"Wrong" Turn = Right Way

         Happy New Year everyone!  Wow I cannot believe 2015 is here!  I hope you all had fun celebrating with your friends and family and that you are looking forward to the new year.  Last night, on New years eve, Sister Palmer and I were assigned to the Christus.  For those of you who are not familiar with this, the Christus is a beautiful white statue of the resurrected Jesus Christ.  There is a two minute narration that is played.  After it is finished we bore our testimony and gave each group an invitation for the New Year.  One of the invites we gave was, "Christ holds so many attributes that each of us wants to develop.  Christ is perfect, but we are not so it is difficult to develop all of His attributes at once.  Since the New Year is upon us, we invite each of you to choose one Christ-like attribute that you want to work on for 2015.  Will you do that?"  I extend this exact invitation to all of you.  I have chosen to develop humility and will be working along side all of you.  I hope that you will take this challenge so that next year for 2016 you can strengthen a different Chirst-like attribute. 

         Saturday evening Sister Palmer and I found a little boy who was lost.  We were coming from the Priesthood Statues and were supposed to walk straight to the Handcart Monument, but for some reason we took a right towards the flagpole.  Suddenly my attention was drawn to a little boy standing all by himself by one of the planters.  We asked him where his parents were.  He made his way towards the lawn by the Tabernacle, but there was no one there.  We told him we were going to take him to watch a movie and I grabbed his hand.  While Sister Palmer called security, I got to know him.  He was in Kindergarten.  He liked the color green.  He liked basketball and Spiderman, etc.  We got him inside the South Visitor's Center and sat down with him on the couch.  There were some grandparents looking for their lost grandson.  They must have not seen the little boy when Sister Palmer first asked them if he was theirs because later on the mother came in and instantly grabbed and hugged her son.  As I watched this mother and her little boy hug, with tears streaming down her face, the spirit touched my heart.  I thought of how our Heavenly Father feels when we have lost our way in life, but then find our way back to Him.   I know that as we seek to have the spirit of Christ in our lives, we will be able to return to live with our Heavenly Father again.  I know it was no mistake that Sister Palmer and I took a "wrong turn."  Not only did we help a lost boy find his way back to his family, I was able to strengthen my personal testimony of the divine love of God.

I have a firm belief in my Heavenly Father.  I know that it is through our Savior, Jesus Christ that we can live with our Heavenly Father again.  If you felt spiritually lost in 2014, make a change, now, in 2015 and live your life as the Savior did.  I promise you that as you strive to follow the will of God and obey His son's commandments, you will have a Happy New Year.  I am grateful for the Atonement.  I am thankful for all the blessings and trials I have been given.  I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Love,
Sister Mikeila Aquino