Sister Kelsey Rook: Nebraska Omaha Mission

September 5, 2017

"happiness is the design and purpose of our existence"

Hi Fam!!

This week was so interesting- it was so good, yet pretty difficult at the same time. Now that I look back on it- Studies were great, we met so many awesome people, Zone Conference was incredible, and Church on Sunday was what I needed to hear... but the whole difficult part was that for some reason I was so focused on my weaknesses and that just brought me down. I wasn't intentionally focusing on them, but that is one of the ways Satan gets me in my comparison with others. And Zone Conference and Church were the two things that were able to get me out of that weird funk I was in.Here are some of the things I learned at Zone Conference and at church!!

Zone Conference. I absolutely loved all the trainings that were given, and the one that is sticking out to me right now is the last one President Gardner gave about Agency and Responsibility. The only person who is responsible for how I am feeling is myself. No one else can control that. It is so easy to forget the little things and that you have to personally choose to be happy every singe day. I loved the quote he said, "Difficult Situations are the test of one's faith. Difficult situations are the result of one's character." Of course on my mission I am going to have good weeks and bad weeks and not so great days and the best days, but it is up to me how I am going to let that affect me. It was just a very good and needed reminder for myself.

On Sunday, church was absolutely perfect. It was seriously a spiritual feast! Our ward is doing a missionary month right now and the members in our ward are fasting for missionary experiences and to have that desire, so a ton of the testimonies were on missionary work and it was absolutely incredible to see how missionary work has affected so many people whether they served missions or not, and how it has truly helped them to come closer to our Savior, and I know that it is so true that when you are doing the Lord's work of course you are going to draw nearer to him and you are going to have his help! Then in Relief Society the whole lesson was about happiness, and how we need to choose it for ourselves. It was just perfect. It helped me to realize that of course I am going to have weaknesses and I am not going to be perfect but I can still obtain happiness in any situation that I am in! " Happiness is the purpose and design of our existence, and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it." (Joseph Smith.) We were put on this earth to be happy- of course it is not always going to be like that- but we can always try a little harder to be a little happier!

Sister Banks is truly incredible. I feel like I say that every week because it is so true. She is such an incredible missionary and she just has such a capacity to love and serve others it is unreal. Everyday I learn from her how to be a better disciple of my Savior. I am so incredibly thankful for the example that she is to me and that I have this time to serve with her!

I just wanted to thank you for all the support you have given and shown me! I am so grateful and so humbled to have such incredible people to look up to. I hope everyone has the best week possible! I love you to the moon and more!!

Love,

Sister Rook

On August 19th, we were blessed to have President Russell M. Nelson, President of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles with Sister Nelson and Elder and Sister Wilford W. Andersen and Elder and Sister Mathew L. Carpenter of the Seventy speak to all 200 of us missionaries in Nebraska!!!