I love you all so much! I think if the world had a little more love
than maybe there would be unicorns and rainbows everywhere :) random
thought, well this week was a great one! Honestly it flew by really
fast, and now as I look back on it, i almost feel
as if yesterday was Monday. HAHA
Welp, we had a wonderful experience this morning that made me
reflect on our behavior and attitude throughout each day. Elder Leandro
and I went to Walmart, there was hardly anyone there which meant less
time in the line!!! so we got all our groceries
gathered together and went to the shortest line which only had one
person about done. We put our groceries on the checkout table as the
lady in front of us swiped her card. Now, bless her little heart, this
lady was an older woman and i think her memory was
gone or something. She swiped her card multiple times, was frustrated
that the machine wasn't working when in reality she was reading what it
was telling her to do like type in her pin and information and all. She
attempted many times to pay with the card without
success. The cashier was getting frustrated at the lady because she didn't know what she was doing. So we tried to help the lady the best we
could and she was grateful once it was done. While we were checking out,
the cashier was still a little frustrated and
then started having problems with the water we were buying. I felt
really bad, so I tried to keep a positive outlook and smile. As she
checked out all the other items, we asked her questions about her life
and her work and her normal days and tried to cheer
her up. After a couple minutes of talking with her, her composer
changed, she herself had a smile on and the world felt a little happier
:)
By the time we got done checking out, there were three people
behind us and everyone else in the other lines had already left. What we
thought would be a short trip turned out to be a little bit longer,
though a little more rewarding. It was surprising
to me just how much a smile and a positive attitude can mean in life. I
thought back at times I've been in a line, or a grocery store, or in any
public place and have seen people getting frustrated and angry only to
see myself feeling a little impatient and
angry with them or my situation. Maybe you've all had similar situations,
but if not, I'm glad you've learned your lesson faster than me! When we
are put into these situations or when we have an opportunity to shed
some happiness, just do it! People have bad days,
people have hardships, people get impatient and angry, and maybe they
only need your wonderful smile :) Everyone around us is a child of god,
they feel sad just like we do, they are happy when we are, they feel the
light of Christ just like we do :) And we
have the responsibility to share that with others :) People see a difference in who we are. They observe us. And through simple acts of
smiling and being a little happier in your daily lives, people will
begin to pay more attention to you and will wonder, "how
come they are so happy?" leading to the perfect opportunity to share
something about the gospel and why you are truly happy! :) May you all
have a wonderful week and enjoy the amazing year of 2017! I love you
all!
Elder Stonely
Here are some pictures. Most are of the people in the branch and some fun ones! I made the yummy veggies and all :)
