*Farewell Pictures*

*Farewell Talk*

Overcoming Fear

D&C 6:34- Fear not little flock do good. 

D&C 6:36- Look unto me in every thought doubt not, fear not. 

1 Timothy 3:12- Be thou an example of the believers in words, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

Can you be that example if you have fear over it? I testify that you can not.

In 2 Timothy 1:7- God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power & love & of a sound mind.

God is the God of love, the God of compassion & the God of service. Satan is the father of fear, the father of worry the father of confusion & the father of hate.

There are 4 points to overcoming fear. The first one is to 

*Become Self-Reliant*

In D&C 38:30 it says, "if ye are prepared ye shall not fear."

Prepare for your mission, prepare for the future, prepare for trials, prepare for change.

D&C 64:33-states-Be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying a foundation of a great work. And out of small thing proceedeth that which is great.

When it states that "ye are laying the foundation of a great work." it reminds me of when missionaries go tracking. Even if the person doesn't let them in they have left a seed that will hopefully grow to bring them closer to the Gospel, closer to Christ, closer to happiness & closer to a better understanding of why they are here.

The second point to overcoming fear is to

*Trust in the Lord*

If God is on your side whom shall you fear? Fear is the opposite of faith, fear is the absence of a testimony.

Much of life is found in overcoming obstacles by asking for help from Heavenly Father & Jesus Christ. Not only "asking" but having the "faith" that they will help you. As you pray in faith, & prepare with patience, the happiness that you desire will be yours. the Lord has his own timing & His own ways. Your prayers will be answered, your time will come.

Just like it says in James Chapter 2, "Faith without works is dead."

When we fear the obstacle itself- How can we overcome it? In other words, If we fear how can we overcome an obstacle? By overcoming an obstacle you ask for help. Heavenly Father *will* extend his hand to lift you up. He is always wanting to help you. He is constantly reaching out his hand to you, you just need to reach up and take it.

We are sent to have trials so that God can help us through it.

Fear is self limiting thoughts and doubts.

Choose hope vs fear, choose knowledge vs doubt, choose happiness vs worry.

I don't know what each and every one of you are going through. I don't know your trials. But what I do know if that when you turn to the Lord, he will extend his hand and he will help you! He will make your burdens light.

Brothers and Sisters, focus on your blessings, today, this month and always. Life is about overcoming. It's about having faith that everything will be okay. It's about asking for help.. It's about learning, teaching, and serving others. I know the Lord gives me strength when I stand and faith when I fall. Why are people depressed? They fear. They fear the future, they fear life, they fear death.

Which brings me to the third point,

*Understand the Plan of Salvation* 

Moses 1:39 says, "For behold this is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man"

In Preach My Gospel it states that...the plan of salvation teaches us where we cam from, why we are here on earth and where we will go after this life. It maps our eternal journey through pre-mortality, mortal life, death, resurrection, and to our life in the eternities. The plan also explains what our loving Father in Heaven does to help us make this journey successful so that we can return to his presence and become like him. The plan focuses on the mission and atonement of Jesus Christ in overcoming the effects of the fall and making eternal life possible for us.

It helps us understand the purpose of life and who we are. It gives us hope and helps us find peace, joy and happiness. It tells us where we came from, why we are here on earth and where we will go after this life. god is our Father, we are His children and He loves us. We are part of His family and we lived with Him before we were born on this earth. Our progress depends on how we use our God-given agency, or ability to choose. We will all be resurrected and will live forever, free of pain and sickness. he made it possible to overcome spiritual death. As we live His gospel He will forgive our sins. He will heal us and replace guilt and shame with peace and happiness in this life.

We will life for a time in the spirit world. We will them be resurrected with an immortal body. We will be judged according to our works and desires. If you live the gospel you will receive our Father in Heaven's greatest gift, the gift of eternal life in His presence. 

In 2 Nephi 9:13 it states "oh how great the plan of our God! For on the other hand the paradise of God must deliver up the spirits of the righteous, and the grave deliver up the body of the righteous, and the spirit and the body is restored to itself again and all men become incorruptible and immortal and they are living souls, having a perfect knowledge like unto us in the flesh, save it be that our knowledge shall be perfect."

Understanding this plan gives me no fear, no worry and no doubt. The last and 4th point is to 

*Become Perfectly Obedient*

In Hymn #237- Do What Is Right it says in verse 3.

"Do what is right be faithful and fearless. On ward, press on ward, the goal is in sight. Eyes that are wet now, ere long will be tearless. Blessings await you in doing what's right!" If you are doing what is right then why shall you fear? Just like in the song be faithful and fearless"

If we become self-reliant, trust in the Lord, understand the plan of salvation and become perfectly obedient. I testify that we can overcome fear.

When I heard the announcement I was beyond excited, but I also feared. I feared if I knew the gospel well enough to teach others and if I did, will i be able to teach it in French? I prayed for an answer. Soon after, my fear turned in to faith. By having faith in the Lord I know I can do this. I am on His side. he is always there to lift me up when I fall. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve a mission. I am so grateful for the support my friends and family give me. I can't wait to get out there to do the Lord's work.

Gordon B. Hinckley said, "We need not fear as long as we have in our lives the power that comes from righteously living by the truth which is from God our Eternal Father. Fear doesn't come from God but from the adversary. Fear is the opposite of faith . God give us power, love, and a sound mind. The power of the gospel gives us the strength that comes from knowing we are sons and daughters of God. We can overcome fear and doubt, worry and discouragement through the sustaining power of love. The power of a sound mind leads us to see that the gospel is simple, beautiful and logical. As we overcome fear, let us walk with confidence- never with arrogance.

I have a testimony of this gospel. It brings me happiness and peace. The Book of Mormon is the word of God. I can't wait to share it with the people in Canada.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

What I do before I enter the MTC

What do girls do a few days before they enter the MTC? Well, let me tell you what I did.

I happily escorted my friend Tiffany in the Salt Lake Temple, Monday, March 11th, 2013. It was an incredible experience. I love every second of it. We ate at Brigham's house. It was delicious! Then we went to one of my favorite places! CHEESE CAKE FACTORY!!! To get cheesecake of course. We walked around City Creek for a while. It was so fun!

I went to the temple again today with Tiffany, Anna, & Sam. It was awesome!! The temple is an incredible place. Right after I went to the dentist to get my stitches out. 

One word: Painful.

Afterwards, Tiffany and I went to Sam's house to make Spaghetti. It was delicious!! Though, I couldn't really eat since I just had my stitches pulled out.

Then, we went to my house to hang out. Sam gave Tiffany and I a ride on his motorcycle. It was awesome! I let Tiffany go first since she had work. Sam and I went up AF Canyon. Talk about adrenaline rush! He showed me what 0-60 felt like. But I think I saw 0-89. Haha! It is beautiful up there! I love it!

I then hung out with my awesome family! We went to Cravings Cupcakes. Winners of Cupcake Wars Season 7!! Whooo! We got Cake Bits. Holy cow, they are GOOD!!! They had their cupcake stand that they made on the show for All American Rejects. So cool!!!

Today was just an overall incredible day! I wouldn't change one second of it!

8 days!!!

*Wisdom Teeth*

Yesterday, I got my wisdom teeth out! Hooray!
Well 3 of them. The 4th wasn't necessary. Thank goodness! 

My parents, sister-in-law, nephew and I arrive at the dentists office.

Many would ask me if I was nervous and how I was feeling.

I wasn't nervous at all and I was feeling great!

The sit me down in the chair of doom and 3 assistants where there waiting for me.

One of which was a really cute RM who went to Brazil.

The assistant that was really cute was by my side the whole time I was awake.

As he was taking my vitals, I noticed my pulse fire rocketed.

It went from the 80s to 97 in seconds.

I didn't want to look if it even hit 100.

He asked me if I was nervous to see if that's why it was so fast.

I wasn't.

He was just super cute!

He put the laughing gas on me and my pulse went down to 79.

I had the laughing gas on for about 10 minutes or longer.

The doctor finally walked in.

He put the shot in my arm.

And within 5 seconds I was out.

In other words I remember nothing after that.

The really cute assistant was still right where he was when I woke up.

He helped me into the wheelchair and they wheeled me out.

When you get your wisdom teeth out, 

You get very loopy,

Don't exactly know what you're saying,

Don't really care what you're saying,

And apparently you get a custom made smoothie from Roxberry.

Chocolate Coconut.

I asked my sister-in-law what time it was and she said 1:30.

When I sat in the chair of doom the assistants said it was 11:30.

I couldn't believe 2 hours had past.

*~*~*~*~*~*

When I got home the anesthesia (drugs) wore down.

I was starting to realize what was going on.

My family was wanting me to lay down.

But I didn't want too.

I felt great!

My friend Tiffany came over!

 She brought me Chocolate Pudding and Peach Ice Cream.

Oh how delicious they are!

Thank you Tiffany!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The scarf I have on (picture on the left) is what I get for being a future sister missionary! Boy get ties :)

My sister-in-law showed me the video after my wisdom teeth.

I may post it on here if your lucky.

Tiffany and I then went to Kneaders, her house and Wal*Mart.

At Wal*Mart we saw our adorable friend Anna!

I had a hard time getting around because I got to roll around in a electric wheelchair.

I would hit anything and everything that was near me.

Trust me, those things are hard to drive!

We looked around and my two lovely friends got a few missionary clothes!

Oh how excited I am for them.

They will be great missionaries.

*Endowments*

December 15th, 2012 was the day I went through the Salt Lake Temple to get my endowments. It was an incredible experience! That day changed my life, forever.

*Mission President Letter*

Dear Sister Del Castillo:  

Welcome to the Canada Montréal Mission! 

You will prepare to preach the gospel in *at least* two of the following languages.

French, English, Spanish and Mandarin.

*Called to Serve*

November 6, 2012 

*Side Note: One month after the mission age changed*

Dear Sister Del Castillo:

You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Canada Montréal Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 18 months.

You should report to the Provo Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, March 20, 2013. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the French language. Your assignment may be modified according to the needs of the mission president.

Sincerely,

Thomas S. Monson