Now!

First of all, THANK YOU so much for the influx of mail this week, it helped make my birthday super special! Really though, the increase of mail was significant enough for the ladies at the post office to say something about it, and as a missionary, it really means a LOT!

I had a great birthday, and my companion's birthday was the day before mine, so we had lots of fun telling people it was our birthdays... usually it went something like, "Did you know Monday is her birthday?!" and then whoever hadn't spilled the birthday beans would say, "but Tuesday is HER birthday". Anyway, it made for an exciting couple days!

In other news I went to New Mexico today for the first time! We went as a district to a place called The Catwalk in Glenwood, NM... it's a really neat one mile hike through a canyon, and we had tons of fun!

I'm sorry this is going to be a short one, but we're pretty rushed today with traveling all morning, and still trying to get everything else done that we need to within the few precious hours that make up P-day.

I did want to share one thought I had that actually goes along really well with a comment in the email I just read from my mom about focusing on the "now". It actually comes from the June Ensign which I was reading the other day (we get them a little later than normal people because we have to wait for our zone conferences). Anyway, the author talked about the early Saints arriving in Kirtland knowing they weren't going to be there permanently.

It says: "I like to picture those early Saints hearing the Lord’s instructions and getting right to work. They plowed fields they didn’t know they would harvest, planted trees whose fruit they might never eat, and built a beautiful temple they would ultimately have to leave. I picture them living busy, productive lives, not peering endlessly into the unknown, wondering where they would go next and when. They acted “as for years,” trusting that their work would not be in vain." (Your Mission in Life is Now, Ensign, June 2010)

It really made me think about how much we worry about the future, and make conditional statements such as "I'll be happier/it will be easier/things will get better when______, etc." Although goal setting is great, and it is very important to look to the future the time to work is NOW. We need to take advantage of the present to accomplish those goals we have set, and to strengthen ourselves RIGHT NOW. Even though we may not always have the opportunities to see the final fruits of our labors, we will grow in the process, and will be better prepared for the future for when it does arrive. Think about that this week, and do one thing today that will help you accomplish a long-term goal you have. Get to work!

Thank you again for all the letters and packages!

Much love,

Hermana Richelle Ouellette

Hopefully a few pictures will make up for a lack of a long entry... you know what they say...

1-3 Hiking at the Catwalk this morning.
4 Another beautiful Arizona sky this week