3rd Times The Charm

I recently started to volunteer at the Mesa Temple in the cafeteria. I went into the whole volunteering thing with high expectations, I used to volunteered at the Salt Lake Temple and I loved it, I looked forward to my special time and everyone was always wonderful to me. I also thought that it couldn't hurt to get blessings, I had a couple of specific ones in mind, I went into volunteering with bright eyes and a bushy tail. I didn't know that I was going to be working in the cafeteria but I thought it would exciting and fun. My first day I wasn't greeted and I wasn't even really sure who was in charge. When I was given my assignment to wash the dishes I was fine and thought, 'good I will stay busy'. There was a guy named Kurtis who was sort of helping me out (he was doing more talking and less washing) every time I filled the tray for the very large dishwasher (the kind they have at your elementary school) he would go over and re-arrange what I just did. I told Kurtis this was getting annoying and yet he still did it (he did eventually stop after I asked him to a few more times). My point of this entry is not to complain about my temple volunteering experience it is to share with you what I learned today.



This was only my third time volunteering but each time I just wanted to quit, my second day another worker got upset at me for something that I wasn't aware that I had done. I was really feeling like I didn't have to be there and I wasn't getting paid, then I remembered what President Hinkley's father had told him about forgetting himself and getting to work. I decided that I can't just quit because I didn't like something. Heavenly Father put us here to learn and how are we going to learn if things are always easy. Today Kurtis wasn't there, he was home sick. I missed Kurtis, last week we made a really good team getting those dishes cleaned and put away. But I am glad he wasn't there because I had the opportunity to work by myself and realize how much I need him there because there are too many dishes to wash by myself. I am grateful that I do have this opportunity to learn some good lessons, I thank Kurtis for showing and teaching me patience but the most important thing that I realized was that the list of blessings I was hoping to get for my faithful service is not the list that I will be getting. Yesterday it hit me that Heavenly Father want to teach me a few things like humility and patience and faith. I tell you I didn't realize how proud I am until I started doing something that I don't look forward to doing. Living is Arizona has been a very unexpected experience, things aren't the way that I planned and everyday I keep learning that things will not be the way that I expect but somehow my Father in Heaven will make it better then what I was hoping, I am saying these words in the middle of all these continuing unexpected experiences and opportunity so these words are not coming from a teacher but a student. I just hope I can make Him proud.