Lost in Istanbul

I saw this on insta and thought it was hilarious...

I try really hard to keep things light and positive but I'm not going to lie to any of you. This is hard. Thankfully though, thorns have roses. That means that the harder its get, the more I appreciate what I used to take for granted, the more my testimony is strengthened, and lastly, the more mine and Jordan's relationship is strengthened. It's hard but I am truly grateful for those silver linings. 

I typically avoid sharing religious experiences on social media so this will be a first for me. I am not ashamed at all. I just don't want people to feel like I'm shoving my religion down their throats so please don't take offense...

Jordan was out of town and I was feeling pretty unmotivated to do anything. I felt very alone actually. So as usual I was having a conversation with Kawika. He's a good listener. Anyways, I started to cry and new I needed to get out of the house. So we hopped in the car and off we went. I wasn't sure where I wanted to go so I just started driving. I decided to hit the mall and hopped on the highway to cross the bridge over to the European side. Traffic here is insane so once I was parked on the highway I decided to pull up directions because I have no idea where to go once I cross the bridge. Well, turns out I had used up all of my data on my phone and my map wouldn't work. Which also meant that my imessage and whatsapp wouldn't work either. So there I was. crying. lost. with no way to call for help. 

So I quickly said a prayer. I then felt inspired to drive to our church building. Every time we've been to church we've had to use our map to get us there but I was fairly certain that I could do it. I won't lie, I was nervous and I was scared but I went anyways (not like I had an option!) Without even making one wrong turn and being inspired with each one, I was able to find the building. The missionaries were there and since they speak Turkish they were able to help me out! They called the cell phone company and had my data turned back on. And with that, I went back on my way and got home safely. 

I realize this probably doesn't sound like a big deal but it really was for me. I'm a first time mom in a new country. At the time I was by myself and even though I found my way, I was lost and I was scared. I'm grateful for the power of prayer. I'm grateful for the Spirit to comfort and guide me. 

Ultimately I paralleled this to our Earthly experience. We've been sent to Earth (a new place) and so often we feel spiritually lost and although we may not realize it, we yearn to return home to our Heavenly Father. Now I won't leave my apartment in Turkey without directions to help me find my way. And there is no chance that our loving Heavenly Father would send us away without guidance so that we too can find our way back to him. So for that I am grateful for my scriptures and for prayer. I am grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ. I'm grateful for the Holy Ghost. I'm grateful that I have a family to help me along the way. And I'm grateful to my mom and dad for teaching me about the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

If you would like to learn more about my faith click here.