Too Much to Tell

It looks like the time to go to Brazil is coming quicker and quicker! I got an email from Elder Menden (my FHE brother from BYU who just arrived to Ribeirao Preto) who spent a little time in the mission office... they are truly expecting me by the end of this transfer. I am in awe. The Lord knows best. I just have to keep trusting in Him. What an adventure!

I just want to testify that the Lord will place us where we need to be. I wish I had time to tell all of the experiences in my life that support this knowledge, but I do not. I sat next to a woman at church who just experienced a divorce and moved to Camarillo from a few towns over. We sat by her in church yesterday. She talked about how this has been so hard for her teenage daughters who just want to move back home. She talked about how she had been praying for a way to move back when a voice came into her mind, "You are where you need to be." That hit so close to home for me in many ways. That was the confirmation I was seeking when I first arrived in California four and a half months ago. It took a while, but I have received so much confirmation in so many different ways that I needed to be here for at least 4 transfers. I was able to tell her of my experience as a missionary temporarily assigned to California. In that moment, I knew I was meant to be in that church building in Camarillo CA sitting next to this sister. I know that there is no greater joy that can come to us than when we are where the Lord needs us to be doing His work. This can be in a particular job, studying a particular major and a specific school, in our families, a certain location to live, and in so many other ways. I felt that way at BYU when I began to volunteer at Utah State Hospital and served as a mentor for a very special and amazing girl. I know that we can each feel this way as we include Heavenly Father in our decisions. He will guide us to where we need to be if we allow Him the opportunity. I know He will continue to place me where I need to be.

 

Love,

Sister Shipp