The Reset

This week has been pretty groundbreaking in the mission. We are so very blessed to have the iPads as a tool to hasten the work! We had an "emergency" meeting on Saturday and our Zone Leaders informed us about some exciting new changes in the mission. Exciting because it is an opportunity for us to be more obedient and effective missionaries!!! Two of the general authorities gave a training for about 20 mission presidents whose missions have or are getting iPads. They said we don't have iPads to hasten the Lord's work, we have them so that the missionaries can learn how to effectively use technology and make it our servants, not make ourselves servants to it. I was really grateful to hear this because I have often wondered how to raise my kids in this crazy world with something new coming out every second of every day. You don't want to "shelter" kids from technology but if you don't know how to use them how can you teach your kids? We are lucky to be trained on our missions how to use these tools so we can go home and help others (especially our families) use them for good. One thing that I love is that we always have our companions next to us so that they can see our screens. It's not very realistic to do this with your kids, but I think if you make your social interactions know to each other (maybe passwords, not just knowing their's but them knowing yours) you and your kids can be open about your technology and there can be more trust. 

Our mission was one of the test missions for iPads, we were in the first 10 missions to have them. When they first gave us the iPads no one knew how to use them, and you can just see in your mind's eye 18-year-old missionaries downloading apps like fruit ninja or whatever it is kids play these days and wasting their missions away. Well they've come up with some restrictions since then, but there was never any solid guidelines on how to use Facebook or any of the other things effectively. For me, even if I was on it doing what I was supposed to it was easy to waste time and get caught up in things that didn't fulfill our missionary purpose. Well that's  the exciting news! Now that we are buying our iPads it's like a fresh start. They are giving us handbooks on how to use them and our mission is having a "Facebook Breakup" for 2 months so that we can get on the right page and get trained on how to use everything correctly. It is cool because we did pretty well considering what we had to go off of as far as instructions, but now we are receiving more light as to how to use them in the best way we can! So starting next Wednesday we will have new iPads and no Facebook which I'm pretty excited for! Some people from the missionary department are coming to train us on how to use them properly. Sorry if you can't tell, I'm really excited. Mostly because the easiest way to disobey in our mission is on your iPad, so I am grateful for the opportunity to become better and more obedient so that we can help others come to the ordinances that have brought us so much happiness. It's kind of like a way to change and start over with everything and have more help in doing it, which is what this gospel is all about! 

All this kind of ties into some other thoughts I had been having earlier this week about the spirit and revelation. I have been thinking about how important it is that we don't offend the spirit. It is so easy to do something that drives Him away-maybe a joke or a word that isn't quite on point and suddenly we are relying on our own strength because God will draw away until we come seeking Him again. Something I have been able to understand and enjoy a lot since coming on a mission is the ability to recognize when the spirit is there and when He isn't. I think in "real life" a lot of it has to do with how we use technology. How often do we stop and ponder? How often do we open our scriptures? Or pray? And compare those to the number of times we click on Instagram, Snapchat, or Facebook. I know for me, I was nowhere in the same ballpark with those numbers, but gratefully on my mission I have been able to control those things more and am closer to the spirit because of it. Ok I love music so much. It was always on in the car, the house, the headphones. But even music, if we listen to it too much, can take over the atmosphere of our spirit and can distract us from praying. I dunno about you, but I can't pray if Luke Bryan is blastin. Bless his heart. I hope we can all stop and think about how we spend our time. I love this quote "one of the greatest uses of Facebook and Twitter will be to prove in the last days that lack of prayer was not from lack of time." We all have time to do things that are important, but are we spending it on important things? Anyway going back to revelation, I think we can hear God talking to us a lot clearer when we aren't distracted by things of no value. 

I'm sorry if none of this makes sense..it makes sense in my female sister mish brain haha

The rest of the week was pretty slick, literally and figuratively, it was super cold and we helped crazy Dave clean out his house 2 of the days. It was purty crazy let me tell you. But Dave is awesome, he got started on hipsters and gave us a half hour lecture about how they are ruining our society. I was pretty entertained. We gave talks in church, I spoke about the Spirit of Revelation (my favorite topic of all time), and it was super good! Not saying the talk was that good, but it was a good experience for me haha. I love the YSA and am not looking forward to being transferred anytime soon. 

Speaking of which, President has been making a lot of changes in our mission so that we can be more obedient, and transfer calls are now the day before instead of a few days! It'll be crazy but I know as we follow the white handbook and what the prophets and apostles have outlined we will be a better mission and better missionaries. I am so grateful to be here, we are called to our specific missions for divine reasons, I know that. I love this gospel with all my heart. 

Thank you for everything you do for me, I love you all!

Sister Wadsworth

That awkward moment when all the pictures from this week are of us eating as a district.. (We went to the same pizza place 2 days in a row after doing service for Dave, plus district lunch)

But I threw in a little tbt action from the MTC for your enjoyment (: