Happy p-day everyone!

This week was a fairly busy one. We have been assigned to be the new Facebook specialists in the Zone and that means we have some added responsibility this transfer! We basically run the “Followers of Jesus Christ in Roanoke, TX” Facebook page and we give trainings to the other missionaries and set goals for the page and other online finding opportunities. Good stuff!

We have a new person we are teaching which I’m sure will go nowhere because he seems to be more interested in us than our message which is never a good thing haha😂 He told us he was single but one of us could be his girlfriend… aaaand that’s a no from me, chief.

My sweet baby taught her first discussion in the mission this week! Well, the first one didn’t really count because it was with our flirty online friend who ended up leaving halfway through the lesson anyway… But we taught the first lesson again to a recent convert that some of the Elders have been teaching and she crushed it. She was nervous, but she is a natural. It’s funny how even though I am training her, she is still teaching me so much too. She’s got that “greenie fire” that reminds me of how I was when I first came out, except she is doing a much better job than me hahaha. But it is nice to have that kind of drive again.

Alright. Story time.

I had to make a pretty tough decision this week. Throughout my mission, I have accumulated an extensive collection of some way good, non-churchy, but uplifting, missionary-friendly music on my phone. Most of which I have received from other missionaries. Well, I came to find out that it could very well be illegal that I have most of it. I did not know this. However, my music means a lot to me and has been one of the ways I have been able to cope with some of the stress I’ve faced while being a missionary. Letting these songs go was going to be really tough and I wasn’t ready to delete them.

I kept trying to convince myself that maybe it wasn’t TOO illegal or maybe it wasn’t that big of a deal because it’s just music. Plus, there was no way I was the only missionary to have illegal music so what was the big deal? Right? Well I pretty much had myself convinced and hung on to my music for another day or so. But I just couldn’t listen to it without feeling uneasy. I knew it was wrong and I knew that God knew that I knew it was wrong. He was testing me. And boy, it was a test. But I had to prove myself.

So one evening this week, I deleted all of my music. The build up to the moment itself was really tough, I won’t lie. I LOVE my music. It might sound funny too, but I said a prayer before I built up the strength to click the “Delete all” button. I asked that I may recognize the joy that will come from making the right decision.

I will tell you that the answer to my prayer was an immediate one. The moment I pressed the button and as I watched my phone wipe away every last song, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders. I felt the spirit testify to me that I had done the right thing. Even though this may seem silly and simple, this experience meant a lot to me.

We show God how much we love Him by the way we live and how we act. This, though simple, was an act in which I was able to show my Father how much I love and want to follow Him. I knew what the right choice was, I just had to choose it. I know that as we choose what’s right, the peace and joy that come from making those choices will flood our life and we will have the influence of the spirit in our lives more and more. I feel so much happier now and I can honestly say I do not miss the music I deleted. What a blessing that the church’s youth theme music is so bomb😉

I’m grateful for you all and appreciate all the prayers more than you know. Life is really challenging right now, but it is so so good😊 I hope yall have a fantastic week! Ofa atu!

Scripture of the week: 2 Nephi 33:15

Get Busy, Get Lost!
-Sister Oldham