Fourth Week in MTC

A little preface to this post. Sonja had some health challenges last week. When you have a daughter in the MTC and the phone rings on a Tuesday evening with the caller ID showing an 801 area code, it get's you wondering pretty quick. When the voice on the other line is your daughter, there's a brief moment of delight followed by "uh oh, I don't think I want you to be calling me..." Sonja sounded great and calmly explained what was happening. After several rounds of doctor visits and tests they ultimately concluded her symptoms were attributable to anxiety. That was hard for her to hear because she was not necessarily feeling "anxious" but began to have some symptoms that suggest otherwise. This is clearly a big change in her life and as wonderful as it is to serve a mission she is experiencing a lot of change all at once; away from home, family, friends, learning a new language, preparing to live in another country and having a full and rigorous schedule as a result. We fasted a prayed for her repeatedly last week and received periodic updates. By Saturday evening she was feeling better and grateful for the support of family and friends and most of all the strengthening power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Below are a few experts from a couple messages she sent today. Thank you all for your prayers in her behalf.

-Sonja's Dad
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This week was a big challenge for me. And the struggle with the anxiety will be a challenge for the next little bit. But I know that Christ will not abandon me. God will not leave me alone. They are watching over me and I know that they know exactly what I need to go through and experience in order to grow and become a better tool in their hands. I love being a missionary. I honestly and truly do love being here. The trials of this past week made me forget a little bit of how much I really do love it here and how grateful i truly am to be a full time servant of the Lord right now. But I am grateful. I feel God's love for me and I feel the power of the atonement helping to strengthen my conviction to be here and to work hard. 

Yesterday at the devotional the speaker said "You have 18 months or 2 years to serve, and the rest of eternity to think about it." freaked me out a bit. But it was motivation to get myself in gear and really just focus. 

Yesterday was awesome! I had several moments of revelation and gained a better understanding of Heavenly Father's specific purpose for me as a missionary at this time. I know that there are families waiting for me to come. God needs to teach them through me and I need to invite and help them make it to the temple so that they can be together for eternity.

Also... I LEAVE FOR ITALY 2 WEEKS FROM TODAY!

I love you tons and tons! Thank you for your continued support and love. It means the world to me. 

< Sorella Tokarski