Happy Easter and My Testimony

March 28, 2016

Hey Family,

Hope y'all had a great Easter Sunday! Looks like y'all a lot of fun you’re having from the pictures.

So we tried to see Joseph and Kennedy Monday but when we got there, they were busy so they told us to come back another time. So hopefully we can catch them another time. So we got to have dinner at the McLain's home and they are such a great family. Rose and Kim have been baptized for a little over a year and they have such a strong testimony of the church. Kim is about 16 and she loves going out with the missionaries so we will hopefully be using her more often and she just loves the gospel and has her own Preach My Gospel.

We were also able to go out with Katie Morgan and tried to see Tonia and Brittany and when we got there, they were outside and while we got out of the car, they got inside and closed the door. And when we knocked on the door, they didn't answer the door and we were just super discouraged. Knowing that they were probably dropping us. But we left and went to try Jolynn. Jolynn was home and we got to talk with her about the Restoration. She was understanding everything pretty well and it went so well because of the help from the Holy Spirit. While we talked about Prophets, she said she would love to hear and talk with a prophet and we told her that she can. We told her about General Conference coming up this weekend and she seemed pretty interested in it. So hopefully we can catch her again before it.

So Wednesday night, we had the first part of the Missionary experience for the youth. Last Sunday, they got their mission calls and Wednesday they got to go to the MTC and us and the Elders taught them the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The lesson went very well and the youth were paying attention and were excited. They got to do a couple of practices (just like us missionaries) and it was so great to walk around and help them out and they were doing such a great job. It went so well and these next Wednesday they will be going out in the field (the church building) and will be teaching investigators what they have learned, so I will let y'all know how it goes.

Thursday, we had Zone Conference up in Hattiesburg so we had to leave pretty early to get up there by 8am. We had to be there early so that they can put the tiwi's in the car. So the tiwi's are a box attached to the car and it is kind of like Big Brother is watching over you. The box speaks to you if you go over the speed limit; don't have your seat-belt buckled, aggressive driving, etc... And if you don't fix it, the info will get reported to our Mission President. It's different having it in the car and will take time will get used to. But other than that, we got to talk a lot about the Savior and the Atonement and how he performed an Infinite Atonement (2 Ne. 9). We talked a lot about it and it was just so great to have the time to focus on the Savior and how he helps us every day. It was a really great conference and it was so nice to see people who I haven’t seen for a while. I got to see most of the people from my MTC District except 2.

We got to help out a member this weekend with doing service. Us, the Elders and Katie and Conner Morgan went out to her house and did some lawn work for her. We had a great time raking leaves and just making it easier for her. It felt really good to do a little bit to help, to lighten the load off of her.

We got to stop by Tonia and Brittany and they let us in. A family member had passed away and also Brittany's boyfriend was missing so they were trying to figure everything out and we tried are very best to help them out and give them peace and comfort. We talked to them a lot about the Atonement and that they will see their loved one again. We left them a little happier than we got there and hope they continue to visit with us. Our hope is that we can get them to come to General Conference this weekend. We got to have dinner with the Chesly's and I love them so much. So Bro. Chesley is part of the military and has gotten his orders to move. They will be moving to Hawaii this summer. I am so excited for them, and they have even said I can come and visit. So we might have to take a trip to Hawaii, haha! After dinner, we got to watch the Women's Broadcast. The Broadcast was really good and how they focused a lot on serving and loving one another. It just made me so excited to watch General Conference and to hear from the leaders of our church and what the Lord needs us to hear.

Sunday, was Easter Sunday! We had Fast and Testimony and it was a day filled with the love from our Savior Jesus Christ. I found a quote and it was shared by James E. Faust in the 2001 October Conference. He says, "We long for the ultimate blessing of the Atonement—to become one with Him, to be in His divine presence, to be called individually by name as He warmly welcomes us home with a radiant smile, beckoning us with open arms to be enfolded in His boundless love. How gloriously sublime this experience will be if we can feel worthy enough to be in His presence! The free gift of His great atoning sacrifice for each of us is the only way we can be exalted enough to stand before Him and see Him face-to-face. The overwhelming message of the Atonement is the perfect love the Savior has for each and all of us. It is a love which is full of mercy, patience, grace, equity, long-suffering, and, above all, forgiving." Oh how great to know, because of our Savior Jesus Christ, we may ask for help and forgiveness. And also we are all able to be resurrected and to live with Him, Our Heavenly Father and all of our loved ones again. It is truly a miracle to have this knowledge, to know that Jesus Christ has gone through so much for each and every single one of us, because he loves us. "Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives, I Know That My Redeemer Lives."

This is why I am here. I sacrificed holidays, birthdays, spending time with family, friends, movies, music, games, etc... I scarified all of this so that I can share this message with others, That He Lives and He loves all of us. Even though we all make mistakes, and sometimes don't feel worthy of his redeeming love. He will always be there for us and never let us fall. "I Stand all Amazed at the love Jesus offers me"

I love every single of you and am grateful for the life that I have been given.

Sister McKenna O'Connor

Cupcakes we made