Sept. 4, 2017 ~ WE ARE ALL BEGGARS (Week 8)

Hello everyone!

I want to start by saying HAPPY WEDDING WEEK to my brother and my soon to be sister! It makes me so happy to just write that out!!! I FINALLY GET AN OLDER SISTER! YAY!! I am so excited for you two and everyone who gets to be involved! I can’t wait to hear all about it! 💑😘

I hear there may or may not be a cardboard cutout of yours truly... sooo not to steal the show or anything, but I would LOVE it if y'all took a picture with my cardboard self and sent it to me. I'll be sure to have my mom put me by the dessert table, because we all know that's where I would be if I were present in the flesh. That way it will be as normal as possible. 😉

 

💗💗💗💗💗 Also, to my friends and family in Texas, I LOVE YOU!
You are in my thoughts and prayers! I'm so sorry to hear about the damage that has taken place in our town of Fulshear and the area of Houston. I couldn't even believe it when my uncle told me that if my car were still there, parked on the street, it would be sitting in water up to the windows. So crazy!

So… CALIFORNIA!!! I LOVE IT!!! I LOVE my companion and I LOVE my area. My town is pretty small, with orchards and fields everywhere. It's been about 105° every day this week, (but as you can see from the picture, some days it was a bit hotter.) but usually the weather is absolutely perfect. We share a small duplex with the 2 English-speaking sisters in our area, whom I also love. We are all very different, but we have a lot of fun.

We also share a car with them, which means that every other day we are on bikes! (You ain't seen nothin until you've seen two girls from Utah riding bikes in skirts and helmets in a densely populated Latino community.) 

Most of our investigators work in the fields, so it's sometimes a bit difficult to get them to come to church. Pretty much all of the produce we (including you in Utah) eat comes from here. They start at around 5 am and work all day, every day. At least for right now, during produce season. But that will slow down around Halloween. The people work a ton, but get paid very little, but they still feed us very very well. too well. haha. They are patient with my Spanish and receptive of our lessons and are always trying to help someone else. I am grateful I get to become a Latina for the next 16 months, because these people are absolutely AWESOME! We have been very blessed with the people we get to teach and should have a few baptisms by the end of the month. 🤗🤗😁

I had the best birthday ever! Thanks again to everyone who sent me letters and emails and cards and packages. Ah I was SO happy! I had a great day!! (Notice the happiness on our faces due to one of my birthday packages. I don't think anyone who knows me will be surprised that I'm holding the peanut butter...)

For my Birthday WE GOT A NEW CAR! (I told everyone it was my birthday gift, but if I'm being honest, I don't even drive it.) But we were pretty darn happy! 

Because we had to get a new car, we went spent the afternoon at the mission office. We spent the morning talking to other missionaries and my companion (who has the voice of an angel), sang hymns for us. We went to lunch at Chipotle and got ice cream at Baskin Robbins there in town, because our area doesn't have very many places to eat. It was wonderful! We taught lots, made some awesome contacts, and drove home to eat yummy fish tacos for dinner. 

AND, to top off the day, President & Sister Angel left me a voicemail of them singing Happy Birthday to me. (I told them thank you and suggested they join Mo-Tab as part of their mission life but I don't think they're familiar with my sense of humor yet. haha baby steps.) 

The other day, as we were walking through the trailer park (where a lot of our investigators live), we passed an older gentleman who was playing a guitar on his porch. He wore a white tank top, cut off pants, and socks and sandals. It honestly could have been a picture cut straight out of a movie. We said hello as we walked past, and I immediately started up a conversation with him about music and his guitar. He handed me his guitar and told me to play for him, and I conveniently could only remember church songs... so, I asked him if it would be okay if I played a song I wrote about Jesus Christ & His love for us. Ben told us how much he loved Jesus and that it would be more than okay! Ah! Lemme tell ya… There is nothing better than sitting on the front steps of a trailer home, with an old man sitting next to you in his chair, as he says, "amen" and "hallelujah" to your testimony of Jesus Christ through a personal song. I was sooo happy!

After that, I asked Ben to sing How Great Thou Art with me; he is super talented! I asked him if we could come back to share a message and sing more songs. He said yes and to stop by the next time we see him on his porch (not exactly what we were going for but it works). Then he gave us 3 names of people who "need Jesus".  Haha you better believe we will be going back to see him! I didn't realize how much I had missed my guitar and my jam sessions with my friend back home, Alli! 

Growing up, we had two main rules in our home; under these all other rules could be classified. The first was the Golden Rule, with which I'm sure you are all familiar. It is simple and direct and states, "Treat others the way you want to be treated." Under this categorized RESPECT for our parents and others, KINDNESS ALWAYS, SERVICE, SELFLESSNESS, and so on.

The second was the Silver Rule, which I'm honestly not sure if my dad made up, or if it's a well-known thing. At our home, the Silver Rule states, "Be where you're supposed to be, when you're supposed to be there." This included MENTALLY (for example, if you’re taking a test, really be there mentally and do your very best), and PHYSICALLY (for example, if you are supposed to be in Seminary for fourth period, you better be in Seminary during fourth period… and not at Ridley’s getting donuts and chocolate milk with your friends… Yes, I’m speaking from experience ). Under this rule was categorized things such as CHORES; SCHOOL, WORK, and CHURCH ATTENDANCE; DOING OUR BEST; LISTENING TO PROMPTING OF THE SPIRIT; FULFILLING OUR OBLIGATIONS AS MEMBERS OF A COMMUNITY, SCHOOL, TEAM, THE CHURCH, SOCIETY, etc. And so on.

I have been thinking today about these two rules and how they seem to tie into everything in our lives. Or at least specifically in mine! Every regret I have can be stemmed back to my lack of obeying one of these two rules and the consequences that resulted thereafter.

As I was reading this morning in the Book of Mormon, in Mosiah, Chapter 4. (How cool is King Benjamin??) I was reminded of the necessity to treat others kindly and with love, and to give freely of our substance and our knowledge of the gospel. There are many excuses I personally have said in my head as to why I haven't done this...

Some being:

"I feel sorry for that person but it's not my job to fix their mistakes."   
 "They brought it upon themselves."
"I just can't afford to do anything extra right now."
"I don't have enough time."                         
Or the most common one, "I’m not good enough myself to help them."
“So-and-so has cuter cards or so-and-so is better at that sort of thing."                                        
"I struggle myself, who am I to help others when I can’t get my own life together?"

Maybe you’ve thought one of these, or maybe you have your own excuses.  The truth is, 
there will always be a good excuse to not do something... But it will never be better than the reason to why we should.

At one point or another, we have all been beggars. Maybe we have been poor in substance (shout out to my fellow college-goers) or maybe we have been poor in spirit. Maybe we have asked for help publicly, or maybe we have asked for help in a quiet and personal prayer. Maybe we have talked openly about our struggles and needs, or maybe we have silently battled with things that have never been spoken of. But at some point, in our lives we have lacked something that was necessary. At some point in our lives, we have hit rock bottom and felt the pain associated with the fall. We have ALL begged, whether consciously or subconsciously,  aloud or in solemn prayer, for something or someone to provide some sort of relief.

Elder Holland said, "We must recognize that we are all imperfect—that we are beggars before God. Haven’t we all, at one time or another, meekly approached the mercy seat and pleaded for grace? Haven’t we wished with all the energy of our souls for mercy… ? Because we all depend on the mercy of God, how can we deny to others any measure of the grace we so desperately desire for ourselves? My beloved brothers and sisters, should we not forgive as we wish to be forgiven?"

Should we not serve as we wish to be served? Should we not give as we wish to be given? Should we not love as we wish to be loved? Should we not save as we wish to be saved?

When Jesus healed a blind beggar, he spat on the ground, rubbed the resulting mud on the man's eyes, and told him to wash it off in the pool of Siloam (See John 9). The man didn't have an appointment to be healed, he was merely at the right place at the right time (Silver Rule).  Jesus saw the need of an individual who needed help and did His part to heal the blind man (Golden Rule). Jesus didn't have much material wealth. In fact, all he had was dirt and spit. Yet, it was enough to create a miracle and to change someone's life forever.

There are people all around us who need a little bit of something you have. Maybe it's something of substance. Maybe it's to hear your testimony. Maybe it's to feel the love of God through you. Or maybe it's just a smile and a wave. When you encounter these people, remember that we all are beggars...  

You might not have everything, but you have something that could bless the life of a stranger or loved one forever!
 

May we all try a little harder to be a little better!!! 😊

Thank you all for everything you all have done for me!

I appreciate your examples and kindness and love!!!

Love, Hermana Brooks

An awesome Temple Square missionary! This sister was called to serve in the mission at Temple Square. It is customary for those serving there to leave for 12 weeks to serve in another area. She was called here! And I'm so grateful because we get along sooo well. Each of our companions are Sister Training Leaders (STLs). So she and I did exchanges on Friday during their Missionary Council meeting. She is amazing.
I love her!