Hey People!
I love you all so much. Just so you know.
Jason (a menos active that we taught) showed up to church in a suit this week AND is now a Priest in the priesthood. He'll be blessing the sacrament next week!! We were so happy we almost cried, us little excitable missionaries.
Spoke in a funeral this week. THAT was a new experience. At least my Bishop called me 8 hours in advance.... Gives me lots of time to prepare a talk while proselyting at the same time, right? Oh boy. But it turned out pretty well and we set up a visit with someone who was there listening. We'll see how that goes!
I forgot to tell you about Susana! We found her last week while looking for another person, and she opened her door to us right away. After entering her house, she said to us "I'd been waiting for you to pass by my house! I knew you were looking for me and was ready for you." Oh my, I feel such an affinity for her and she is so prepared. Hermana Call and I finally found someone together!!! She proceeded to tell us the history of every time she had seen us in the street, on the bus, near her work, and how finally one day we talked to her in the street. We had written her direction down but that day was the first time we'd actually gone anywhere close. She had literally been waiting for us, and said she felt something special every time she saw us. She is so brave and came to church last week even though her friends and her son questioned her about it, and she is going to be baptized!! Now the only problem is that she accidentally slept in this week and now her baptismal date comes after transfers.... Dang it. I'm praying so hard that the Lord lets me stay to see her baptized. Pleeeeeease???
One of my big experiences this week was that of "Righteous Correction". There was a big disobedience problem in our Hermana Group, and we had to go visit a group of them to talk about what had happened, find out their point of view, and commit them never to do it again. We were stressed before, but it went well.
Other big realization. We had been talking with someone that has great knowledge of the gospel, but who struggles to feel the love of God. She felt so caged by stress, pressure, hopelessness, and utter lack of desire to do anything. She just didn't feel motivated to do the things that she knew she should do, didn't feel a personal relationship with God, didn't feel like He listened to her, etc. We did everything we could to help her, but coming out of that talk, I was just so weighed down. It gnawed at me all day, and it wasn't until after my personal studies and our sharing time in companionship that I realized why that had affected me so much. As I was sharing with Hermana Call about my study and my feelings, it became a little clearer.
It wasn't that I was overly concerned or stressed for that particular person- I understand how agency works and I know that she has all the support that she needs. I know I can't control the decisions of others, and that we just have to do our part in helping her as much as we can. But sometimes it just kills me to see what happens when people lose that personal relationship with God. I really don't understand it. I love God so, so much, and it is the instinct most natural and central to my being. To see that some people don't feel that way, don't feel that urge and consequently don't get to feel that happiness or peace of seeing His hand in our lives- THAT was what weighed me down and made me so sad.
I hope each of you feel it. I hope you love God and want to do what He wants for you. I promise that He only wants what is best and I promise that what He has asked of me has ALWAYS turned out to make me the happiest I can be. I know that this gospel plan is inspired. Please follow it.
Yours
Hermana Oldroyd
I love you all so much. Just so you know.
Jason (a menos active that we taught) showed up to church in a suit this week AND is now a Priest in the priesthood. He'll be blessing the sacrament next week!! We were so happy we almost cried, us little excitable missionaries.
Spoke in a funeral this week. THAT was a new experience. At least my Bishop called me 8 hours in advance.... Gives me lots of time to prepare a talk while proselyting at the same time, right? Oh boy. But it turned out pretty well and we set up a visit with someone who was there listening. We'll see how that goes!
I forgot to tell you about Susana! We found her last week while looking for another person, and she opened her door to us right away. After entering her house, she said to us "I'd been waiting for you to pass by my house! I knew you were looking for me and was ready for you." Oh my, I feel such an affinity for her and she is so prepared. Hermana Call and I finally found someone together!!! She proceeded to tell us the history of every time she had seen us in the street, on the bus, near her work, and how finally one day we talked to her in the street. We had written her direction down but that day was the first time we'd actually gone anywhere close. She had literally been waiting for us, and said she felt something special every time she saw us. She is so brave and came to church last week even though her friends and her son questioned her about it, and she is going to be baptized!! Now the only problem is that she accidentally slept in this week and now her baptismal date comes after transfers.... Dang it. I'm praying so hard that the Lord lets me stay to see her baptized. Pleeeeeease???
One of my big experiences this week was that of "Righteous Correction". There was a big disobedience problem in our Hermana Group, and we had to go visit a group of them to talk about what had happened, find out their point of view, and commit them never to do it again. We were stressed before, but it went well.
Other big realization. We had been talking with someone that has great knowledge of the gospel, but who struggles to feel the love of God. She felt so caged by stress, pressure, hopelessness, and utter lack of desire to do anything. She just didn't feel motivated to do the things that she knew she should do, didn't feel a personal relationship with God, didn't feel like He listened to her, etc. We did everything we could to help her, but coming out of that talk, I was just so weighed down. It gnawed at me all day, and it wasn't until after my personal studies and our sharing time in companionship that I realized why that had affected me so much. As I was sharing with Hermana Call about my study and my feelings, it became a little clearer.
It wasn't that I was overly concerned or stressed for that particular person- I understand how agency works and I know that she has all the support that she needs. I know I can't control the decisions of others, and that we just have to do our part in helping her as much as we can. But sometimes it just kills me to see what happens when people lose that personal relationship with God. I really don't understand it. I love God so, so much, and it is the instinct most natural and central to my being. To see that some people don't feel that way, don't feel that urge and consequently don't get to feel that happiness or peace of seeing His hand in our lives- THAT was what weighed me down and made me so sad.
I hope each of you feel it. I hope you love God and want to do what He wants for you. I promise that He only wants what is best and I promise that what He has asked of me has ALWAYS turned out to make me the happiest I can be. I know that this gospel plan is inspired. Please follow it.
Yours
Hermana Oldroyd
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