Finally thawed out, And stronger than ever!

(Before)

Well, It’s been 7 months since I returned home from the great Canada Winnipeg Mission. The memories have almost become a dream. But the feelings are still just as prevalent. I remember getting my mission call and wondering where in the world Winnipeg was. Realizing at that same moment that it was a place that would have very cold winters. I was scared. Nervous, Excited. Name an emotion and I felt it. But overall, I felt peace. Peace, comfort and a knowing that the Canada Winnipeg Mission was where God needed me. I will forever be grateful for the time I spent there.

I will never forget the people, or the places. But most importantly I will never forget those feelings I had while serving my Heavenly Father.  I had many sacred experiences, some that I will hold dear to my heart forever. But others I will share with all those who question going on a mission. I promise you that the experiences you have on your mission, will be worth so much more than anything else you can gain staying home.

I can honestly and easily say that I loved my mission. I loved everything about it. The good, the bad, and the ugly. I loved tracting in the heat of the summer. I loved tracting in knee deep snow. With each step I took, I not only got closer to those who were prepared to hear the gospel but I got closer to my Father in Heaven. The biggest blessing gained from serving a mission is a stronger relationship with God.  I now know who I am and how God sees me. I am a Child of God. I am his daughter. Nothing can ever change that. I know that He loves me. I also know that our Heavenly Father loves each and everyone of His children. I believe that as a missionary you are able to feel just a portion of the love that our Heavenly Father has for his children. There were many times that I would be sitting in a little cigarette smoke filled, Animal hair covered living room, and tears brought to my eyes as the spirit whispered “These are my children.”  My heart will always hold the Ward Members, Investigators, Less Actives and Recent Converts close. I am so grateful to know all of them. And see them the way God sees them.

My mission has also taught me patience with God and well myself.

I had always wanted to be the perfect missionary. I wanted to be the one that everyone looked up too . I was kinda selfish in that way. I thought that the moment I got into the field I would know everything! I would be so on fire I would out do my trainer.. Well needless to say I crashed and burned. Okay maybe not crashed and burned but I wasn’t perfect. I had a lot to learn. And you know what! I am so grateful I had to learn. I learned that I didn’t need to be the best Missionary ever. I just needed to be the best Sister Bersie I could be.

The Experiences I had as a missionary have changed my life forever. Along with those experiences came new family! I will never ever forget the experience I had meeting Cynthia and Keith Rennie and their adorable 3 little boys. A bit of a background story, I had been in the Waverley are about 5 months. and to be honest didn't really see any progress. I had been feeling discouraged because we sisters hadn't had a baptism in.. well a very long time. The assistants were in our area and it seemed like they had a baptism every week! I bet you can imagine how hard we sisters took that. I began to feel doubt and jealousy as the week went on.

One day President Craig called my companion, Sister Orr and I into the mission office to speak with him. My heart sank.. "Was he going to reprimand us?" "Was he angry that we had taught a single lesson in 3 weeks?" I was sacred. But President Craig loved us and as I saw that smile I knew that I was going to receive help. During our conversation President Craig brought up a line he had used in our Christmas zone conference. "Picture them in white Sister Bersie." From then on, every person I saw, I saw in white.

The next week, the Elders had given us a potential investigator they had tracted into. We decided that we would go contact her the next morning. When we had finished our studies I kneeled down and pleaded with my Heavenly Father that we would find someone who would be prepared to hear the gospel. It had been so long since we had anyone and I wanted it so bad!!

That day as we went to contact this potential investigator we saw Cynthia. The spirit had never spoken so clearly to me until that moment "Go talk to her" and we did!

She was so prepared! She had so many questions. She had the desire to learn. When we gave her the Book of Mormon She wouldn't put it down.

We had our struggles with her and Keith. But every struggle helped all of us grow closer to our Heavenly Father, Up until the day of their baptism it it was a constant battle with Satan.

July 28th 2016 was a crazy day for Sister Orr and I.  We could hardly contain our excitement! Not only was it our first baptism together, it was the first that the Waverley Sister had in a long time! It was a beautiful day. Watching Cynthia and Keith dress in white and walk down the steps into the water, was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen on my mission. I was reminded of the reason why I chose to serve a mission. The reason why missions are so important. From that moment on, I saw my mission in a new light. I was there helping God’s Children return to live with Him again. I was there helping this family take steps to become an eternal family! I am so grateful that I was able to be apart of their wonderful life and story.

My Mission changed my life for the better. I know that I talk about it a lot but truly my life has been eternally changed. Was my mission hard? YES! Did I cry almost everyday? YES! Did I sometimes feel like I wasn’t doing anything productive? YES! Did I want to go home and some points? YES! But, was every tear, every heartbreak, every bad day, every hard companion, every moment of pain, every sick day, every crazy moment worth it? Well, I can honestly say with my entire heart and soul, YES!  I LOVED my mission. I will never regret going. I made wonderful friends there, Some who ever my companions and have stayed in touch with.

I know that my mission was the best thing that ever happened to me. I know that the Canada Winnipeg Mission was where God wanted me to be. I needed that mission. I needed those people. My testimony of Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith, The Restoration, The Plan of Salvation, The Gospel, Is all true. I know with my whole heart that Heavenly Father Loves me. I know that He lives, He sent His Son to die and live for us. I am so very grateful for that. I know that without the Atonement of Jesus Christ, I would not have been able to go on a mission. I wouldn’t have been able to stay on a mission. Jesus Christ's’ power strengthened me everyday, and it continues to strengthen me everyday. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

(After)

"Adventure is out there!"

I just love the movie "UP" it's such a wonderful reminder to all of us that life is precious. There is adventure still out there in each of out lives! How beautiful is that?
I continue to find that my life is full of adventures. Adventures that happen everyday.
I haven't posted in awhile so I feel like I should catch you up on some of my favorite adventures I have been having. After all this blog is about my life, So why not let you guys in on my own adventures?


Well for starters I went an a much needed vacation to St. George with one of my best friends Scarlet.

If you don't know the story of how Scarlet and I became friends then you are missing out! Ever since that 2 hour drive from Saskatoon to Prince Albert, in the dead of winter, we have been inseparable. I tell her everything, She tells me everything... That might be a bad thing for our Boyfriends ;)

She is my kindred spirit. I love her so much! I will never ever be able to let her out of my life. Sorry Scarlet but you are stuck with me forever!!

I've learned that Adventure really is out there.
 We sometimes just have to look really close and I mean.. Look at our work situation. Wether you have a "good" work situation or "bad" one, there is always an adventure. It's just all how we look at it.
I try and find one adventure from work everyday. Some days it's " Oh this one customer..." Or "Man! The funniest thing happened to Duncan today!"

or
" I just got a promotion today! yikes! I am so scared!"
I always try to find one thing every day.

A blessing from my work is the wonderful friendships that I have created. There are certain people that I now were supposed to come into my life. I am so grateful for these people. I really owe everything to them!

My relationship has been a wonderful adventure!
We have had our ups and downs and all arounds, But what about that isn't an adventure? :) I sure am in love with Jared. How'd we meet? Well I could make up some big huge romantic story of how I saw him across the room and it was love at first sight, but that wouldn't been the truth. ;)

Tinder. The wonderful world of Tinder.

Jared and I try to make every date we go on a really fun adventure. We both are outdoorsy and love to just laugh and have fun. Our most recent Adventure was hiking Bridal Veil Falls on Memorial Day. That was so much fun!
I sure do love him and I can't wait for all the new adventures we will go on in our future!

"Adventure is out there!" Sometimes we just have to go looking for it. And sometimes it's just there right in front of us. But whatever, whenever, whoever our adventure is lets take it on with a smile!
Happy Adventuring! 

So....What next????

What next?
That is a very good question and a question I have gotten a lot since being home. And a question, to be honest, I ask myself a lot.  I wish I knew exactly. I have been home 2 months now and you think I would have a bit of a direction. I mean I have an idea of what I want to to do, But nothing is really set in stone. And to be honest, I'm okay with that! 

If you know me, you know I like to plan things in advance. Like... years in advance. Heck, I have had my wedding planned since I was 5 (of course it has changed throughout the years). But if you know me, you also know that just because I have things planned doesn't mean that I care if things go not according to plan. I'm a pretty laid back person. I know confusing right? haha well, I'm just a lover of life! Why stress over the plans you made if they obviously aren't going to work? Enjoy the moment right?! 

That said, I do have goals that I hope to achieve. I am a big believer in goal setting. If we don't set goals where are we going to go in life? Goals are what stretch us, Goals are what keep us on track. So I guess you can say my plans for life are more like goals, goals that I am okay with taking a different route to get to. 

So what are my goals (plans)? well, Let me share em! 

Maybe you guys can help keep me on track ;)

Short term goal; gotta start with the short term right? 

-Get a car

-Go to Disney Land 

- Move out

-Visit the Mission again

-Go camping
all fun things right?!

So those are my top 5. all cost $$$ so really the underlining goal is to save money!  

Now my long term goals are well, way long term! 

-Become a Special Needs teacher

-Marry a man who can take me to the temple

-Be a mom, and the best mom I can be

-Become like my Heavenly Father

I know that I have said this before, in like almost all of my posts, I'm trying to align my will with God. God's plan is perfect. My plan... is well.... Not. But, I do know that my goals and desires are important to God. He wants me to be happy, and that's where being okay with the changes in the journey comes into play. "Our plans" will work out if we continue to do what the Lord expects of us.  So, What is next? Well, Prayer, Fasting, Scripture study, Church attendance and Temple attendance are what's next. I know that as I do the little things and work towards my goals, God will help me. He will guide me.
So,
What next?
Live and Love Life!

"My Plan" vs His: A lesson learned again!

I would have never thought that life could throw so many curve balls. I mean I knew things could change, but I thought that I would be prepared for those changes. (A lesson I hoped I had learned a long time ago.) I've noticed that my life, "My Plan" hasn't really worked in the way it was planned. That is the beauty of it all really. 

Someone once told me "If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans." I agree to some extent with that statement. I want to revise it just a bit, "If you want to laugh look at your plans for life, then look at Gods plans for your life." 

We only see one piece of the puzzle, Sometimes we don't even see the full piece. But God is the true puzzle master.

 He see's it all. He see's our potential. I've noticed throughout my life I often get frustrated with not being ready for bigger responsibilities, or perfect at any given task. That's the natural man (or woman) inside of us. Our whole lives we have been placing ourselves and each other on either lower or higher planes. We look at, well bloggers or Instagram pro's and see their life, Their life is perfect! They are so much better, so much happier at well.. EVERYTHING. Its the society we live in. With the technology now a days we don't often see "behind closed doors." or should I say "on the other side of the screen." But God does. God see's it. He knows us. He loves us! And guess what? He has a plan, a BETTER plan.  I know, I know crazy right? But my plan is perfect! It will make me happy! It's full of good things! Yes, I'm sure it is. BUT, His plan is worth it. So worth it. 

So when you are thinking about your own plan, look closely at it. Is that really worth it? Are you going to cry, fight for, and work for that plan? Are there trials in that plan that will make you stronger? Make you a better person? Will those plans bring you closer to your loved ones? Closer to your Heavenly Father? 

Curve balls and all I wouldn't trade God's plan for my plan. I believe that God wants us to make decisions for ourselves. Like any other parent He want's us to learn and grow. He wants us to HAPPY. To have that pure Joy. And the only way we can really receive that, is through His plan. It's beautiful! 
So I can safely say, I've learned my lesson... again. 
Trust in Him!
 (I am sure there will be more opportunities to learn trust in him through out my life) 
;)