The Lord works in mysterious ways

Hello Friends and Family! 

Funny: We moved apartments this week! 15 stripling Irmaos (I believe this is "brothers") showed up outside our apartment at  9 am Saturday morning to help us, but the portaria man said "NOPE, Saturday moves are not permitted!" I began to fret, but one of my favorite Irmaos took the situation into his own hands, took the man aside for 3 minutes, worked his magic, and somehow the the man went into his little hut and let us do the move. HAHAHA, Oh how I love the members here! We serve all day every day, but it was so cool to be on the receiving end and watch them cheerfully assembly line our little possessions to the other apartment. :)

Learning Experience: At church I shared a little testimony about how the Lord will not tell us everything we want to know for our own growth. I used to think, "How cool is it that we have the Spirit? All I have to do is ask what I should do for every decision and my life will be perfect because I will ALWAYS choose the right!" But sometimes He remains silent so that we have to make choices...and sometimes we are going to choose the wrong one, even though we are trying to do the right thing. We have our agency to choose.  That is why we have the Atonement, that is why we are here on earth. :) We are here preparing to be perfect and to be gods, and someday WE will be the ones needing to give the answers to others!

Then...that night my understanding was put to the test. We were in a house of a less active member, and I was trying to determine which message I should share. I felt like I should share a really strong scripture. I thought, "Really, Pai? Is this what He is needing? Won't it offend him?" But I went with it....and it was a disaster. I felt awful, and later that night I was racking my brain, trying to realize what I did wrong. As the dust settled, I could clearly see when the Spirit had been with me and when I was acting on my own prideful intuitions.

The memory of what I had shared in church that very morning (exercising our agency) came to mind and I realized, "WELL, OF COURSE! I was left to make my own choices, and I chose wrong! But...I learned PRICELESS lessons that I would have never learned had the Spirit been whispering in my ear about everything I should do." Yes, I still hurt as I reflect on the memory, but I am a better missionary today. The Lord works in mysterious ways, and oh, how grateful I am that I am here to make mistakes and get messy, and become clean again through the Atonement. What a beautiful process :)

LOVE YOU ALL!  Sister Ava Ludlam

Ava on another mission with Luci