"sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven"

Hello!!

How is everyone doing? I hope that all y'all have had a great week and are enjoying life! We had an incredible week! Our area is being so blessed and Heavenly Father is literally placing people in our path that are prepared to receive the gospel. Every day we are amazed by what happens. We have been striving so hard to be diligent and to turn outward, and we have seen the blessings from that. We have been working more and more to forget ourselves and focus everything on the people here---the investigators, the members, everyone.  I feel so much happier when I am not worried about myself. When I'm not studying for myself, but rather for our investigators or the other sisters. The Lord provides me with what I need to know, and then allows me to share it with others and help to

strengthen them.

We went on exchanges twice this week, and I got to stay in New Hope for both of them. Sister Fullam from Austin came here on Tuesday-Wednesday, then Sister Burrows from Rockdale came here from Thursday-Friday. Both exchanges were so great!! We met the greatest people and we were able to teach them right on the spot, which I love. These sisters we get to work with are amazing! I learned so much about loving people, using the scriptures more, and being more family focused.

 Our investigators are doing well and we've been able to meet with a lot of former investigators and one came to church this week! Our members are so helpful in the work here and we love it! New Hope is such a great area/ward and we're going to keep working our hardest so that the Lord can work through us to hasten His work here.

Something funny from this week is that we went to meet with Fong and took the one Cantonese speaker that we know of in the stake. He's awesome. So Fong always gives us fruit of some sort to eat, and this time it was cantaloupe. So he thanks her and tells her it's delicious in Cantonese, so I repeat what he says just to be funny and try to speak the language. FONG LOVED IT. Hahaha. She was laughing and saying that I was so good and it was just the funniest thing ever. We taught her about prophets and it was good. 

There's a section at the beginning of the missionary handbook titled "Your Calling". That's something we've been discussing a lot lately. About having a fire burning within us to do the Lord's work as we realize the importance of our callings. One of my favorite lines in it simply says, "How great is your calling!" Throughout this last transfer and this last week, I have more fully come to know the greatness of my calling. Not only as a full time missionary, but as a

full time member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Not only as a member of the Church, but as one known and loved by Jesus Christ. And not only as one known and loved by Jesus Christ, but as a daughter of a Heavenly Father who loves me more than I can
comprehend, and who is in every detail of my life. My calling is that of one of His children, sent here to receive teachings of the gospel, to live them, and to share them with my family, with my friends, and with all of His children. How great is my calling! How great are all of our callings! We all have chosen to come here, and we're here for a reason. We have the greatest potential, and the way to achieve that potential is found in the scriptures, from our prophets, and through prayer with our Father in Heaven. Never, ever doubt the greatness of your calling as a son or daughter of God.

Yesterday as we were driving in the car, I was thinking about what I really know to be true, and how to help others that may be struggling a little, because it happens to all of us. It led me to ask myself if I 100% know the restored gospel of Jesus Christ to be true. I am grateful for everything I have learned that allowed me to answer 'yes'. A phrase that we use in our mission that came from a returned TSAMer is that "the blood of the Restoration flows through my veins." That is something that I have always wanted. I've always had a deep faith in the gospel being restored, especially through the prophet Joseph Smith. But yesterday as I thought about this, I really felt in myself that this is now who I am. I am a product of the Restoration.  I am living it, and there is not one single doubt in my mind that Jesus Christ's true teachings and authority have been brought back. And there is so much that comes with it. Every part of my life is the way it is because of the Restoration. My family is not temporary, but eternal because of it. I have true and full access to the Atonement. I know the plan Heavenly Father has for me. We have baptism by proper authority. We have the Book of Mormon to guide us. The blood of the Restoration does flow through my veins. It is who I am, and who I will become. It is what I will live for, die for, and it is what has changed me.  "I have learned for myself." And the best part of knowing this and feeling this is that it's the same for each one of us, whether we've come to know it yet, or whether we're not quite there. It's about the direction we're facing, not our position that matters. 

I love this gospel with all of my heart. I know it to be true, and I know that we all can and will know for ourselves as well. 

I love y'all!!!

Love,

Sister Snyder

Pictures 1: Sister Burrows and me at the end of our exchange on Friday morning

2: Saturday night so excited that we got mail from our MOMS!!!