June 7, 2014

Holla for ya dolla Honey Boo Boo! 

Again, another week has just come and gone in the blink of an eye. I swear I went to bed on Monday and woke up and it was already Saturday. Life is good when you are busy. But first things first! I am staying with Sister Steck in Missoula! WOOT! WOOT! I am really happy to be staying.  Although it has been a rough area, I am determined to see something happen here. There weren't a lot of changes made in our zone except my old companion Sister Baird is getting transferred to be a STL in Columbia Falls. I am so excited for her. I got to go on exchanges with her and her companion this week. SO GOOD. Ill explain that later. And my zone leader Elder Bishop is going to be the next AP. Cray cray!  My MTC companion Sister Wallace is coming to be companions with another Sister in our zone. I am so stoked. She is awesommmeeeee.  

I went on exchanges this week with Sister Baird and her companion Sister Averett.  And one of the coolest things happened.  So we were down in town by the church so we decided to eat our lunch at the church.  As we were gathering our things to leave a man walked passed the room we were in and ended up stopping and started talking to us.  He asked us where we were from and what our scripture thought of the day was. Blah blah blah.  We came to find out that he was just passing through Missoula on his way to Utah.  He told us that he was recently divorced and honestly had no idea what he was doing with his life. He was kinda wandering from place to place. I was surprised at how open he was with us.  He told us that divorce was the most emotionally horrific thing he had ever been through.  He asked us if we came from broken homes, how we would feel and deal with something like this.  He felt completely hopeless and lost. He felt abandoned and betrayed.  Sister Baird offered to share our "spiritual thought of the day" with him and shared with him her favorite scripture, John 14:27 "Peace I leave with my peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth give I unto you.  Let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid."  I wish you could have been there to witness this.  Words really cannot describe the experience that we had with him. Sister Baird bore her testimony of the peace she has been able to feel from her Savior Jesus Christ.  I was able to share my favorite scripture with him Isaiah 41:10,13 and I will never forget the way that this man looked at me with tears in his eyes as he said, "but what if you don't feel like he is there? What do you do when you read a scripture like that and you feel like it is not true? Because you feel like he isn't there? What do you do?"  I pulled out another one of my favorites, D&C 38:7 " But behold, verily, verily I say unto that mine eyes are upon you. I am in your midst and ye cannot see me."  He nodded and sat there in thought for a moment.  And then he looked up at us again and said, "What do you do when you feel like you have been completely wronged?  Why when I have tried so hard to be good, my life crumbles to nothing?"  We sat in silence for a moment as his eyes again filled with tears and Sister Baird bore one of the most powerful testimonies of the Atonement I have ever heard.  She too began to get choked up as she told this complete stranger of Jesus's love for him. That all that was unfair in this life could and would be made right through the Atonement of our brother Jesus Christ and the mercy of our Father in Heaven.  5 minutes before I knew absolutely nothing about this man, and to be honest, I was anxious to leave and get going and didn't really see a need to talk to him.  But as we spoke and as the Spirit filled the room this stranger became my brother.  And I loved him.  My heart ached for the pain he was feeling and the questions and doubt that he was experiencing.  We all cried together. It sounds so ridiculous, but it really was such a beautiful experience.  I told him that I didn't know him, I didn't know what it was like to experience the kind of pain he was experiencing but I did know that the Lord always keeps his promises. I read Alma 37:16-17 "...For God is powerful to the fulfilling of all his words.  For he will fulfill all the promises which he shall make unto you for he has fulfilled his promises which he has made unto our fathers." And  just like that,  he was gone.  I probably will never see him again or ever know what happened to him in his life. But I left that meeting changed.  Some of the questions he had asked us I had been asking myself.  Sometimes I feel like the Lord doesn't really listen to my prayers, or cares about what is going on with me.  But in answering his questions, I was able to answer my own.  It is amazing the way that God works.  As soon as I got home, I dropped to my knees to thank God for answering my prayers and questions I had. 

 Last week I got an email back from my Mission President.  I was telling him how I feel like the Lord has recently been trying my patience in this area. He emailed back and said, "Don't you just love it when the Lord chooses to try our patience?  I believe it's because he already knows what you are made of and he just wanted to convince you. "  What wise words. He already knows what you are made of, he just wanted to convince you.  

A MIRACLE HAPPENED! I don't remember if I told you all about Wanda or not.  I am pretty sure I did, but I will recap.  Sister Steck and I tracted into Wanda at the very beginning of the transfer. She let us right in and we had a wonderful discussion.  She is Pentecostal and has this absolute love for God and the Bible.  We set up another appointment and when we got there she didn't answer. We heard things going on inside so we knew she was there, but I thought maybe she had left for a minute and was driving back. So we waited outside her apartment complex when she came out to walk her dog. She totally was avoiding us. But we were able to talk to her and answer some of her questions and honestly had a wonderful meeting.  But since then, she hasn't been home, or just won't answer the door. And she hasn't called us back. So we kinda gave up on her and decided to give her some time.  Okay, flash forward.  We were tracting and not seeing any success.  Our appointment for the evening canceled so we were thinking of what to do.  We said a quick prayer and I felt like going to see Wanda.  Eh, I didn't think she would be there, but why not go. We had nothing else to do. So we went and no one answered.  Surprise, surprise.  I thought to text her and say that we just stopped by to see how she was doing and wished her a happy fourth of July.  AND! SHE TEXTED BACK! SHOCKER, I know.  I had a mini heart attack. And then she texted again and said, "Sorry I missed you, when can we meet again." SHUT UP WANDA.  You have got to be kidding me.  Long story short, we set up an appointment and she was actually there and we had the best lesson evvvvvveeeerrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!! It was wonderful.  She is loaded with questions.  We were able to find common ground with her and her beliefs and share our love for God and Jesus with her but we were also able to talk a lot about restoration with her.  We explained everything from the Bible and you could just see the wheels turning in her head.  We got to the topic of temples somehow and when we told her that when  you go through the temple you make very sacred covenants with God to bind you to him.  She was so intrigued. She said, "Like, I can be closer to God than I am right now?"  Yesssssss. Yes indeed Wanda. When we left she was the one asking when we could come back. So good, so good.  The only issue I am not completely sure how to address is the whole gift of tongues thing in the Pentecostal church. She is all about it. But.....we are taking one step at a time. 

Herdeep our wonderful Indian friend couldn't meet with us this week but we saw her in her yard the other day and she asked to set up an appointment. GOLD. I love Herdeep.  

GET THIS. So we have been meeting with_____ in this sober house she is living in for a little while. She just got a new roommate and invited her to come sit in one of our "Bible studies". Her name is Paula and was all about it.  She is recovering from addictions and said she cannot survive right now without spirituality in her life.  She is very very open and participates in the discussions we have.  We had another lesson the other day and taught her the first lesson and invited her to be baptized. She agreed. Just like that.  She said she was really intrigued and really interested.  HOLLA! But then all good things must come to an end_______ technically is not in my area but I got permission to be her missionary while she is in Missoula.  I got a call the other day from the missionaries in ______'s ward and they basically kicked me out of teaching Rhenon. They said they have been talking about ________ in ward council and feel like she needs to be taught by the missionaries in her own ward and with people from the ward to help fellowship. It all makes perfect sense....BUT IT'S ________. That was a stab in the heart.  But there you go 1st ward, we got you another chick on date and a sweeeeeeeeeett lady to work with. I am actually really upset about it all and ______won't take it well when I tell her. But I am sure I can work something out.  She is kinda struggling right now, adjusting to living here and not having friends or really any support from the ward so her meeting with people from her own ward will be really helpful. 

Hahahahahahahah okay one funny story! So yesterday we were sitting in Sacrament meeting during testimonies and this younger guy gets up to bear his testimony. He introduced himself and said that he had served in this ward a year ago. He was just here visiting the areas where he served in the Montana Billings Mission. He bore this wonderful testimony talking about remembering the experiences he had on his mission and thinking a year later if he really gave his mission his everything.  It was really good and made me think a lot about what kind of missionary I am now and if I am really giving this my all. Anyway, after he finished, Sister Steck went up and bore her testimony. It was great.  Afterward, he came over to us and we started chatting missions and stuff with him when he asked how long we had both been out.  Sister Steck has been out a year so he was like, "6 months isn't that long.  Hey, well if you ever find yourself in Utah when you are home, give me a call."  And handed her the program with his name and number on it. I DIED. I had to turn my head away to keep myself from laughing out loud. IT WAS HILARIOUS. Sister Steck didn't really know what to do. hahahahahahahja I told her to keep that forever and call him.  I thought it was the most hilarious thing ever. Oh man. 

Well my family. I think that is all for this week. I love you all so much and can feel your prayers strengthening and uplifting me each day. Thank you for you love and your support. I love my mission! I cannot believe how long this all has been.  It feels like time is just whizzing on by and it makes me sad to think that one day I have to go back to the real life.  Bummer.  

Anyway, you all rock! I love you! 

Sister Maniac Moline

I am forgetting everything that happened this week! This also happened on the Fourth of July.  So as a zone we took a hike together.  When we got to the beginning of the trail the zone leaders passed out a piece of paper to each of us where we were supposed to write down things that we were struggling with.  Like, focusing, patience, loving the work etc.  Then they brought over a pile of rocks. Not like little baby rocks. I am talking good sized rocks.  And they said for each thing we wrote on the paper we were to grab two rocks.  And then we had to write what we wrote on our paper on each rock. So if I wrote patience, then I had to write patience on two different rocks. We then put one set of rocks in our own bag and the other rocks we threw in a pile all together. Before we began the hike they had two Elders take the pile of rocks and put them in their pack along with their own.  So we hiked and hiked and hiked and hiked. And let me tell you, it was hard! We finally made it to a little clearing and got to sit down. The zone leaders gave a beautiful discussion on the Atonement and how although we each have our individual burdens we are carrying, we are not going through this alone. Our Savior, Jesus Christ has hiked the same hike, has walked the same road carrying the same burdens that you yourself carried.  It was really inspiring. Then we got to take our rocks and chuck them off into the distance. hahahaha it was really liberating.  

I also failed at telling you what we did for the Fourth of July!! The stake here puts on a breakfast and TONS of people come. Members, and Non members.  like over 1,000 people came this year. So we got to help with the cooking and serving the food. It was great! And then we got invited by a member to come and watch fireworks! It was the besttttt

haha Love you!