Faith and Focaccia
What a crazy week to be a missionary!! I love being a missionary because I feel like every couple weeks has a new "theme." The theme is always something that I need to hear exactly at that moment. I know that that isn't a coincidence, God puts people, stories, scriptures in my path becuase he knows ME. God knows all of us! God knows exactly what I am going through and he sends me things to help me along the way.
I love being a missionary because of all the amazing Good Days. We are able too meet so many new people, try new foods, be exposed to different places, learn how to live on your own and make friendships that last for eternity! Except because there has to be opposition in all things, I still have hard days. We can't have the light without the darkness.
It's especially hard being a new missionary and being such a homebody, I miss home. As much as I love being a missionary, just like everyone else, we all go through hard times and we all struggle. We all have something we are going through right now, whether is physical illness, loneliness, family struggles, death, doubt, fear, work problems, mental illness. We are all fighting silent battles that only we know about, but God knows and God knows you.
I have come to know this so much more on my mission then ever before. I know that God is our Loving Heavenly Father and he knows us personally. I have seen this so many times on my mission for me and other people! It's amazing how much I have seen miracles and tender mercies from God just for me. The biggest one happened just last week.....
Last Saturday I was really struggling. I was mad at myself and I was mad at the world. I was super sad thinking about how much I missed my family. I was getting my head and all I could think about was myself and how much I wanted to go home. It was almost 10 o'clock at night, my companion was in the shower and I was angry cleaning. I was 100% vacuuming our house on the absolute verge of tears, praying. I was praying to God asking him for help. I have learned that in life you can't do this alone, you can't rely on yourself. But God? God is different. We can always rely on God because God and his love for us is infinite.
So that night I was praying to God because I was done relying on myself. I put my trust in God coming out on a mission so I asked for comfort and peace in knowing that the decision to serve was right. I asked for him to show me that he loved me and that he knew who I was. Mintues after I ended my prayer, there was a knock at the door.....
I opened the door to some members of our church who were holding two slushies in their hands. Right when I saw them and what they brought I burst into tears. They explained that it was "Slushy Saturday" and they thought they would bring us one, just becuase!
Little do they know they were a complete answer to my prayers. Little do they know, slushies hold a special place in my heart from back home. In that moment, I knew that I was in the right place doing the right things. I knew that God knew me personally and knew what I was going through and what I needed.
Through that experience and so many others I know that God knows each and everyone of us! When we put our trust in God, he will have success, we will peace and we will have comfort from all things that we are going through. God will never leave us comfortless.
God has an amazing way of answering our prayers through others.
In my mission we are super lucky because we have amazing ward members who sign up to have us over for dinner almost everynight! Last night we had a member who took us out out to Chipotle. I gotta admit Chipotle isn't my favorite but the company made it worth it! I don't know maybe I am just doing it wrong, I usually just get the Salad but it makes me so mad because the "salad" is just a handful of spinach at the bottom of the bowl. Plus this time my rice was crunchy!!
Food? Not life changing.
Company? Definitely mission changing.
We had dinner with a mom and her daughter, Zoey*, and it was so fun! They were amazing!! We got talking and we found out that Zoey served her mission in Perth Australia!! I love Australia!! She told us all about her mission, her ups, her downs, and everything in between. She told us that her mission was the best! So I asked her for some advice, I asked how can we make our mission "the best" like hers. She thought for a minute and then shared with us a story that pierced my soul and brought comfort to my heart.
Zoey said that her mission was hard, as is everyones but about 3 weeks into her mission she was really really struggling. One day while they were at church her cousin came to meet her for a surprise visit! Zoey was so excited to see him because honestly at that moment she was about to give up. Zoey explained that her cousin must have seen this in her eyes becuase he told her one thing, "And It Came To Pass..."
That's it. Everything you are going through right, whether you are currently on a mission, you're having family problems, financial problems, illness, depression, or you are just having a bad day.... it will pass. Hearing those words brought so much comfort to my mind and heart. I might be going through something really hard and you might be too but it will pass!!
That reminds me of something my dad told me during the fire academy. I'd come home beat, exhausted, and sore and have to go back the next day. My dad would always tell me, "Whenever you feel like giving up, just remember, the day will always end. It has too, it always will" And it always did. So whether your having a bad day, week, month or even year. It will pass... I promise ❤️
I loved what that member told me and I feel like it applies to everything we are going through. Keep going. Keep moving. Keep putting your trust in God. He knows you and he knows exactly what you are doing through. God will send his Angel's to help you along the way.
So the next time you are going through something hard and you want to give up remember.. "And It Came To Pass" God is with you.
Love,
Sister Pickett
Alma 36:3
"And now, O my son Helaman, behold, thou art in thy youth, and therefore, I beseech of thee that thou wilt hear my words and learn of me; for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day."
Take out the Bold part and replace it with your name 💛
*name was changed for privacy
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We had another amazing opportunity to go to a members house for dinner this week! We went over and had this amazing dish: Focaccia Bread!!
I absolutely adore Focaccia Bread because it is so special and different from regular bread. Even the technique to make it is different but it works!! I actually tried to make Focaccia Bread at home before I left and it honestly... didn't turn out. Except this member swears by the easiness of this recipe! Plus look at the name, I guess it has to be true!!
Focaccia is seriously an amazing bread. As you can tell from the picture it's a flat bread, with dimples topped with flakey salt. This bread is a game changer! Once you have this soft bread topped with crunchy, flakey salt, seasoned with savory sweet rosemary and herbs, which tastes so buttery and delicious, you will never be the same!!
I would definitely recommend serving this at your next meal! I would love to hear how it goes!!
You can even use it as sandwich bread! I recommend avocado, bacon and grilled chicken. LOVE IT!!
Recipe:
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2¼ teaspoons instant yeast, (1 packet)
• 2 cups warm tap water
• 1 teaspoon soft butter, for greasing pan
• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• Italian seasoning or finely chopped fresh herbs
• flaky sea salt
INSTRUCTIONS
Prepare the dough:
• In a medium-large bowl, combine flour, salt, and instant yeast. Stir well. Add the warm water. Using a Danish Whisk, sturdy wooden spoon or a rubber spatula, mix until all of the flour is well incorporated (there should be no small pockets of flour. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours.
• Lightly butter two 9-inch cake pans. Line pans with parchment paper. Pour one tablespoon of olive oil into the center of each pan. Divide dough in half with a large spoon or rubber spatula and place one piece of dough in each pan, turning to coat with oil. Tuck edges of dough underneath to form a rough ball.
• Cover each pan tightly with plastic wrap and allow the dough balls to rest for 2 hours (it may take as long as 3 hours, depending on the warmth of your kitchen). The dough should cover most of the pan.
Bake:
• Preheat oven to 450˚F with a rack positioned in the center of the oven.
• Drizzle another tablespoon of oil over each round of dough. With oiled fingers, using both hands, press straight down and create deep dimples that go all the way through the dough (in other words, you'll actually be making deep holes.) If necessary, gently stretch the dough as you dimple to allow the dough to fill the pan.
• Sprinkle tops with Italian seasoning (or fresh herbs) and flaky sea salt.
• Transfer the pans to the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 425˚F. Bake for 22 to 28 minutes, until the tops are golden and the undersides are crisp. Remove pans from the oven. With a metal spatula remove bread rounds from the pans and transfer to a cooling rack.
• Serve warm or allow to cool completely then store in a zippered bag.
Freeze:
• To freeze, allow bread to cool completely, then transfer to a ziplock bag and freeze. Thaw and enjoy at room temperature or warm for 10 minutes in a 350˚F oven.
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