Heyyyyy I hit 6 months this week! Which means 1/3 of the way through.WEIRDDD. Literally feels like one week ago that I was sitting in the MTC going to get lunch in the cafeteria with Soeur Goold. But 4 transfers 2 areas and 3 companions later... I'm 6 months into the mission.
You know what is a hard hit of reality? The only way to grow, is by experiencing hard things. I mean think about it. Can you think of one moment in your life that you really grew and changed... that didn't include some discomfort and challenges? I sure can't think of any. I feel myself growing so much on this mission. But that also includes some really tough times.
This week was a lot better. I read and studied about charity. The scriptures truly inspire me so much. I was feeling really irritable able and frustrated. Then I sat down. Read about charity in Moroni 7 and it was simple, clear, and exactly what I needed to hear. Moroni says "charity never faileth." (Okay, don't imagine some cutesie relief society handkerchief handout that says charity never faileth). But really think about those words. Charity never faileth. As in charity ALWAYS works. The pure love of Christ always works.
This week I took a step back and thought... well, there are a lot of things I can't change. I can't change people's personalities or flaws. So I asked God what is one thing I could change. Heavenly father didn't tell me a million things at once. But he told me simple things I could do better to improve the relationships. He told me... don't be so reactive. Be more patient. Look for the good qualities rather than dwelling on weaknesses. The atonement of Jesus Christ allows us to repent. Or in other words... to change! We all have weaknesses and when we use the atonement, our weaknesses turn into strengths. The other night, we were laying in bed, it was all quiet. Then I heard my comp say, "I really admire how good you are at talking to people on the bus and trams." It touched my heart. And made me realize that it just takes an active effort on both our parts to make it work. Honestly. Can we just be super honest here and say that a mission is THE best marriage prep? I can just see myself in the future looking back at these times as a missionary and being so grateful for the lessons of patience that I am learning.
On Wednesday we watched the world wide missionary broadcast. With Elder Oaks, Elder Bednar, and Elder Anderson talking to all the missionaries. The biggest news is that the missionary schedule and key indicators have changed!!! I was all stoked cause I thought this meant
I could just kind of fly by the seed of my pants and follow the spirit for how to do the schedule. But it turns out it is more like each mission President adjusts the schedule for how it best fits that mission. Still a good change though and now we have more time on Pdays to get stuff done.
The key indicators changing has actually really changed my way of thinking. There use to be 10 different key indicators we would write in each day. Some of these including how many conversations you have, how many lessons you taught that day, 15 minutes with members, etc. And now... there are only 4!!! People baptized and confirmed, baptismal dates set, new amis, and amis at sacrament. It shows how important faith, repentance, baptism (taking the sacrament), and the holy ghost are. I really love it because I feel like it helps us fulfill our purpose as missionaries. To simplify down to why we are here. Now I don't feel all this pressure to talk to people because I know I should be having conversations each day. But rather I focus on, Okay, what is the spirit trying to tell me right now and what does the Lord need me to do. And I feel like my conversations with people are a lot more real and less forced.
The work here is totally moving. It is seriously so exciting having so many young students around all the time. It also means some annoying teenagers laughing at us on trams and stuff sometimes too but WHO CARES. There will be some teenagers that hop on the tram, look our our
name tags, whisper to their friends, pffff... Soeur! And I just sit there and smile at them. It is quite funny actually. This week we were able to meet with our ami "C" and "F"...
"C" has taken all the lessons and would get baptized today if she could, but her divorce is making it really challenging to get the approval for her baptism. But she is seriously incredible, comes to church every week, and just humble!! "F" is 24 and is from Nigeria. She recently just lost her first child and really needs the gospel in her life. I love our lessons with her because they are so simple and slow. You definitely have to be humble to want the gospel in your life. Because accepting the gospel means repenting.. which means changing! That is not easy for anyone.
Are my relationships perfect and jolly??? No. But I know that little by little, Christ is teaching me lessons that are helping me grown into a stronger, kinder, more patient person.
Love Soeur Jones
No comments