It's a great day to be a missionary!

Hello hello!

This has been such a great week. We taught 15 lessons! And so many of the lessons went so well. Man, I wish I could tell you about every single one. For the sake of time I will tell you about two.

We met this woman, Arlene, 2 weeks ago and she seemed really interested, but then she stopped returning our calls. We went back to her house the other night and she wasn't home, but her dad, Angle, invited us in and let us teach him. He had lots of questions and it was going really well. Then Arlene walked in! We ended up getting to teach the whole restoration to both of them, and wow. I have never in my mission felt the spirit testify so powerfully through me as it did during that lesson. My body was almost shaking. It was crazy, I've never had an experience like that before that was so incredibly powerful. That's why it's so important to be exactly obedient and to humble ourselves, so when the Lord calls on us, when He knows there is someone who needs to hear His message powerfully, He is able to use us. I'm really excited for these two.

And we had such a breakthrough lesson with Rogelio last night! He just hasn't been committed at all lately and we were questioning whether we should continue to teach him. But again, the spirit taught this amazing lesson to him through our mouths. It is such an amazing experience when the spirit tells you exactly what you need to say to change someone's heart. Hna. Spittler and I have been so unified this week. It was so cool because the spirit taught the whole lesson and just took turns of whose mouth it came out of.

These experiences and many others happened only after a trial of our faith. We may not have known it's what we signed up for, but in coming on a mission we have agreed to go through the refiner's fire so that we can be effective instruments in the Lord's hands. The Lord stretches us and helps us to grow, and it can be painful. But if we remain faithful and let Him shape us, He will always bless us with miracles. The answer to get through trials, that refining fire, is to be obedient and have faith. If we let it, incredible blessings and growth can always come through our trials. I am so grateful to the Lord for shaping me and helping me to be the missionary He needs me to be. I would be so unsuccessful as a missionary if I tried to do it my way. The only way we will ever have success is by consistently humbling ourselves before the Lord. He tells us in Ether 12:27 that as we come to Him, He will show us our weaknesses. That means when we see our weaknesses, it's a good thing! It is no reason to get discouraged. When our weaknesses are evident it is time to thank the Lord for helping us to see them. And then, if we choose, He will help those weak things become strong.

I want to quote my awesome, dedicated district leader, Elder Johnson. He said in district meeting this last week: We are not here to say, "I am a missionary." We are here to help others be able to say, "I am a member of the only true church of Jesus Christ. I can be with my family forever." That is our only goal while out here. We are the Lord's servants. We are here doing His great and marvelous work, which is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. Everything we do as missionaries is to help Him in His work, and His work is only for our benefit. Every blessing He gives us is only to help others. Dedicating myself to the Lord and this work is the best decision I have ever made. It is an honor to be a part of this, whether times are hard or whether everything is going well.

I love you all so much. I am so grateful for you. Thank you for your continual support. I am the person I am today in large part from your incredible examples. Thank you for helping me get here.

Hermana Cannon