This last week flew by.  Sister Giddins and I went on exchanges with the two sisters in our apartment, Sister Anderson and Barrow.  I love them :)  I got to be with Sister Barrow to my area.  Sister Barrow has been here in Shreveport since my second transfer here and goes home at the end of this transfer.  So all together we will have lived together for 4 transfers!  I am so grateful that I have had that time with her.  She has taught me so much about loving life, making joy in the journey, and learning the doctrine.  We have great conversations and laugh a lot haha :)  This exchange was a special one because she is about to go home.  I learned a lot of perspective by working with her for a day.  She knows the end of her mission is coming and she gets to choose how she will live the last of it.  That applies to life too.  We know that there will be an end.  How are we going to use our time while we have it here?

As I was reading from John 17 this morning it hit me when Christ told His Father that He knew His hour had come and that He had done the work His Father wanted Him to do here. Christ knew His last hours on earth were before Him.  Joseph Smith had a similar experience.  He knew that His time was coming and that He had done the work the Father had asked him to do here.  I thought about that.....when we are close to our Heavenly Father we will know when we have finished the work He wants us to do wherever we are at.  That could be at the end of a mission or the end of serving in an area.  It could be the end of living somewhere or serving in a particular calling.  It could be the end of a job, or the end of a particular school.  There are many ends, but thankfully with the perspective of the gospel we know that they are really new beginnings.  I feel strongly that if we stay close to our Heavenly Father, we will know when an end is before us.  We will know that we have done the work that He wanted us to do, and we will be prepared for what is next.  I have felt that as I have served in this mission, and I know that it is true for all of us in all of our lives.

This last week was a lot of finding, but I am so happy because I achieved my tracting goal, and we met a lot of wonderful people. . . . I have been blessed to hear about the people in Florence and they are doing so well!  It is blooming there and I feel so blessed that I was able to serve there with those people when and how long I did.

I know that our efforts are not wasted!  Keep going!  Love you all!