Randomness

A piece of cheese fell out of my sandwich into the shape of a question mark. No, I didn't arrange it that way. It's things like this that make my day. :) 

Oh, and another thing that made me laugh was how my Tongan companion reacted to this joke:

Conversation between Texans:

MR ducks

MR not

OSAR

LIB, MR ducks!

She heard this joke for the first time and it took her a while to get it, but once she did she was laughing so hard and the laughter was contagious. :)

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Una Semana Triunfal

There's lots of new stuff! I'm being transferred to Temple (the southernmost end of the mission), I'm going to be training a new sister, I'm going to be in a trio (senior trainer, junior trainer (me), and the new sister), and I'm going to be a sister trainer leader! That's basically the female equivalent of a zone leader. We go on 24 hour exchanges with all the sisters in the area and train them and be an example for them. So, a lot is going to change, and it's going to be crazy but crazy good!

 

Triumphs:

 - I learned how to make the ball jump (playing pool during a P-day activity)

 

 - An investigator almost dropped us, but we got her back and taught and testified and we were inspired to do just what she needed so she could understand. Beforehand I made her a notecard full of scriptures in the Bible and Book of Mormon that answered her questions. I had no idea it would be a big deal, but it literally made all the difference!

 

 - I got to teach a less active girl piano! As of now, she really doesn't want to come to church. Her boyfriend would definitely get baptized if she would only get on board... But we had some time to talk and relate (we both like to draw and play piano) and I've started teaching her piano! It was a lot of fun. The more I talk to people about music, teach piano, play piano in church, the more I can see myself teaching private lessons in cello, guitar, and piano. I don't know how or when, but I really want to get a second degree in music. Sure, I can start teaching people a bit at my current level, but the more I teach, the more I need to know more and have an academic/technical background in music. I often say that keeping up on all my interests would be a full time job. But now that I think about it, it seriously could be!

 

 - had some quality time with a member, whose son is autistic. It's good to just talk about autism and how it works and how it affects our lives.

 

 - The Aguirre family got baptized!! It was the elders that taught them for the most part, but I was still super happy! It was an especially happy day because at first only the 3 daughters were going to be baptized. But at the last minute, the father decided to be baptized too! They're such a beautiful family and they were all glowing with happiness and purity. There's nothing like it. It was also priceless to see one of the elders baptize the father, Julio. He was glowing with happiness more than ever before. I've come to the conclusion that he gets happier by the week. I thought he was happy in the MTC, but it's a night/day difference between then and now. This is the power of losing yourself in the work!

 

 - My last sunday in Denton, I bore my testimony in church for the first time in Spanish (never had the opportunity before). I was pretty much fluent! A lot of the members told me about how much progress I made since my first day in Denton a few months ago. One told me it was a night/day difference, that I'm glowing and so much more confident!

 

 - I'm a better sight reader on piano than ever before!

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Adventures

Ok, some of the missionary adventures in the last week...

 - We discovered the little town of Gainesville. It looks like about 1/2 of the population is hispanic, and surprisingly there's only an english set of missionaries in the area. So we have a lot of work to do and not enough allotted miles to do it! With transfers coming up I really hope President Ames sends some Spanish missionaries to Gainesville. Maybe he'll send me?  Who knows...

 

 - We had the opportunity to see true charity in action. We happened to be over at the Pedroza's (members in the ward) and Hna. Pedroza got a call telling her that a family of investigators that the elders are teaching had absolutely no food in the house and hadn't eaten at all that day. She promptly scoured her pantry and fridge, packed up a bunch of tamales, and went to the store to get some groceries. Particularly astounding since this family isn't very well off themselves, just barely making ends meet. We followed suit and went back to our apartment and packed up all the food we weren't using and brought it over to their house. It reminds me of something Hna. Pedroza taught us. The word "caridad", charity in spanish. It's composed of "caro" (expensive, or dear) and "dar" (to give). Charity is to give that is which is dear, or something you really need yourself.

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Q&A

Here are some questions I've been asked in emails that I thought I'd share.

 

How can I make scripture study more meaningful?
For scripture study, I'd recommend planning your study somehow. Do you have any doctrinal questions/wonderings? Is there something you want to work on personally? Do you want to get to know the scriptures better? Think about it and "set goals and make daily plans" (You'll hear that a TON in Preach My Gospel) to work towards whatever it is. Another idea is that in Preach My Gospel, at the end of each chapter, there are a TON of study activities. Some are obviously missionary-centric but others are more universal and simply gospel-centric. Great stuff! 
 
 How has God lifted you up?
He has lifted me up as on "eagle wings". I've been so much stronger than before thanks to the enabling power of the Atonement/grace. Whenever I think I don't know what to say, I eventually know what to say. I have been able to find "just the right scripture", without even knowing what I'm looking for. I can speak Spanish pretty well! I'm much more hugging tolerant than I used to be. After the mission, don't be too surprised if I actually give you a hug instead of you giving me a hug. The hispanic culture has taught me well. :) Anyway, God has lifted me up in so many ways. I was actually studying that and finding every instance of that metaphor in the scriptures. Here's a list of references.
Exodus 19:4
Deuteronomy 32:11
Isaiah 40:31
Psalms 103:1-5
D&C 124:18,99
Revelation 12:14
 
 Who from the scriptures are you most excited to meet when you die?
Hard question... Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ first, but that's a given. Definitely Joseph Smith, Alma the Younger, Moses, Paul, Enoch, anyone who had a mighty change of heart and was totally transformed from being evil, carnal, or weak or at least mediocre, to being an amazing powerful instrument of the Lord.

 

Oh, and a picture. Don't worry if you're an odd duck! Chances are you're not alone!

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Hi there!

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted! So much has happened and even last week seems like an eternity ago.

 

I've been told by various people that the 4th transfer is the hardest. Now that I'm officially in the middle of the 4th transfer of my mission, I can see why. It's dawning on me that I'm in it for the long haul and that this is my life. It really does feel like I've left my previous life in Montana and BYU-I behind. That and our plans keep falling through (more than they did before) and I often feel so clueless, since I'm senior companion now it's often up to me to call the shots on where to go and what to do.

 

But there have been so many blessings as well:

 

July 1st:

Today's been a crazy week! First off, my new/old companion Hermana Hunter. Just working with her has been such an adventure. I'm so excited for this transfer! I've been stretched a lot, since I'm senior companion now (basically means I call the shots for where to go, what to do, take initiative in teaching). We're equal partners, but I'm the one that knows the area/the investigators so I've had to really step up. I'm also the one driving. Even though I've bought a GPS, and I've been to a lot of places in Denton before, I still get lost... It's been great though. We've also found a lot of people who are ready to hear the gospel. One of the families was so excited when they saw us and invited us in like they were members already! And we found another family who wants to get baptized on their 25th marriage anniversary! And there have been so many times where we were led by the Spirit to be at the right place at the right time.

 

July 8th

My week's been great! This 4th of July, we missionaries walked in a parade, alongside a float I helped make (see picture). It was hilarious how most of the audience was just smiling and waving and the members in the audience were freaking out and cheering us on. :) Hermana Hunter and I have been having a lot of agua fresca adventures, and made some french toast. She got a culinary degree so it makes me happy that she loves cooking as much as I do. And Ricardo's doing great! He's so strong and has so much faith...
 
The main struggle is that I often don't know what I'm doing. I know I need to walk by faith but I wish I could know when I'm being guided by the Spirit. I guess that's not how Heavenly Father works. Sometimes I feel like I'm just wandering, but at least I'm going about doing good and I keep moving...
That and our number of lessons taught has been really low this week... We only had 9 and we can usually get 20 or more. And it's not for lack of trying. Makes me wonder what I'm doing wrong or if it's just bad luck or a test of patience...

 

July 15th

Hmmm...What happened this week? It seems like last Monday was an eternity ago, possibly because I'm mentally moved so far since. Well, we've taught a lot more lessons, visited a lot of less active people, and found some new investigators. And my companion had really bad migraines for most of the week. Best we could do was let her sleep all through studies and she'd go with me no matter what she was feeling like so we could go teach people. Not the most ideal but we made it and she had a really good attitude about it.

 

Also, a message to one and all: Never underestimate the influence you have on people, on the influence people have on you. There have been a few people, investigators and members alike that have amazed me and strengthened me this week. So if you're feeling insignificant or overlooked, look harder. People are amazing and you are amazing. Pray to see that in yourself and others and I know God will help you see that.

 

Oh, and have a crazy (but true) photo. Sometimes reality is stranger than fiction.

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Sorry it's been a while!

First baptism on the mission as of 6/22/13! Richard (the investigator) was practically glowing with excitement and purity. :) It was a really special time for his brother Don and his family who are members of the ward because he had been the only member in his family for 32 years. Now he has a brother in the gospel and his family has been coming together on both sides of the veil (Don has been doing a lot of vicarious work for his deceased immediate family and other close relatives). That's really what it's all about!
 
The weird part was that a lot of people were congratulating me and Hermana Snow. It felt really odd to us because we couldn't take the credit. I've definitely learned that missionary work is a spectator sport. Yes, we work our hardest, but in the end the Spirit is the one that makes things happen. Just as Christ said, "Thy will be done and the glory be thine forever". I know how it feels to be an instrument of the Lord and it's great! It sounds odd, but I love working my hardest, being lifted beyond my own abilities and not being able to say it was solely my accomplishment. I work better that way when I don't get all the credit. It reminds me of a TED talk about creativity by the author of "Eat Pray Love" (I forget her name). It's about how we "have a genius" instead of actually being "geniuses". Highly recommended. Look it up.
 
As for what made me smile, there have been many things. But I thought you'd really appreciate some Ragamuffins (see photo). We work at a food bank every week to do service and I found this box of muffin mix that expired in 1989. Oh, and I got to go wading in the baptismal font. Don't get any sacrilegious ideas. ;) After Richard's baptism, we were cleaning up and we had the hardest time pulling out the drain for the font. It just wasn't budging. So we sisters had to wade in there (it was knee deep) since we had skirts on and try to get at the plug. I finally got it out, but soaked half my skirt in the process. It was great fun. :) 
Oh, and a kind old southern man gave us a tiny Gideon bible. But we gave him a Book of Mormon so it's all good. :)
 
Oh, and we have transfers this wednesday! I'm staying here in Denton and my new companion is going to be my MTC companion, Hermana Hunter, who I love and adore! Yay! Hermana Snow is going to Lewisville. The crazy part: She's going to be a sister trainer (female equivalent of zone leader), starting a new area (first sisters in an area) and training a new sister, as well as a visa-waiter, who is temporarily called to serve here while waiting for the visa to go somewhere else. Yeah. I think any responsibility she could possibly have was given to her all at once... Yep. I'm praying for her every day.

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More adventures!

Life has been good and there have been lots of adventures. And we have an investigator getting baptized soon! So exciting. I'll have to consult the journal for what I've been doing lately (last week seems like an eternity ago).
I...
 - overcame a cold (colds are the worst on missions when you don't have a chance to rest)
 - found some new investigators, one of which definitely has "real intent" (Moroni 10:4) and wants to be baptized!
 - told the brother of one of our investigators (the one getting baptized soon) that I like Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin and I play the electric guitar and he is now really excited for me to come back and visit after the mission and play my rock music. They're a really fun quirky family from Canada that's really strong in the gospel and I'm definitely adding them to my tentative list of people I'd visit in Texas after the mission.
 - ate an oyster for the first time. Not recommended. It tasted like a sickeningly sweet fishy smelling booger. It only helped slightly that it was covered in cheese.
 - ate Saskatoon pie for the first time. Also from the awesome family from Canada.
 - finally got my bike assembled and ready to go (but who knows when I'll use it...)

 - my companion has a new nickname: Hermana Snow White and the 5 dwarves (the rest of the missionaries in the district)

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