This week has flown by!! I feel like I just sent out one of these.
I'm still absolutely loving missionary work. I honestly thought I would get out into the field and start counting down until I can be a regular person again but so far so good. Also my companion is INCREDIBLE. I couldn't have ever imagined a better companion. She laughs at all of my jokes, gets my slightly weird humor (okay extremely weird humor), and spits it right back at me without hesitation. I feel so comfortable being all sorts of myself around her. I was truly blessed with the best.
Last Thursday my companion and two other sisters had to go and report something to the police station per mission president's request. So we spent the next several hours just sitting in the lobby of the police station waiting for an officer to come speak with us because there was no way for us to report it online because *cough cough* we don't have internet. After speaking with the officer he asked us what we wanted him to do with the information and everyone just looked around like.... um isn't that your job... or are we just confused... so they all just looked at me, who had nothing to do with it, and I was like well we just wanted to let you know just in case there are more reports so you'll know it's a consistent problem. It was SO awkward I couldn't breathe.
I had mini exchanges this week! That meant that I was privileged enough to go street contacting for the first time ever and I learned an incredibly invaluable lesson... street contacting is kinda the worst. I mean don't get me wrong I loved it but even I was freaked out the whole time. My little heart was beating a thousand miles a minute and after almost all of them turned us down I felt the anxiety. But OH MAN was I shaken after but for some reason I want to do it again? Who knows the Lord works in mysterious ways.
Also during exchanges I had another incredible lesson with Shawna. Last week I asked her if she would prepare for baptism and she said.... I don't know... and on the inside I was screaming, "I CAN WORK WITH I DON'T KNOW, I DON'T KNOW IS GOOD" so I asked her why she felt like she didnt know and she just responded with well, I dont think I know enough and again I internally screamed, "YESSS, WE CAN FIX THAT." So this week I went into the lesson on splits with the STL and we planned to just go through the Baptismal Interview questions so she knows exactly what she needs to know before getting baptized but let me tell you, the Lord has a different idea. We started just asked regular get to know you questions and slowly but surely the Spirit led me to ask questions about her relationship with Heavenly Father. She started crying as she spoke about what was on her mind and I obviously cried also because I feel all the feelings all the time. It was magnificent how the Spirit works on people without any warning.
That night we had dinner with the Allen family who weirdly enough have a monkey. It's just this little tiny monkey who was soooooo interested in my watch. He kept trying to eat it and he was so confused why he couldn't grab the little moving hands past the glass. OooooOooo it was adorable. The next day we went back to build a fence for them and it was such hard work. I dont know about you but I'm so weak, and my little college arms were not mentally prepared to lift 15 foot logs up to my shoulders and hold it up while also trying to drill them onto other poles. Yup that's right, I was physically out of my league in terms of labor but I made it through. Luckily another woman we visited told us this trick to prevent being sore which is just drinking EmergenC and the next morning I want sore at all. Miracles, I tell you, are everywhere.
This Saturday I got to attend yet another baptism!!! That's right two weeks and I've seen two baptisms. Granted this one wasn't in our ward we just attended but still... even I'm impressed. It was beautiful. Ugh I love baptisms. It's just people coming closer to Christ and wow I love Jesus, He's great.
Yesterday was a really slow day and basically no one was home and all of our appointments cancelled so we just walked around our neighborhood and talked to people, we even gave out a Book of Mormon! We then had a cute dinner with Roady. He set out his picnic table and we just ate outside and it was so adorable. Roady is just amazing. We talked to him more this week and he mentioned how when he was baptized he really took it so seriously. He knew that when he was he was making a promise to God and he said, "I want to be a man of my word. Whether it's with people or with God, I keep my promises" It was so tender.
I just want everyone to know how incredible the Lord is. He is doing everything He can to bring His people to Him, so much so that He sent two 19 year old girls to do His work. I spent a lot of time wondering why He would choose to send us so young but I realized several things. We are told to be like little children, humble and willing to do the Fathers will. While He can't quite send actually little children, we are as close as He can get. The next thing I realized is that He knows that these experiences will shape our lives and He needs us to work and be prepared so sending us young will shape the rest of our lives in ways we dont even understand. The Lord just knows.
God is incredible, if you can't see it yet, you aren't looking close enough. Everything I am and everything I will be is all God's work, and that's something to marvel at.
I love you all!!
Also here are some pictures of the week!.... or weeks.... I can't tell what ones I've sent or which ones I haven't, sorry if there's repeats!
Also check out the video of the monkey, who would have thought I would hold a monkey in the middle of Wyoming.
