Tuesday, January 8, 2013

New year, new semester, new day

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii :)

Today is the first day of the semester! Hooray! That means all our people are back, a bunch of new faces, and hopefully some good quality referrals. I'm so happy BYU isn't dead anymore. Also, this week is Board Week, when President and the Assistants make transfer decisions. I can't believe this transfer is almost over. Seriously though, fastest 6 weeks of my life. Our predictions are that either we'll get another sister and we'll be in a trio (ugh I hate trios), or that I'll leave the area and be in a trio in a Spanish speaking area. I don't wanna leave Mama Cha, but it'd be nice if I could serve in a Spanish area again.

So this week was Katia's birthday! Sister Cha and I made a bunch of paper hearts and wrote stuff on them (scriptures, happy birthday, cosas asi) and then put them all over her front door. It was so fun. We went to her work that day too and ate pupusas. So yummy. That night she had us over for her birthday party. Their was cake and music and dancing and tacos and all sorts of fun birthday things. I like that lady a lot.



Yesterday was interesting. We had two wards to be at that started at the same time, so we found splits and I went to church with Rachel while Sister Cha went to church with Daisy. While I was with Rachel, I SAW RYAN SMITH! Ahhh made my whole day. How come nobody told me he was in Provo? That was the best. All three hours were really good and I learned a lot, especially from the testimonies during Sacrament Meeting. It's cool how sometimes Heavenly Father answers our prayers through other people. That happened for me yesterday and I was grateful for it. I think Rachel really enjoyed church too, so that was good. And we got to see Connor last night! We talked about the Doctrine and Covenants (since that's what he'll be studying in Sunday School this year) and about how is Christmas with his family was. It was really good to see him.

Here's the interesting part... we got a call last night from Rachel. Things have been going really well with her. We had a cool lesson with her on Saturday and we have been planning to invite her to be baptized when we saw her later this week. Well when she called, she told us that actually, she's a member. What the heck. So in the MTC there's the TRC where you can volunteer and pretend you're a nonmember to help the missionaries in the MTC practice how to teach. Well, Rachel didn't know that they only do that in the MTC. So she's been pretending this whole time that she's not a member, and we believed her. Sister Cha thinks it's hilarious, but I'm mad about it! Haha I guess it's not her fault because she didn't know, but still, annoying!

This week is going to be really good. We have two baptisms we're getting ready for, we just got two referrals, and we're planning on spending lots of time on campus, getting to know all the new people that have come in. My 4 month mark is on Saturday, and it's also Daisy's baptism so I'm excited for this weekend! Her story is really cool and I'm so happy for her.

I've been thinking a lot lately about missionary work and why sometimes, even though I'm trying my hardest to do everything right, it's so, so hard. Appointments fall through, people slam doors in our faces, investigators turn out to be fake (that doesn't happen very often though haha), and we don't see results of our efforts as quickly as we'd like. But this quote from Elder Holland helped things make more sense: "I am convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation was never easy. We are the church of Jesus Christ, this is the truth, and He is our great eternal head. How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never, ever easy for Him." I like that a lot.

When I get home I want to be more assertive about missionary work. I was always pretty good about sharing the gospel when people had questions or wanted to know more about me and what I believe, but I think it's important that we not be afraid to share the gospel with others. We shouldn't be worried it'll ruin our relationships with friends, classmates, and coworkers, or that they'll be offended, or reject what we have to say. We never know when it's the right time for someone to hear the truth and accept it. I'm learning that more every day. We've found so many people who have been searching and praying to find the truth, but like the scriptures say, "they know not where to find it." I urge you guys to sincerely and faithfully pray for missionary opportunities. If you do, and if you act on promptings you receive, you'll have those experiences! In the MTC they taught us to not be surprised by miracles, but to expect them. This is the Lord's work and it's the most important thing we can be apart of!

I love you all and appreciate your continued support and encouragement. I have a feeling my time in this mission is dwindling, so I'm trying to enjoy the rest of it while I can! I hope everyone has a good week!

Love,
Hermana Munden

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