In the Quiet Heart is Hidden

Enjoying milkshakes even when it's 30 below zero outside.

HELLO! It is a warm 25 degrees today! Oh how I love Minnesota winters.

This week has been very long but we have been so busy! I love when we are really busy but sometimes it makes me sad because I feel like I miss out on noticing all the little miracles that come with not being so busy. We don't have time to look or sometimes see the tender mercies of the Lord but I know they are still there.  I want to pray to notice them better!

Last week we got permission from the manager of Walmart to set up a hot chocolate stand outside to do some contacting. They had us sign a contract and everything. We were able to talk to lots of people and we gave out free hot chocolate. 

A while back I told you about C.  She is an Ojibwe indian from Cass Lake, Minnesota, the reservation right next to Bemidji. C is a sweet lady. She is a member of the church and has been less active since she moved to Moorhead. She joined the church when she was a teenager in the placement program for native americans. We have been teaching her and at first she wasn't sure what she believed.  There is some conflict between the native ways and the gospel of Jesus Christ.  C wasn't sure if she even believed in a God at all. Well, lately her heart has softened and changed. I think it started when she decided to feed all six missionaries in the fargo first ward. She made Indian tacos and she loved having us there. We all stayed after and did her dishes, took out her trash, and cleaned up. Then the elders brought her some end tables and we helped her arrange her house with them. She thought that was the nicest thing. It was so simple for us and the elders, just small acts of kindness, but it helped her to feel the love that Heavenly Father has for her. Well yesterday was her second time coming to church.  During sacrament meeting they announced that she moved in and that they received her records.  After reading in her records we were asked to welcome her into the ward with a show of hands.  She looked around and was so touched that everyone welcomed her in and she started crying.   Later she told us that she knows the church is true and as she said it, she started crying again. She is so sweet and her testimony strengthens mine. 

I don't know why C didn't come to church all these years but when she showed so much happiness at being welcomed I couldn't help but wonder if she didn't feel welcome in the past.  I hope we all make sure that everyone around us feels welcome and accepted no matter where we are and no matter where that person has been.  I hope we can all stop judging each other.  One of the best verses in a hymn is verse 2 from "Lord I Would Follow Thee".  It says:

Who am I to judge another
When I walk imperfectly?
In the quiet heart is hidden
Sorrow that the eye can't see.

 We can't always know what trials people are having to bear.  So if we see someone who has made a bad choice or who always seems to be grouchy and mean, remember the words:  In the quiet heart is hidden sorrow that the eye can't see. So many people are bearing heavy burdens that we will never know about.  If a person is hard to love, they probably need our love the most.  What sorrows can't you see? Stop to really notice people and reach out to them.  You could have a bigger impact than you realize.

Well, I love you all. Have a wonderful week and remember-- it only costs one stamp to send a letter to Minnesota :) LOVE YOU!!!

Sister Park