I wish I was here

I really do wish I was back on my trip in beautiful Australia, with not a care in the world. Like I told my new Relief Society group, I had been praying for help in figuring out what to do with my extra time. Be very careful what you ask for. You never want to "mention" in a prayer that you have extra time! Honestly I felt as though I needed something to get involved in or go back to school, or volunteer somewhere. My prayer was answered in a way that I was definitely not expecting. I was happy with my little beehivers and felt very comfortable where I was. The Lord had a different idea for me on how I could spend my time. This has been an interesting month to say the least. I have been very humbled at the prospect of looking after the welfare of 203 women. I have learned a ton and I know I have many more lessons to learn. One thing I know for sure is how amazing the church is and the programs are in place for a reason. I never understood the absolute beauty of visiting teaching. How else will I know what is going on with my group of women? I need help and Visiting Teachers are my foot soldiers. I never understood the amazing welfare system that the church has in place. I was able to visit the Bishops storehouse last week and again, it was a very humbling experience. Unless you are a Bishop you will never know the amount of welfare that takes place on behalf of the members of the church. What a beautiful program it is and to know that it is in place for those in need just makes me love this church all the more. I am learning a ton about patience. It's easy to understand why teenagers make goofy choices, harder to understand why adults do. We had 11 funerals in our ward last year and I have been in one month and the Bishop says I am setting a record for amount of time without one. Thank goodness! Of course I will cross that bridge when I come to it, I have had lots of firsts this last month, but funerals can wait. Thanks all of you for your examples of Christlike love. I am drawing on your experiences to help me through.