! We talked about the importance of reading and praying about the Book of Mormon. She told us that when she read the Book of Mormon, she felt like a warm blanket was wrapped around her. It's amazing how children can recognize the Spirit so readily! She is so prepared! We are ecstatic to be teaching her. 

We exchanged back on Saturday, and then there was Sunday, which, as most of you know, was Mother's Day. A few of you may also remember that we missionaries get to video call our family that day. So that was pretty fun. It was also fun to talk to the ward members who were seeing their missionaries that day. They were all pretty excited. 

So! Spiritual thought of the week. I decided against doing mothers because I sure I would just go rambling on and on about how wonderful my mom is and y'all probably don't have time for all the compliments I could lay down. So instead I will talk about a story I read recently from the Book of Mormon, in Alma chapters 60 and 61. Chapter 60 is a scathing, accusatory letter written by Moroni, the captain of the armies, to the head governor, who he believes is failing at his duty and refusing to send help to the soldiers in the field. The letter is full of anger and even threats. But, in fact, the governor, Pahoran, is unable to send help because of a coup that recently overthrew the government. Instead of being angry, though, Pahoran sends back a pleasant reply, complimenting Captain Moroni on his patriotic spirit and thanking him for some of his advice. What could have been a heated situation is immediately cooled and smoothed over, and both Pahoran and Moroni end up getting the help they need. 

I've noticed that a lot of people tend to assume the worst about other people, from the person who cut in front of them on the road to the people in positions of power. But while you may end up being right, you certainly won't end up being happy. By responding in a gentle way and assuming the best, you remain mostly unscathed by another person's actions, and the anger won't fester for any longer than it needs to. Getting angry won't make any of your problems go away; in fact, they might get worse. 

For those of you with short attention spans, the summary is this: Be like Pahoran. Assume the best about other people and be happy. 

We had a district activity playing sand volleyball today, which was fun, but it ws prety hot out so we spent some time eating Mexican candy under the ramada. That sums it up for today. Have a great week!

Love,

Sister Reay