Tales from Tacoma: Week 9: Small and Simple things...

A little fun with the camera

When Alma was speaking to his son Helaman he taught him that "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass..." (Alma 37:6) As I read this verse this week, I realized something, I am small. Many people remind me of this fact, I know that I am small. I am also simple, my brain and my thoughts are infinitesimally simpler than God's. I am small, I am simple, and, hopefully, through this small and simple thing God can make great things come to pass!

This week we taught an amazing woman named Ann. We have been teaching her for a while now and you can literally see the difference the gospel is making in her life, it is as if someone flipped a switch and her whole demeanor has shifted dramatically. We were talking about coming to church and praying with her. Her one hold up on her baptism is that she keeps not coming to church! So we were talking about it with her we talked about a story that was just perfect, it's found in 2 Kings 5:

1 Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria,was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.

2 And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid;and she waited on Naaman’s wife.

3 And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.

4 And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel.

5 And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.

6 And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying,Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy.

7 And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.

8 ¶And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.

9 So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot,and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.

10 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.

11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said,Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.

12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.

13 And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean

14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

I love verse 13, because the Lord is not asking is to do anything that is impossibly hard, He is simply asking us to do those small and simple things that will bring us closer to Him and allow us to return to Him some day! We taught Ann that these are not hard things, that these things are not impossible to do, but that as we do them we will be blessed. I know that that is true, that as we do those things that are "seminary answers" that we will grow closer to our Heavenly Father and that He will bless us enormously!

I had an amazing tender mercy this week! My retainer broke soon after I got here to Washington, Bummer! I am not one of those people who can get away without wearing my retainer, my teeth do not like to stay put! So I had to go get a new one made. Sister Anderson (my bishop's wife) suggested I get Dr. Bird to do it for me, so I went and got the impressions done and a few days later went to pick it up. When I reached for my wallet the receptionist waved me off and said "No charge!" which was awesome because retainers cost a lot of money! It doesn't end there! When I opened up the retainer case there was not one but TWO new retainers. What a tender mercy, that an amazing Dentist would be kindhearted enough to help me out! Blessings!

Transfers were this week and I am staying in Lincoln for another six weeks! Random fact, I won't be writing until next Wednesday because we have a zone conference next Monday! Have a wonderful week!

All my love,

Sister Megan Monson