Hi Family!
I know I say literally every week that it went by so fast,
but it really does, every time! Every single day seriously flies by. I can't
decide if I like that or not.
Monday was the most emotional day I've had since I left the
MTC. After I heard about Derrick's accident, I was bummed out all day long. That
evening we met with Justin and Stephanie. We had their friends April and Cory
come. We watched the talk "The Grandeur of God" by Jeffrey R. Holland with them.
Justin said that even though he really liked it, it didn't bring him any closer
to having his questions and concerns answered. For some reason, it was a really
emotional lesson. I don't know if it was because I was having a hard day already
or what, but everyone was very solemn and quiet. I didn't say hardly anything at
all because I knew as soon as I started talking I would cry. At one point
Stephanie started crying and said, "I feel like I've done all anyone has asked
me to do, and I still haven't gotten my answer. It's hard not to feel like God
has forgotten me." It just broke my heart. Cory had her read a scripture in
Matthew about when Christ was in Gethsemane. He cried out, "God, God, why hast
though forsaken me?" Cory told her that maybe she was having these feelings so
she would know that Christ has felt the same way too. He promised her God has
not forgotten her and he was choked up when he said it. After we left their
house we came home and I ran to our room and just started sobbing. Like the
nasty, embarrassing, uncontrollable cry where you can't breathe and makeup gets
everywhere. Sister Cha came and sat next to me on the floor and cried with me. I
was sad about Derrick and wishing I could do something, and sad about Stephanie
and wishing she didn't feel the way she did. Before I went to bed I wrote a note
to Stephanie in my "Forget Me Not" book that someone gave me a couple months ago
so I could drop it off for Stephanie later in the week.
Tuesday was way better than Monday.
We met with Ashley and asked if she was still
planning on talking to her parents when she went home for Thanksgiving about
whether or not she could get baptized and she said she was. I told her we'd
taught her all we have to teach her, so we went over the baptismal interview
questions with her. She did so great. Her testimony is growing and it's cool to
see it happen. Then I invited her to be baptized on December 1st and
she said
yes! She's the very first person I've put on date. It was pretty fantastic.
We knelt and prayed right there and asked Heavenly Father if December 1st was a
good date. It was the best experience. After she said "amen" she started crying
and said she felt really excited and overwhelmed, but in a good way. She was
still excited to talk to her parents about it, which had been worrying her. We
sat in silence for a little bit and she just kept smiling and saying, "Oh my
gosh I'm so excited." We taught Connor and Tabitha in the afternoon and
everything went well. On our way home at night we got a text from Ashley saying
she had just decided to go ahead and call her parents and they said she could
get baptized! Sister Cha and I stopped in the street and hugged and screamed and
jumped around. Hooray for Ashley!
Wednesday was Zone Conference. The theme scripture was 3
Nephi 5:13, "Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have
been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have
everlasting life." We all had to prepare a 3-5 minute talk, but I didn't end up
giving mine. So here it is!
"Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God."
I am a pupil, a learner, a follower of Christ. I look to Him in every thought
and try my best to do what He would do it. I wear His name proudly over my heart
and strive to honor it. I am a representative of Jesus Christ. "I have been
called of Him." My call came from the Lord, through His prophet. It is no
accident that I am in the Utah Provo Mission. I'm not filling a spot, I am not a
statistic. I am a servant of the Lord. I am not a perfect teacher, or
an eloquent speaker. I am inadequate and most days entirely incapable. But
because I have been called, I have been qualified. I have been called of Jesus
Christ and I'll go where He wants me to go. "I have been called of Him to
declare His word." I am here to declare, preach, proclaim, share, and rejoice in
the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I will tell everyone willing to listen that He is
the Light and Life of the world. The knowledge I have of the restoration of
truth, the plan of salvation, and the gospel of Jesus Christ has changed my
life, and I want to share that joy with everyone. "I have been called of Him to
declare His word among His people, that they might have everlasting life." I
want every person to know that they are a child of a loving Heavenly Father, and
that He has a plan of them. He wants them to come back to Him. And it is through
His son, our brother Jesus Christ, that this life and the next are possible.
Heavenly Father doesn't want just some of us back - He wants us all. It is
incredible to me that even though we are nothing compared to the vastness of the
universe, we mean absolutely everything to God, the most powerful Being, the
Master of all. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. And because of all He has done
for me, 18 months of my life dedicated to Him, will never seem like enough. But
I know that in this short time we have, we can make a difference. We are here
because there are people who we promised before this life that we would come
find them and bring them home. I pray that we spend our time diligently seeking
these people, that we live what we preach, and that we act as effective
instruments in the Master's hands as we carry out His great work. I know the
message we share is true and I know of the happiness it brings. I say so in the
name of Jesus Christ, amen."
Probably the most important thing I learned at Zone
Conference was that I need to rely less on my own knowledge and abilities, and
more on the Spirit. I've discovered that mastering humility is so hard. I
realize that I can't do this on my own and that I need the Spirit in order to
teach, but it's hard to rely completely on Him to know what to say and do. I
don't know why I struggle with that so much. But I'm trying to be better at
listening and asking inspired questions. At the end of Zone Conference, the
Elders who are going home this transfer (Lopez and Hifo) bore their testimonies.
After Elder Hifo's, he, Elders Va'enukum, Manumá, Reher, and Walters sang this
really preeeeetty song called "How Can I Be?" Then President McCune left us with
his powerful blessing and we went home. He's the best. I'm gonna miss that guy
when I go to Spain.
Thursday we met with Ashley and she told us more good news.
She's been talking to her parents more and her mom is actually going to fly out
for her baptism! We started planning her program and she's super excited. Less
than 2 weeks away!
On Friday
we had dinner
with the Drake family. They have 3 young kids and they're pretty cute and
probably going to turn into the Gills in terms of how often we see them. Haha I
love finding awesome families who we get along with. Then it was time for
TABITHA'S BAPTISM!
She was so so so so happy - a smile was smeared across her
face the whooooooole night. We got to meet her baby Zach (who turns a year on
Sunday) and he actually received his baby blessing that night! It was pretty
neat. We took her out for ice cream afterwards and she's the happiest in the
whole world.
This week has gotten so much better since Monday. I think
Heavenly Father is doing a pretty good job of helping me not be distracted by
Derrick's accident. So I'm grateful for that! Saturday night we actually ate
with Elder Starks' parents! I got a letter from him on Thursday I think and it
made my day. At first I thought it was from Hadley because they have the exact
same handwriting. Haha but it wasn't (Hadley, that's a sign you need to write
me!). They took us to Chuck-a-rama and we ate and talked and had the best time.
I like those people!
Sunday was super busy. We had four sacrament meeting to go to
(three of which we spoke in), four correlation meetings to go to, and three
teaching appointments. It was nuts. But it was good because this week is going
to be so slow with everyone gone for Thanksgiving. This week we have a service
project planned for tomorrow and then Thursday is Thanksgiving. We're having a
turkey bowl in the morning with our zone and then we have two dinners to go to.
It's a non-proselyting day, so we'll just be visiting families in the ward and
eating too much food. I'm excited though. I love
Thanksgiving.
I love you alllllllllllll!
Love,
Hermana Munden
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