Transfer 5 Week 1

'Tis all rather exciting this week! 

We got 3 new Aussie Sisters this week! Which is so exciting! We now have 3 from Melbourne, 2 from Sydney, 1 from Perth, speaking, English, Mandarin, Tongan and Samoan, and our beautiful new Senior Couple Elder and Sister Moore! We are taking over Temple Square and it is so exciting!  

Start of the new transfer with a new companion! All week the Assistants to the President and Office Assistants have been telling me how exciting my new companionship is, how they would love to be room mates with this Sister, yet alone companions with her and how she is one of their favorite sisters in the mission and how I'm going to love it and everything! So, Monday came along and it was early morning transfer conference, because we were South 1 District 1, my companionship was the first to be announced obviously with Sister Turro going outbound that was easy and then I hear... "Sister Ryan!" they tell me everything about my apartment and Pday and everything and leave my companion for last and they say "Your new companion is sitting in this room!.... She is SISTER PIPE!" I looked over to her and we were both so excited! Sister Pipe is a highly beloved sister in this mission, she is from Montana and she is Native American (5/8), really tall, super funny, is famous for saying "bye now!" and it just a beautiful spirited sister who has accomplished so much in her mission. We are 3 days into the transfer and we are already seeing so many miracles. I love it so much, we have so much unity in this companionship and I am seeing a massive contrast to this transfer and the last 2 that I had, and we have truly been blessed to be put together, we know it was inspired and we are so excited! 

This is her last transfer, so I'm killing her off but I'm going to make sure she ends her mission with a bang, the Lord knew what we both needed in a companion and we got each other! Everyone just loves this companionship, people can't believe that we are together but they love it and they can see how many great things are going to happen this transfer! I feel like the real Sister Ryan is back, that I can be myself and that I can just do what I need to do to make the most of our time, to truly have our investigators in our hearts, to focus on them, to be faithful, to use time wisely, to be the missionary that not only I know I can be, but also who the Lord called me to be and needs me to be. 

I am going to learn so much from her and I am so grateful that President felt inspired to put us together. I was told that when they put our 2 photos together it was like "it has to happen!" we are both what each other need and it's just been amazing. I can't even express how truly happy I am. I haven't felt this much happiness in a long time and I know it's because there is love, friendship and unity in this companionship, I can be me again, I'm back, SISTER RYAN IS BACK! - sorry no photos yet, but next week I promise and you are all going to laugh so much at the height difference! 

Brenda is going awesome! We called her last week and she was like "I have great news, are you sitting down?!..." In my mind I was thinking, YES SHE HAS A BAPTISM DATE! YES! and she continues "I'm going to church tomorrow with my niece who is interested in the church!" and I was thinking, well, not what I was thinking but that is still awesome! not even baptized and being an awesome missionary! we talk  a little more and then I ask "so, have the missionaries talked to you at all about a date you could be baptized?" and she said "oh yeah! I forgot to tell you, I'm getting baptized on the 28th!" IT IS SO EXCITING! You can't even imagine, she is awesome and she is changing her whole life to come unto Christ and have the gospel in her life, to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized. 

Also, I'm going to a baptism tomorrow! Sister Turro and I took these Elders and this beautiful family (The Stark Family, yes they are related to Iron Man, or so they wish anyway...) around 3 times, we had such great love for this family and just wanted to help in anyway we could after we met them for the first time, the mother, is a less-active coming back and her husband is not a member, they have such a beautiful spirit about them and just need the gospel so much, we all had an instant connection and the Elders continued to bring them to Temple Square so we could be part of the lessons, this week when we were in Guest Services, they called to invite us to the baptism! They said how we had such a key part of their conversion and wanted us to be there for his baptism, the rule is, one investigator lesson baptism a transfer within a 30 minute drive, we looked it up... 33 minutes... This is an exactly obedient mission and I was thinking "No! it's 3 minutes! I'm not going to be able to go..." but then I had a feeling to ask President and some others suggest that I do... we are so blessed to have our mission president so close and so I knocked on his door "Hi, President Poulsen" he looks up from what he was doing "Sister Ryan! Come on in! How can I help you today?" I explained the situation and he said ever so kindly "for the sake of 3 minutes, I think it would be wonderful if you went to the baptism" I thanked him so much and I'm so excited! I love them all so much and they have expressed their love for us as well and so I'm really excited for tomorrow, they are already aware that I'm going to take so many photos and are so excited that I'll be there. 

This Wednesday was transfers and so the first day of Sister Pipe and I being together, we planned like a normal day and felt that at this certain time, we should go to Scriptures and Revelation, we walked down and we heard sisters saying "We have a Native American Sister here, she is... right here!" as we walked past, we stopped to talk and then it was us and him, his name is Lyleand he is Navajo, super sweet and you can see his great desire to come unto Christ and become a better person, he had a rough life and is really doing all he can to change, he left the reservation he was on and got picked up by a truck driver who is a member of the church and he has been looking after him, we had an instant connection to him, he shared his story with us and we felt such great love for him and a desire to teach him, help him, we know that he needed us and was ready, he just needed the assistance to get there. He doesn't have a phone but we agreed to meet him the next day.  So we met the next day and started teaching about the Restoration, a whole lot of fears and concerns came up and we talked a lot about the atonement and how this will help him, how through baptism, he can have all his guilt swept away (3 Nephi 27:14-16). He told us that he met so many Sister's the day before, but he felt like he could open up to us more, that we wouldn't judge him and just have that desire to help and we do! He is incredible and though he has a rough past, we know that he has such a great future ahead of him. We know that this gospel will set him free from what holds him captive, we know this gospel can change lives and it will as we let it, as we let the savior mold us into who we need to become. 

It has been Sister Pipe's dream to teach a Native American and to also teach someone (an investigator) on the Square and we get to do that with him!   

 

Too be honest, I don't have much more to write about other than these few things, but this week has already been incredible, and I know this transfer will be so amazing, that Sister Pipe and I will behold many great things as we strive to be obedient, faithful, diligent, hard working and use every second of time the Lord has given to us, this is His time, not ours and we need to make the most of it, because we are all given the same amount, it all depends on what we do with it.  It has only just begun but I never want this transfer to end!

My testimony continues to grow each day of something new, today I just had the best and most inspired personal study and it increased my testimony of studying for our investigators and I continue to see these little increases of testimony in all that I do, I love this work, I love my companion, I love my investigators, I love seeing the Temple everyday, I love walking on this Holy ground, I love being able to bear testimony all day every day, I love seeing little miracles every day, I love this gospel and the knowledge and peace that it brings me, I love being a missionary, I love the Restoration and all the blessings it has brought into my life, but most of all, I love my Savior Jesus Christ and all He has done for us, all that He is doing for us. He has strengthened me so much more than any one will ever know, I have had to purely rely on His strength through my mission to get through some days and it has helped me come so much closer to my Savior than I ever imagined.

I hope you all have a wonderful week, thank-you for all that you do. 

Love, Sister Ryan xx

photos

ridiculous photo

                     PDAY FUN

     

I loved having them as my room mates,
 it was always so much fun!

room mates

Transfer 4 Week 6

A couple of random things that happened in the past week:
1. Salt Lake City Comic Con, so many amazing costumes! and I also talked with and met Thor! (not Chris Hemsworth, sorry). They wanted a photo with us and so I assume I'm up on some comic con blog by now or something, haha.
2. We also went to the Temple today and it was so wonderful! We went as a district and it was so special, 
3. While typing this email Sister Hadfield came and found me! and it's was amazing! #Don'tEvenCareAboutEmailTime, haha. 
4. I hit my 6 month mark on the mission and in 18 days I have 1 year left.. NO it's going too quickly! 

5. I got this beautiful package form the Primary in my home ward and it was incredible, just so tender, it just melted my heart and it was so beautiful! - Thankyou to my Ward Primary! 

6. Sister Turro is going Outbound to the San Jose, California Mission!

After overcoming last weeks sickness, I had the greatest desire to get up and work than ever before, I wanted to make up for those days lost not being able to do anything while being sick, Saturday and Sunday were the days I started to feel the best and after this weekend, I have seen so many wonderful and amazing and beautiful miracles! I put everything I had into finding and focusing on those we were teaching and some incredible things happened. I gained such a stronger testimony of Faith, Diligence and Using Time Wisely. 

We went to take a God's Plan and it was this beautiful family and the fathers brother, we talked a little bit and found out that the family was less-active and the brother (Julio) was not a member of the church. We asked inspired questions (seriously gained such a testimony of questions lately) and found that he was open to having a faith in Jesus Christ. We went through and talked about how the family could be blessed with the gospel and they were so prepared! The night before they had read the Book of Mormon with Yadira's (the mother) sister and knew from that they needed to start doing something and coming back. We gave them that motivation and they had a desire to change and asked for our help to do so. We offered to stay in contact and they were just so excited to do that. We asked Julio if this is something that he wants and he said yes and that he would love to stay in contact with us also.
We were meant to call Julio on Tuesday but it fell through, then we called him last night and something incredible happened! He said that he has not had a religious background ever, but that he is open to it, that he feels like he is in darkness and doesn't belong, that he feels alone. We offered to send the local missionaries and he said yes, that he would love that. We then talked about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how through baptism any guilt we feel can be swept away and how he is never alone because he has Jesus Christ on his side and he said that he felt really good when we talked to him and it was just so incredible! He asked if we could call tomorrow, we looked at each other and just said "Of course!" We did not care that it would be p-day, the Lord had prepared people and they need our help, this is His time, not ours and we need to take every opportunity we have in order to help these beautiful children of God! Needless to say we are super excited to talk to him tonight!

Yadira's family is also doing incredibly! We called her and talked with her and she is doing everything she can, she has a plan and she is putting it into action, family Book of Mormon reading, Family Home Evening on a night that works best for them and also they are planning to go to church this week! We offered to text her and give her that boost and encouragement in the morning. So exciting! They were so truly prepared to come back into the arms of the Lord and doing all they can as a familywhich is so beautiful and amazing.

Another thing that truly helped me gain such a stronger testimony of Faith, Diligence and Using Time Wisely, is a miracle that happened on Monday, we were in the Teaching Center and going through our Area Book, I was thinking, "who can I call"... "who needs me to call?" and "who is available?" I stated going through my dropped/former contacts and I felt prompted to call John,he was a member referral in the Beehive House (my 2nd Transfer) and we taught him for ages, but he stopped picking up and I hadn't heard from him in months... The Spirit was pushing me and I knew I had to call him, but I kept thinking, he would be at work... but, I put my faith into action and followed the prompting anyway, I called and all of a sudden "Hello?"... "Hi John! It's so amazing to hear from you again, it's Jen the missionary!" It was so amazing! I asked him how it was all going and so much has happened! He is meeting with local missionaries, reading the Book of Mormon, went to church last week, planning on going this week and is going to a baptism on Saturday! He has progressed so much and it's so exciting! He met with missionaries not long after he stopped picking up, had a 1 month break (because he wasn't at home for a while) and then has been meeting with them the past 3 weeks! It is so exciting and I'm so excited to see what will happen, he is incredible and is getting a great testimony of the Book of Mormon and it's helping him so much.

I talked about Brenda last week and she is just putting every inch of faith she has into the Lord, she is incredible and just wants to learn and grow as much as she can, she has shared so much with her and shared with us her desires to come unto Christ and have these things in her life, she is a truck diver and wanting to give it all up so she can settle down in Salt Lake City and get baptized and married and everything else! It's so exciting!

Rose! My beautiful little Aussie! I love her so much and have a very special place in my heart for her. She had such of an incredible experience last Sunday (being Fast and Testimony meeting), that she shared with us. She wanted to go up and bear her testimony but she ran out of time and totally regrets it! But we asked how it felt when she wanted to bear her testimony and she said "It was an intense burning sensation and I have goose bumps all over my body, It was amazing, Never thought the spirit was that strong until today". Here is a young girl who just perfectly described the spirit and her testimony of the Spirit alone, yet alone everything else. She is so amazing and I know she knows these things are true, her testimony just radiates from her and I know that she is one of the reasons I came on my mission, just all all those who I have talked about are, I know I made them a promise before this life and I'm fulfilling that promise.  

If all goes well I know that these beautiful children of God will enter the waters of baptism and find true and eternal happiness in our Savior Jesus Christ and His Atonement, that they will feel the love, peace and joy that comes from accepting and living His gospel. They are amazing and I have such great love for every single one of them and I know there are great and marvelous things in store for them. If I only have a part of the love that the Savior has for them, I can't even imagine how much He loves them.

This is truly the Lords work and I know that I am an instrument in His hands, I have truly felt that this past week and I know that I am fulfilling my purpose by inviting others to come unto Christ, if they be less-active, non members, members, whatever the case. I feel like I am becoming the missionary the Lord would have me be and I love it so much! I have the greatest desire to spend every second I can bearing my testimony and helping and inviting people to come unto Christ, to just do that little better every single day and work harder every day.

"Yea, they were encircled about with everlasting darkness and destruction; but behold, he has brought them into his everlasting light, yea, into everlasting salvation; and they are encircled about with the matchless bounty of his love; yea, and we have been instruments in his hands of doing this great and marvelous work." - Alma 26:15

I love this work, I love being a missionary, I love thinking about my investigators and having them in my heart, I love knowing that the Spirit really does teach and testify through us and that as we teach by the Spirit they will be able to gain a witness of truth about these things. The Gospel of Jesus Christ changes lives and I know it more than ever, as I hear these people talk about how these things are helping them and how it is changing their lives, it brings my heart so much joy!

I love you all, Thank-you for everything, just know I love my mission so much!

Love, Sister Ryan xx

photo

Sister Balledos (Philippines) and I matched by accident the other day,
 this is the only photo I got this week. — 

Transfer 4 Week 5

This weeks email won't be a long one, I had a lot of people email this week and I want to reply to everyone as much as I can.

A few things since last time!

Last P-day we went to the Church History Museum, which they are closing for a whole year after General Conference for remodeling. We had so much fun looking at everything, I love the Hall of the Prophets and the American Indian art, they have so many increidble displays about the history of the church and it's all so wonderful, gives a great perspective and appreciation for everything, Sister Turro and I spent most of our time in the kid section however, where they have awesome displays about the Gold Plates and how heavy they were and what the inscriptions possibly looked like (and also a whole bunch of fun activities... haha) etc. We have been telling everyone to go check it out since!
Later that night we had dinner out with Sister Gibson and Sister Snowden! It was wonderful! we went to Johnny Rockets and had a great time! I seriously had the greatest food baby, ever (well not really, but kinda...).
It was a great evening and then we all walked home together talking more about the mission and about how fast it's going by and all of that. I love having someone so close to my heart here, it's been such a blessing! Have Sister Gibson here is so amazing, every time I see her it just makes my day and I love chatting with her, it's a little piece of home.

Last Saturday night we met an absolute miracle! Her name is Brenda and she is now a new investigator! We were covering Map Desk for 5 minutes until the next Sisters came and Brenda and Nathan came up to us wanting to see "Gods Plan for His Family" and so we called it in and talked with them until Sister's came. Nathan (her fiance) said that Brenda was investigating the church and then I immediately assumed that meant she was already seeing missionaries, I bore my testimony/conversion story and we were all in tears, it was beautiful, then the Sisters came and we decided we would take them to God's Plan! On the way we asked how long she had been meeting with missionaries and she said she hadn't met them yet! We waited a little until we could go through and Nathan shared his conversion story, we then took them through and I just had such a great love for her! I had to keep in contact with her, I knew it was by no coincidence that Sisters didn't come to take them and we covered Map Desk at that exact time! We offered to keep in contact and so she gave us her phone number! We met with them Monday, took them on a tour and taught the Restoration, we invited her to be baptized and she said yes! It's so exciting! She is so dedicated to learn more about these things, she really wants this and it is so exciting! Her fiance is a convert to the church and you can just see the love he has for the Lord and she really loves that about him, they are an adorable couple and so we are excited to be with them through this journey of truth and light and love that comes from our Savior.

This week I got sick with some tummy bug that is apparently going around, and I haven't been able to do hardly any work, which breaks my heart! I stayed home all day Wednesday and then just stayed in the lounge or Guest Services Thursday. But now that I am felling better I am excited to work harder than every before to make up for the days lost. Being sick as a missionary is the worst thing ever! All you want to do is go up on the Square and take tours and invite people and help people but your body just won't let you!
But I'm overcoming it now, yay! So I'm so excited to hit the pavement of Temple Square again.

Today I finished the Book of Mormon! I have been reading it little by little since coming into the mission field and so it has taken me a little over 5 months to read the Book of Mormon and it was such of an incredible experience, I read the Book of Mormon in a different way than ever before. It's always different when we have different things happening in our lives but this morning as I knew I was coming to an end, when I started my studied with a pray I asked specifically to know and have my testimony reconfirmed to me that these things are true. As I read the last chapters of Moroni the Book of Mormon felt so real, I felt as if I was there seeing and hearing for myself what was being taught and experienced.
I finished the Book of Mormon and I got to my knees to pray. The Spirit entered into my heart with great force, yet at the same time it was so gentle and warm. I know that the Book of Mormon is another Testament of Jesus Christ and I know that He lives. That miracles happen through our faith and that the Book of Mormon is physical evidence of the Restoration of Jesus Christ original gospel. I know that Joseph Smith was a called prophet of God and that he truly did see God the Father and Jesus Christ! The Book of Mormon is the greatest book this world has to answer questions of the soul, to testify of the Savior and His great redeeming and merciful love, for His awareness of us, of His teachings and so much more.

Every good thing comes from God and this is the greatest! The knowledge that comes from the Book of Mormon through the Spirit as it bear testimony of the truthfulness of it is the most joyous thing we can have! My feelings and love for my Savior and His gospel are ineffable! And it is the greatest honor and privilege to be able to declare the truth to all nations here on Temple Square. To invite all men, women and children to come unto Christ and receive His gospel. 

I can not and will never doubt the truthfulness of these things, I know it with all I have and I'm so grateful for it! This gospel has changed my life and it does change lives, people can change as they let the Lord mold them into who He needs them to be so they can obtain true happiness, not just in this life, but in the life to come. "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." - John 14:26. Change the word peace, for happiness and you have what I'm trying to say.

If you want to know these things for yourself, I invite you to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it, with the quesiton in mind, are these things true? is this another testament of Jesus Christ? whatever you might be looking for, I promise you will receive an answer in a way that it perfect for you, because the Lord knows you and He wants you to know these things, He has his arms out waiting and ready to receive you, he is inviting you to come to Him and partake of His grace and glory. As you follow the promise given in Moroni 10:3-5 you can not fail and you will not go wrong. 

I love you all, Thank-you for everything!

Love, Sister Ryan xx

photos

Sister Gibson and I, love her so much!

Those things were so heavy!

 Even just a single page was heavier 

 than you would think.

The Gold Plates! 

1830 edition of The Book Of Mormon
(mum has always wanted a copy of these)

The Epic burger from Johnny Rockets, and I ate it all haha

Transfer 4 Week 4

This week I was thinking... "nothing really happened, what am I going to send home?" and then BAM!... stuff happened! haha.

This week we found 4 new investigators which is so exciting! They were all absolute miracles and it's all very exciting!

The first was Josh, we didn't have a plan of what to do for this short time so we were led by the Spirit to go down to Scriptures and Revelation where we found Josh, we talked with him and he has a lot of questions about different things, he has a lot of friends who are members of the church and wanted to learn a little more. We asked him if this is something he want's, has he never thought about it sincerely. He was traveling around the national parks (like everyone else that comes to Temple Square) and we invited him to pray about if this is the path he should take and look more deeply into and he accepted, we are keeping in contact and calling him next week so we are so excited!

The second was a Guest Services miracle! Skyler called in and told me about how he saw missionaries on a bus when he lived in Hawaii and he just moved and hasn't seen the missionaries but wants to see them and learn more, that he felt really good about what they told him about (Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon) and felt like it was God putting him in the right path and directing him where he needs to go. We told him we could send missionaries and keep in contact with him and we was so excited! Though we tried to call him today and he gave us the wrong number (so sad! my heart was actual broken about it) I know that he will see the missionaries and they will teach him and help him and he will come to know these things are true for himself and that it very exciting :)

The third and forth 2 wonderful and sweet Italians Christian and Valentina, we were meant to have Tabernacle but the Mormon Tabernacle Choir are back in the Tabernacle on Thursday nights and so we just have Square, we were walking around and just as we were about the leave the North Visiting Center we asked if we are available and say yes, we took Christian and Valentina down to Scriptures and Revelation and taught the Restoration, now this is all in Italian, though Sister Turro and I have been together for 10 weeks now I still only recognize little bits and pieces, we have never really taught the Restoration together in Italian either! But we got down there and I could actually understand almost all of what was going on! Even to the point that Sister Turro said "The Restoration couldn't have happened in Europe" and she turned to me to translate and I said "Yeah, I know. The Restoration could not have happened in Europe!" she looked at me like "how did you get that?!" and just said "I love when my companion understands!". I truly felt the Spirit tell me what was going on in a way I have never felt before, the gift of tongues is so real! I was about to ask a question and then Sister Turro would ask it in Italian as if she was reading my mind. I didn't speak a lot, but when I did the Spirit was strong (as Sister Turro told me later that night), because I picked up where she left off and connected it to what they said. Christian talked about religion had a time where everything was sinking and he said this is like we are being picked up out of the water. It made me see the Restoration in a different way, because of the Apostasy the world was sinking, and when we where seeking for truth again (like when Peter needed help from the Savior), He againreached out in love and Restored his gospel on the earth again today. With the gospel of Jesus Christ we don't have to worry about sinking, because with it, we can walk on water! It was incredible and we met with them again today and taught them about the Temple and related it to the Gospel of Jesus Christ! It was so amazing!

Lately I have really had to rely on the Lord and really felt the power of the Atonement work in my life, I was expressing my thoughts and feeling while on an exhange with my Zone Leader and she said that I had to write it down, because it was so beautiful! I have never been a writer, never saw myself as a writer, but I took the challenge and wrote it all down. It all started with Jacque, when talking to her about the Atonement and how it was like a broken vase that he Lord puts back together, that was in my first transfer and since that time I have been elaborating on it and creating it to be what it is today. I would love to share it with you, it's not perfect by any means but the few I have shared it with thusfar have really enjoyed it and felt the love and Spirit I put into it. It's called:
The Broken Vase by Sister Jennadene Ryan (Utah Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission)     

We have all had experiences where we have been broken, that someone or something came along and shattered our beautiful vases. I am one of them, I have had many things come along and shatter my vase into a million pieces.

As I stand there hurt with tears in my eyes, not knowing what to do, where to turn, not knowing where to even begin to rebuild and put it all back together, scared to hurt myself even more by cutting myself on the shards of glass.

I see a man walk towards me, he is dressed in white, so gracefully he comes towards me, he looks at me and then looks at my broken vase, he smiles sympathetically and starts to pick up the pieces that I was too scared to touch, as he picks them up His hands start bleeding as the glass cuts his beautiful hands I try to stop him, but He wouldn’t let me, He told me “It’s okay” and continues to pick up the pieces and put them together. I stand there, not knowing what to do, standing there weak, lost and confused.
As He picks up the pieces, they cut him and he winces at the pain but little by little He put these tiny shattered pieces together in front of me. Tears fill my eyes and roll down my cheeks, because though I have never seen this man before in my life, I love him and I don’t want him to go through the pain, I don’t want him to suffer the pain for me, with my tear filled eyes I look again, and I see His hands and notice something I didn’t before, I see the prints in His hands and I fall to my knees, realizing who it is, I ask him “Why? Why do you hurt yourself to build me up?” He stops to look at me and He replies so simply and sweetly “Because I love you and I have already paid the price, this is what I am here to do, you could not do this by yourself, you needed me to help you and I was sent by our Father, to rebuild your beautiful vase piece by piece, little by little, to make it stronger and more beautiful than it was before”. Gratitude fills my heart and then I look and he has already put it back together, I see that it is more beautiful than it was before, stronger than it was before and somehow, by some miracle he makes it look anew, I don’t see a single crack, it is strong again, reinforced in a way that I never could have done myself. He warns me “It might happen again, but now it is stronger, next time it will be able to withstand more against it, and if it does shatter again, it won’t be as bad and I will come back and put it back together”.  I look at Him and thank him for everything He has done, I want to just give him the greatest hug in the world and as if he read my mind, he opened his arms, I turn to him and run into His arms and he ever so gently and lovingly put His arms around me, He says “I have to go now, to fix someone else’s vase, but I am always here” as he points to my heart, “you are never alone”.

He lets me go and slowly walks away, I’m sad that He is gone, but I knew that I was never alone, I knew that He would always be by my side. When he is out of my sight, I take a closer look at my vase and realize I no longer feel confused or hurt, I no longer feel shattered and broken, I stand there and ponder all that just happened and realize; the vase is me. Someone broke me and He came along to put me together, He made me stronger and more beautiful than I was before and I knew that He, my Savior, would always be there for me, He knew me better than I knew myself and He knew what I could become with the right reinforcement and the right trails.
Next time I will recognize Him instantly, I knew that He would always be by my side, to pick me up when I fall, to put me together when I feel broken, and as He said, He already paid the price. He felt it all, He felt all the pain, sorrow, and confusion I had ever felt and would ever feel.

He was Jesus Christ, My Savior, Redeemer, my Brother, and Friend.

The Atonement is real in so many more way than we realize and I am so grateful for my Savior and Redeemer for all He has done and all He continues to do for me. My mission is truly helping me rely on Him and is helping me have a greater relationship with Him as the time goes on. As I wrote this piece I really thought about what words to use, I thought about how He would treat me if I were by His side, I thought about what it would be like to be in His presence and how it would feel to have Him build me up. I thought I knew and I loved Him, but I see it all in a completely different light and my testimony continues to grow the closer I come to Him. I love my Savior so much and I know that all He wants me to do is come to Him in all of my brokenness and let Him heal me and put me back to together. I have done this and I have felt the strength that comes from doing so and it is a different type of strength than what I have been used to.

I love you all and Thankyou for the many wonderful and beautiful surprises I have had this week! 

Love, Sister Ryan xx

Photos

Selfie behind the Temple Model at
8am this morning :)

One of our room mates (Sister Laminen, Finland) has been really sick lately and been at home for most of the week, one day we came home and found these for each of us.