Well, this week... Where do I even start? First off, I have a new companion! Sister Ledford and I became a trio on Saturday! And you'll never guess who it is. Sister Brown! I don't think this has ever happened to a missionary before - to be companions with TWO of your trainees again after being transfered away from them. And it's not like I'm companions with them one after the other, but at the same time. This is a strange situation, but we will definitely make it an adventure! (It already is!) Shout out to Sister Brown's parents who I know will be reading this! Your daughter is incredible, and I'm excited to be with her again. Miracles are gonna be happening the last two weeks of this transfer while we're in our trio here in St. Mikes.
The miracles have actually already started. On Sunday, we had a lesson count of 20 for the week and 5 of them had members there! It might not seem like a lot, but that is ***amazing*** compared to the previous weeks I've been here! So we're all super happy about it :) We're only gonna go up from here! Cause we're done with exchanges and such, now it's just MLC and general conference, then the rest is working in the area! Joy!
So becoming a trio is probably the biggest event so far. You know about Monday and how we went to the temple. Tuesday we went on exchanges with the Kirtland Sisters. I was with Sister Anderson here in St. Mikes. Our exchange adventure happened at the end of the exchange when we were driving to our halfway point to switch back to our normal companions. We were driving, enjoying our conversation, and I somehow missed the turn to get to Crystal. We took a lovely 18 mile detour. The bad part was that we both had to use the restroom really really badly... and our detour didn't have any gas stations... it wasn't too pleasant. But we got to see a pretty lake and some mountains on our way to Lukachukai before we had to turn around.
Thursday we had a zone meeting with President Adams. We talked about the Garden Project and how it can be a major finding tool. So Sister Ledford and I (and Sister Brown now!) will be trying to find people that have gardens around St. Michael's and try to help them out in any way we can, and hopefully lead them into taking the missionary discussions. We found one garden. Now we've gotta find the rest. Sad part is that the gardening season is about over... but that's not gonna stop us!
Looking back at this week, I feel like it was just a TON of driving. First it was 3 hours one way to the temple... then 1 hour one way to do exchanges... and you make that drive twice, once to switch companions, then another time to switch back... then 1 hour one way to our meeting with President... then another 1 hour one way to yet another exchange...so times that by two to switch companions again... then 30 minutes to pick up Sister Brown... music is a must out here with all this drive time. Sister Training Leader life. It's da best. By the end of the week, we calculated that we drove roughly 700-800 miles. Wowza!
Saturday night we went to the General Women's Conference. Wow. That was an amazing meeting. I must say, as soon as President Monson walked in, I about cried. I love how every time I see him or hear him speak I get a spiritual witness telling me that he truly is a prophet of God. I'm so thankful that we have a living prophet today who can guide us in the craziness of this world. Some of my favorite parts of the Women's Conference were the choir- shout out to Ogden! I totally (reverently?) did a kind of fist punch to the air when they said that people from Ogden would be singing in the choir. I didn't really recognize anyone though... Wow, I've gotten old. But I thought I might have recognized Savannah Coburn. Was that true, or was I imagining things? Of all young women from Ogden that should have been in the choir, she'd be number one. But I also loved the speakers and how there was an emphasis on having a bedrock understanding of the doctrine of Christ. How true that is. It saddened my heart a little when Sister Oscarson said that the world isn't going to be getting any better. We will be continuing to get worse until Christ comes again. And yeah, that's a little bit of a scary thought, but at the same time it is so true. And that's exactly why we need to be sure in our footing. We **need** to have not only a strong testimony, but a strong conversion to Christ. We need to consistantly act what we believe. We have to be knowledgable in the scriptures. We need to have a strong relationship with our Father in Heaven and rely on Him for all things. I loved how a speaker talked about how we can't have our own agenda with God, we must summit to His will, and then things will work out for the best. Sometimes we really don't know what's going to be best for us, because we have such a limited perspective in this life. Thank goodness God knows us perfectly and knows exactly what will help us reach our full potential. Our part is that we simply need to trust Him and act.
Ah, I just love general confernce time!!! I'm giddy with excitement for this weekend and to listen to our church leaders. Last conference on the mission :( It's gonna be good!
Our companionship has a new motto. Tis this - "Fourth floor, last door." President Uchtdorf talked about a missionary companionship in Germany that went to a 4 story apartment building and found rejection on every floor, at every door. But they were diligent and they had faith. So they kept knocking. Then at the very last door on the last floor (4th floor) they knocked and a little girl answered the door. Her mother had just lost her husband, there were a few little girls this mother still needed to raise somehow, and she was not in the mood to listen to missionaries. But after the daughter pleaded a little, the missionaries were allowed inside and shared a quick message about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They left a Book of Mormon, and after they left, the mother decided she'd read a page or two. Well, she read the entire book in a few days and the entire family was baptized shortly thereafter. The daughter that had convinced her mother to listen to the missionaries was President Uchtdorf's now wife. And he talked about how he's so thankful for the diligent missionaries that kept knocking until the last door on the fourth floor. So that's what our companionship is going to do now. We're going to keep going until we hit the last door. We are so excited to work together, and know that miracles will happen as we live up to our expectaions for each other. We're gonna communicate, be diligent, be obedient, and have fun together. We're already off to a great start :)
Sunday was pretty good. I think I've decided that I kinda hope I'm not called to be a primary leader once I come home... These kids were hard this week. We just couldn't control them. Mad respect to my mother that works with Primary kids 24/7. How am I ever gonna be a mother?? Good thing that question doesn't have to be answered for a while. Two hours of children on Sunday was just a little bit too much. We talked about missionary work and split everyone into companionships. It was fun, then they got out of hand. Bleh. One day, I will master this primary thing. But I think I prefer young womens. I'm much better at working with youth. Not that I'm aspiring to callings, but... yeah, I kinda am.
I absolutely love being a missionary. It seriously is the most rewarding thing in all the world. Even if there are rough times. That's just life. In the end, we decide if we're gonna let it be rough or not. And I will forever choose to have a good day :)
This week we're looking forward to MLC and General Conference! So excited for General Conference! For anyone interested in watching it, it'll be at 10:00 and 2:00 MST Saturday and Sunday on BYU TV, lds.org, and certain radio stations and such. It's the GREATEST thing in all the world. So uplifting!!
And you really do learn so much. If anyone's interested in the church and what we believe, this would be the time to find out. So stoked.
Well, I love you all!!! And I hope you're doing amazing things! Keep going strong! Keep reading your scriptures, praying, and going to church. Those are the super simple things that will get you through life. I know that to be so true.
I know this church is true! I know that we find happiness through Christ's teachings, and I'm so thankful to have this gospel in my life. It has made a world of a difference.
I LOVE YOU!
Love,
Becca
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