"He is not here: for he is risen"

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter yesterday. I know I did!

We got a mini missionary for a couple days this week. A mini mission is where highschoolers (or those preparing to go on a mission) can go on if they're preparing for or seeing if they want to serve a mission. I've wanted a mini missionary my whole mission, so we were thrilled when we got the call saying we were going to have one.

On Thursday night our mini missionary came. Her name is Jannomys Bodden and she's from Philly. SCORE! She is awesome! She was so excited to be on a mini mission and she even spoke Spanish, which is super helpful because Reading is nicknamed "Little Puerto Rico." I learned a lot from her, especially how to be bold and to just say it! She wasn't afraid to talk to anyone or to share the gospel. We were very blessed to have her.

Last week I talked about the media blitz and about the whole #BecauseofHim thing. Well, I wanted to share my experience with it. It was possibly one of the most exciting things I've ever participated in. 

One of my favorite things was was at Young Women's on Wednesday. I had the idea that morning to make a poster that said "#BecauseofHim" and to take a picture with the Young Women. We had the Young Women write out all the things that were possible because of Him and then we took a picture of us and posted in on Facebook. Then we did it again on Sunday in our Easter dresses and with more Young Women there. It was awesome!!! We had a lot of positive feedback from members, nonmembers, and people I didn't even know. The girls were just as thrilled about using other social media sites to share their testimonies. The excitement that the girls showed for the whole media blitz was phenomenal. Throughout the week they would let us know how many posts on Instagram had the hashtag #BecauseofHim, and the last I heard it was over 27,000.

And even cooler, a lot of the ward members who didn't really use technology or social media got super into it as well. Then when we would ask them about their experiences or something cool they saw with the #BecauseofHim thing, they would light right up and tell us some cool things they saw. And the more the week went on, we all got more and more excited! 

In fact, we were so excited that Sister Suckow, Sister Bodden, and I went to the park with some chalk and wrote out a big #BecauseofHim and covered a sidewalk with different phrases that were possible because of Him. As we were trying to fill up the sidewalk, it gave each of us the time to ponder what our Savior truly has done for us. It was amazing, because then we just started sharing our testimonies through chalk. It's a pretty neat way to share a testimony. I highly recommend it.

I am so incredibly grateful for all the things that are possible because of my Savior. I am happy, I have changed as a person, I am forgiven, I can overcome weaknesses, I can develop strengths, and I have hope because of Him. I know the Savior lives, and I'm grateful for this Easter time that we've had to share our testimonies with each other and to the whole world through the internet. I will definitely not forget this Easter, because it was such an incredibly powerful one.

"And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!" (Doctrine & Covenants 76:22)

Love,
Sister Singleton