"by Faith, they become"

Dear Emmia and Kirk,

  Well today is the day I have been out on my mission for one full year.
 
Today was also the day I finished the Book of Mormon in 26 days.

This past year I have learned many many many things.

One of them being that God loves us.

1 Nephi 11:17

"And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things."

We are His children and He wants all of us back. It doesn't matter what walk of life we come from or who has more worldly prestige because we are all equally loved by our Father.

Second of them being is to be happy and love where you are, who your with and how you got there no matter the mode of transportation.

Loving who you are and who your with will free you from yourself and that makes all the difference.

And thirdly of them being that when we have faith & pray to our Father we can conquer anything!

Moroni 7:26

"And after that he came men also were saved by faith in his name; and by faith, they become the sons of God. And as surely as Christ liveth he spake these words unto our fathers, saying: Whatsoever thing ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is good, in faith believing that ye shall receive, behold, it shall be done unto you."

BY FAITH WE BECOME!

It is only because of faith I have been able to leave behind everything I was used to; leave behind my family and all that I loved to come to New York and it is only by faith that I came to love the people here and pore out my heart in the service of my God. 

I could never be able to do it without faith, hope or charity.

Moroni 10:20

Wherefore, there must be faith; and if there must be faith there must also be hope; and if there must be hope there must also be charity.

I by myself could not have gone through this year with all that I have done and seen and cherished without my Savior Jesus Christ. And I won't be able to leave this beloved New York or the people here, go home to my family whom I love or face my future without my God.

Have faith to become His

Doubt not, But be BELIEVING!

Mormon 9:27

Love,

   Ryn.

Failures, anyone?

Dear Emmia and Kirk,

As I look back on this last year and forward to the new I ask myself a lot of questions: 

What have I done?

What have I become this past year? 

What do I want to be? 

What are my new years resolutions?

Can I even remember my last ones?

Which ones did I accomplish?

Which ones are unfulfilled?

How can I get better?

What should I aim for?

What haven't I aimed for?

What in the world is wrong with me?

Why am I asking all these questions anyway?

Hmmm, maybe I should learn how to play the guitar?

Woo I wonder if I could read all the standard works in a year!?

Wouldn't that be an accomplishment!?

But what about the other goals I want to get done? like:

-become a Preach my Gospel Missionary

-declutter(I have soo much stuff right?

-make every prayer meaningful

-get in shape and eat right, yay!

-develop talents and abilities

-turn 21(not a given one if you think about it)

-always be myself(which is super hard, no?

-maybe figure out how to do a podcast

-and learn how to crochet and knit a pattern

-become fluent in Spanish

How am I ever gonna get all these things done?

What about last years goals that did not happen?

like at all?

Was last year a failure?

Maybe it wasn't?

I wonder if you got confused with all these questions?

     This past year was all a year should be. It had up and downs and unexpected turns and paths. Yeah I made a bunch of mistakes and goof ups but I also did a lot of good.

So as I tried to figure out my goals for this year as well as reflecting, my sister emailed me and gave me this sound advice:(without even knowing it)

 "Remember that "failures" are only failures if you don't learn from them."

 So I'm not going to limit my goals this year just because I "failed" some goals last year. I learned from them so they're not really failures.

 

I know I may not know the path but I know who is with me. My Savior never leaves me and with Him and can return to God. I focus on him and through all the trial and mistakes I try to always remember:

So my new years resolutions are:

Use the Atonement daily, one day at a time.

Master the simple things

Love and serve others

Be balanced

Return with Him

And any others He wants to to do:)

 So go out and learn and grow. I'm certainly doing it or trying to, and that's what life is all about.
   Because we are eternal beings (we have always existed and will always exist) this is the only time in our existence where we will have such a close understanding of and think of beginnings and ends, months and years, and the everyday mortal things.

Enjoy it!!! Reach out and grab it. Cherish and love every bad hair day, flat tire, broken relationship, wrong turn, right way, family laughter, precious moment, held child, falling leaf, snowflake, or rain, skip or trip or run, frown or smile, dashed hope or accomplished dream. Because its only fleeting and you'll realize as you look back on it all, your failures or mistakes will be your most triumphant memories, where you overcame and changed and loved the most.

God gave us this opportunity to be human together. Lets enjoy the journey; potholes, bumps, wrong turns and all. So lets do this new year thing together. What are your resolutions?
Love,
Ryn

The Hope in my Heart

Dear Emmia and Kirk,
   My life has not been perfect. Big surprise right? From the get-go it was violent and stormy. I really hope that your start in life will be filled with loving parents and a peace in the home.

I have many memories  that hurt to look back on (the first four years of my life, the passing of my grandpa and many in between). We all have those moments in life where everything seems hopeless. You struggle to get out of bed, put on a brave face to greet the world and move forward. . . or you don't. You just sit there thinking about all the hopeless things. I've done that a lot in the past. I've had many trials in my life, probably not the most extravagant of hardships but they are unique to me.

I've learned from them a hope. This hope isn't fleeting or temporary. Its real and has been real my entire life. It has comforted me through the darkest of paths and the thorniest of ways to find some peace in this life of chaos.

Jesus Christ is the Hope in my heart.

This painting by Greg Olsen is a small vision of the peace I get when I think of Jesus Christ. When I was pitying myself for not having an earthly father or crying at night because of nightmares or grief that peace was with me. It doesn't stop me from crying or feeling sorrow. All it does is reassures me that nothing will be lost.

  Through Jesus Christ I know I'll see my grandpa again. I'll see my Father in Heaven again. Everything that's unfair or mean in life will be made right. Jesus Christ will make all the imperfect things perfect.
   Emmia. Kirk. I want you both to know that He wants to be with you all the time. When you choose to let Him in He will give you peace and everything you need to become like Him. Sometimes it won't be easy. He'll give you things that don't seem like blessings, but they are. When your in the darkest part of your soul thinking you can't possibly return to Him or find Him, wondering how you'll ever see light again, know please know that He is there, in that dark place with you feeling all that you feel, crying all of those tears you've ever cried and holding out is hand. Just have faith to reach out to Jesus Christ and He will lift you up. All of those dark times are molding you into who you can become: greater than you can dream, better than you can imagine, strong enough to touch the stars and maybe someday make some of your own.

  When I walk with Him I am at peace.

Remember always His love for you.

    Love,

Ryn

Love is the motive

Love is pretty basic, right? This world tends to make love complicated and I know that there's a lot of different definitions but to me, love is simple.

Learn from everybody. Its amazing what people know and the experiences they've had.

Observe who they are, what they need and what you can give them.

View their lives. Whether is be only a few seconds or all their lives, be witnesses to their lives.

Eternally care about them.

I try to love every person I see. The people I've known all my life as well as the people that I take on tours at the LDS historical sites here in New York. I may have only known them for maybe just an hour or so and I may never see them again but I know all of them are children of God. They have concerns, questions, problems, trials, joys, and lives. Love needs to be the motive for all of us to rid ourselves of the darkness and anger that seems to be raging and bring the light of Christ to this world that truly needs it. Love is simple but it will help so many people.              

Simply spread love.

Remember that I love you

       
    Home. Its totally different than a house. A home can be a house but not all houses are homes. home is where you are always welcome. you feel at peace and that you are loved and it always has the spirit of. . . homey-ness. When you move out of the home and into the world you suddenly realize how precious home is. Every time you return you always remember the memories you created there and the feeling of love and peace.
      That is what the temple is for me. It is the House of the Lord but it always has that feeling of returning home. Right now I am far away from my earthly home where my family is and my Heavenly one. I know I lived with God before this earthly home and the House of the Lord, the temple, gives me those feelings of love and peace that always remind me that my Father in Heaven loves me. He has given me so much to remember His love; this beautiful earth, the scriptures, modern-day prophets, prayer, my family, and the temple; all seem to whisper the message from my God and Father: “Remember that I love you.”
        We should always remember His love for us and show that we love Him by using the things He gives us to come closer to Him and His Son, Jesus Christ and help others do the same. He will always love us and give us those things we need to return to Him. Always remember His love and the home that was yours before you came to this world.

Opposition in all moments

laugh, cry.

frown, smile.

happy, sad.

failure, success.

life, death.

darkness, light.

In one moment

out the other.

Dreams, hopes, wishes collide with Doubt, fear, confusion.

all in the same moment.

Life ends

Death begins

something more than this mortal earth.

In all these moments of opposition I see the reason for it all.

This life is here for me to become all He sees in me.

The plan, the opposition, the suffering, the rising.

All in the moment of His life He did the impossible 

to make it possible for the return of the river.

My moment of life so important 

to the Father of the Son

that died for me

that rouse for me.

Light of Life

"The light of Christ is just what the words imply: enlightenment, knowledge, and an uplifting, ennobling, persevering influence that comes upon mankind because of Jesus Christ. The light of Christ fills the "immensity of space" and is the means by which Christ is able to be "in all things, and is through all things, and is round about all things." It "giveth life to all things" and is "the law by which all things are governed." It is also "the light that quickeneth" man's understanding (Doctrine and Covenants 88:6-13, 41) The light of Christ will lead the honest soul to find the true gospel and thereby receive the Holy Ghost. "and by the power of the Holy Ghost you may know the truth of all things"(Moroni 10:5)
    -Bible Dictionary page 725

 Light in the darkness

Hope in the night

walking to the understanding

of the faithful and the right

Darkened by confusion

wondering what to choose

walking to the revolution

in the horizon.

Follow that light

of Christ.

He will guide you to your future

Follow the light.

of Christ.

Find the hope of inspiration

Don't give up when you fill lost.

He will find you by the light of life.

Follow the light

of Christ.