Daghan ang akong pasalamat!

Maayong odto! Thanksgiving season is in full swing here! Actually jk, there is no thanksgiving holiday in the Philippines. But we did have a Thanksgiving fireside for all the missionaries here on Cebu Island last week aka big mission reunion aka lots of sisters screaming and hugging each other. It was great!

But yeah, I was asked to give a talk about one thing I was grateful for which was really, really hard for me. I think just in general I have been extremely blessed! But as a missionary you find that blessings and blessings just get heaped upon you. But I ended up choosing to talk about how grateful I am for the opportunity I've been given here on the mission to get closer to my Savior. I know sometimes I make it seem like missions are all sunshine and rainbows haha and alot of times it is! But any one who has served a mission knows that some of hardest trials you will face in life are the ones that you encounter on your mission. There are times where you are stretched and tried. And there are rare occasions where you drop to your lowest low and you are literally broken. But the beautiful thing about being broken is that you get to be healed and personally administered to by the Savior. The image of your Savior suffering for you in Gethsemane becomes clear and for just a few precious moments you stay there with Him. I have a firm and unmovable testimony that our Savior loves us. He will come to us in our times of joy as well in our times of deepest and darkest despair and He will stay with us through the night. I know that trials are the way that our Heavenly Father has selected that we get to know our Savior in a personal and intimate way. And as we come closer to our Savior, we slowly but surely become more like Him. I know our Savior understands every pain and He will carry us when we can't continue on by ourselves. He will heal us and make us whole. I love Him so much and I cherish these moments that I get to be so close to Him as I serve in His name for His church. I love you guys so much (: Seek out your Savior this week!

lots of love,
sister lauck <3


p.s. for pictures:
 me & sis.dala were together again! (while sis.tanner's in the background throwing snickers at people who had a birthday)

some of the american sisters crew! (me, sis.johnson, sis.wolfe, sis.niko, and sis.pinkham)

and the last is your shot of danao for the week!