"What would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?"

So... my mom asked me some thought provoking questions. This is a shout out to the introverts, the shy, the timid, those who wonder if they have it in them to serve a mission or just get out there and serve those around you. Questions in bold.

 So, about you...In your last letter, you mentioned compassion and investing in folks. I can imagine that it's exhausting for you. Yes but not nearly as much as I thought. I don't even realize it anymore until you bring it up but I've been given so much strength on the mission. I have more energy for people and I'm not as uneasy around people as I used to be and I have almost no underarm sweat due to social nervousness ever since I started the mission. Nothing short of a miracle. Now I just hope that it continues after the mission. It would be hard to go back to who I used to be. It is for me, even though I love people and feel for them. I fear it will be harder for me after the mission when I can't devote all my energy to people like I can/do now. But I know that grace is real and that with His help I'll figure it out.  

What do you do to help break the ice with people and show compassion - especially when you don't have months to develop a relationship with them? As for breaking the ice, I still rely a lot on my companion to do that. I've been really blessed to always have companions that are more personable than I am. As for showing compassion, I do my best to listen, and tie what they say back to the gospel. I testify often of the Atonement and how there's always at least one person (Christ) who understands even if I don't. I make myself comfortable in their often poorer circumstances (I think they think I look like a rich girl, which I am relatively speaking). Also, I think that the fact that people can feel the Spirit when we walk in the room leads them to develop a relationship with us and tell us more than they might other people. So sometimes all we have to to is be sister missionaries and people will tell us their life stories, members and investigators alike. 

What strategies do you use to understand and be understood by your companions? 

I don't know if I call them strategies since I don't really have much spare time/alone time to strategize and sort through my thoughts. It helps a lot just to recognize that we're different and embrace it, and almost expect that we won't understand each other perfectly the first time. We take time to enjoy each other's strengths. I cook and help Sister George remember where scriptures are. She talks to everyone and asks lots of questions. We also have "companionship inventory" every week where we have a designated time and place to talk about our relationship and how we can strengthen it and what we need to do better. It's a good idea and I'd definitely want to put it in practice with my eternal companion.

Also, we had a zone conference this past friday. It was a great experience as always. But the one thing that stood out to me was a piece of stainless steel with the question "What would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?" Background information: One of the things that mission president Ames often says, ever since he went on his first mission is "Fire burns wood but tempers steel. I am made of steel." One year for his birthday, his wife gave him a piece of steel with that question engraved in it. He brought that piece of steel to the zone conference for everyone to look at.

That question brought a lot of clarity. It was scary but invigorating at the same time. The answer to that question would include my top priorities, the things I need to do to improve, my greatest yearnings. Really, I have no choice but to seek for and work for all these things. I invite whoever reads this to ask themselves the same question, write down a couple answers to that question and act accordingly. 

And just today, I happened to read a scriptural example of this. I happen to be reading about the stripling warriors in the Book of Mormon and discovered that the reason why they were so powerful is because they never doubted. They didn't even imagine they could fail because they knew the Lord was with them. They attempted and achieved something great (fought an army larger and stronger and more experienced than them and won with 0 fatalities) because they knew they couldn't fail.