January 28, 2019
This week has been full of ups and downs. Sister 'Eliesa and
I worked hard and got to see a lot of progress in our area, and with the
people. On Saturday night we got a call from Sister 'Eliesa's uncle. She
started crying, and even though I don't speak Tongan I knew what he was saying.
We both started sobbing. Sister Eliesa's father Viliami passed away. He has
been sick for a while, and they both knew when she left that it would probably
be the last time they saw each other. That night I felt so deeply the pain of
losing someone you love dearly. Sister 'Eliesa is the only companion I have had
for longer than six weeks. We have a special bond. We understand each other on
a very deep level. I love her because she truly is my sister. That night we
just cried on the floor and hugged for a while. I felt so much love for her. I
felt the love that Heavenly Father has for her. Through all the sorrow that we
felt, there was such a strong feeling of peace. She told me how she is grateful
that her father no longer has to suffer, and she knows now he can be reunited
in the spirit world with her little brother and someday they all of them will
be reunited. I am so grateful for the plan of salvation. I know that we have a
loving father in heaven who created a plan for our happiness! He loves us, and
his greatest desire is for us to be happy. He wisely allows us to pass through
afflictions and trials, because he knows that is how we will best be able to
grow. That is the whole purpose of our life here on earth is to learn how to
progress and grow. "Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might
have joy." He wants us to be happy because he loves us. Without sorrow
though we wouldn't truly have joy. There must be an opposition in all things.
We get to experience this life, the good and the bad, and after that it is not
over! We have the ability to return to live with our father in heaven! We all
get to be resurrected, and we can be with our family once more! Experiencing
the death of a loved one is very hard, but it is only that way because we will
miss them for this very short duration we have on this earth. The only way to
take sorrow out of death is to take love out of life. It's okay to have sorrow,
it's okay to let ourselves love people with all that we have not fearing that
they will one day be gone. Because death is not the end. Because of Jesus
Christ the grave has no victory death has no sting. I am so grateful to know
this for myself. I know it because I have felt the love that my Savior has for
me, and for others. I know that his plan of love is for all of us on the earth.
I am so grateful for this gospel and the peace that it brings. I love you all
very much!
Mitakuye Oyasin