Friends!
This week has been a very hard and sacred week. A lot of you know that my best friend and sister, Maddie Fillmore, was killed on Thursday, Dec 17 in an automobile accident on the slick and snowy freeway in Provo. I am incredibly grateful for all of your love and support. Honestly I don't know what else to say, besides thank you! Thank you so so much for helping me and my family heal. Your prayers of love and kindness has helped all of us during this hard hard time.
One thing that I want all of you to know is that this doesn't change my testimony and knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Heavenly Fathers plan! Just because we are members of the church, just because I am a disciple of Jesus Christ with a missionary purpose doesn't mean we are exempt from mortal experiences like loss, physical and emotional pain and heart ache. So we shouldn't harden our hearts when these things come. We should actually be the ones to stand tall with all we have even if it's not a lot of strength and lean on God and Christ's power through his Atonement. So when trails come, which they will, turn to God. I hope you'll make a promise to yourselves and your Heavenly Father that when hard times come that you will get on your knees and ask, plead, petition to Him for help! Also allow in the support from family and friends.
Slowly God is helping me see why Maddie needs to be on the other side of the veil and not here. It's still hard!! But like I said in my talk, by and by God is helping me see reasons for his plan. Maddie is also helping me see why she needs to be on the other side of the veil and its been so sweet! She is hard at work as my constant missionary companion and I am already seeing it change the lives of a few people and it confirms to me that the Plan of Salvation is real. Which in turn helps me get my head focused on the work here in Oregon. I am grateful for my 3 days I had at home to cry, love, laugh and pray with my family but I am so grateful I could return to being a full time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
☆Please also pray the Edwardson family. Jake Edwardson was my sisters boyfriend who also died in the accident and they need your prayers too.
Feel free to reach out, I would love to hear from you! And thank you for all the kind words and messages. They strengthened me more than anything!!
I love you so so much!
Love,
Sister Fillmore
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| What a blessing to be home with my parents and family for three days. I needed their arms around me. |
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| I got to see my cousin who is serving in my mission the day I found out about Maddie. What a miracle from God! |
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| My Uncle Jeff flew up to Portland just so I wouldn't have to fly home alone for Maddie's funeral. |
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| My best friend and beautiful Sister, Maddie. |
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| My forever mission companion, Sister Maddie Fillmore, with her official name tag. |
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| One of the highlights of being home was to get to be with my great grandma Hirschi. She is 96 years old and can still recite the Standard of Truth by memory with me! |
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| Happy Birthday Maddie! The view from her place at the Cemetery is perfect with the mountains behind her. |
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| I am so grateful to be a missionary right now! |
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| Time to go back to where I feel most at home... in the mission field. #oregonsalemmission |
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