Hola todos!
No joke, I cannot even believe that a whole other week has passed by! Time is FLYING! I wish that you could all see the spring time in Missouri! It is like Heaven! There is SO much green everywhere, and there are these amazing trees that bloom with colorful blossoms of white, purple, green, yellow, and orange. I was telling Hermana Méndez the other day that it reminds me of the sacred grove here(I actually have never even been there, but I imagine it to be this way), so that makes it even more cool. My other very favorite part is that there are TONS of birds here. I recognize only a few of them, cardinals(BEAUTIFUL! and my favorite), robins, and sparrows. All of them are singing when we get up in the morning and all through out the day. See? Just like Heaven! The weather is just wonderful. We did not experience what the locals call a "normal Missouri winter" full of ice storms and horrible temperatures, we just had a little bit of cold weather and like one day of snow. I have to say that I do not feel like I missed out. I am SO happy that spring is here, although I have never experience humidity before so I am adjusting. Oh and I also have been experiencing allergies for the first time in my life, probably because when it is warm here it is like you are breathing in water/pollen. Not sure if that makes complete sense, but come to Missouri in the spring and you will better understand.
So some exciting new about the Kansas City temple open house coming up on April 7 - 21. We are going to be working at the open house three days a week while it is going on. I am so excited about this!!!! This is such a rare opportunity! And think about the history behind this place! Finally the saints get a temple on this holy land. We also get to be in the cultural event the day before the dedication of the temple! We will walk into the stadium behind our mission president singing "We are as the armies of Helamen"!!! When my companion and I found out about this we almost died!!! We are not sure if the prophet will be there, but how blessed we are to be a part of this!!! Last week when we had our mission conference with Elder Evans our mission president's wife gave all of us a pin that she had had made especially for our mission of the Kansas City temple. We get to wear our pins until the end of the temple open house. I feel so honored!
I am not sure if I have previously spoken about our investigator Kathy, but we have been teaching her since Hna Dent was here. She has been coming to church and a few days ago she commited to baptism! To me she seems like such a different person, so much more full of light. She is such a slow mover with everything and she has been telling us this for awhile, but I think we kept taking it as an excuse for her to not do what we were asking her to do. Well I have learned very much that we need to teach specifically to the people and their needs, the way that they need to learn. I love Kathy! She is such a typical cat lady and she is so proud of it. The other day she was wearing this shirt that said "An outfit is not complete without a few pet hairs!". Oh man she is just great!!!!
Just a little side note. The other night I was saying our companionship prayer right before bed and I was blessing Hermana Méndez feet to feel better because they had been hurting her. Please keep in mind that I was exhausted and my brain was pretty much spent by this point. Well just like all of our prayer I was saying this one in Spanish. right after I asked the Lord to bless her feet, I repeated it once to make sure that I had it right and when I repeated it Hna Méndez tried to hide it but she started laughing hysterically(which is uncommon during a prayer for her, she usually keeps her cool). Turns out that I had said "Por favor bendice los pelos de Hermana Méndez" meaning "Please bless the hairs of Hermana Méndez". Feet is actually pies not pelos. She still thinks that this is hilarious. Oh blessed español.
I love my companion so very much. This last week I was struggling a bit with feeling ornery(I think that is how you spell it). I just was getting annoyed by everything, especially in our companionship. I would not lash out at her or anything, but I just kept being quiet and cold when I would start to feel frustrated. She would ask me if everything was okay and I would give her the typical girl answer of "Yes I am just tired". Finally I broke down into tears, and she was so relieved that I was acting more like myself, ha ha! We talked for a long time and I apologized for the way that I was acting and she taught me such a valuable lesson at this time. Right in the middle of our conversation she asked me to get down off of my bed and kneel down with her, so I did. She then said the first prayer that I have ever heard her say in English when we are praying together. She asked Heavenly Father to help me to know that He is proud of the work that I am doing as a missionary, and that I could be blessed to take the advice that I give to so many people and try to see myself the way that He sees me. Then we got up, hugged, and went to bed. It was that simple. We could have talked for hours upon hours about the way that we feel, but it was all solved with this simple and beautiful prayer that she wanted to make certain that I understood, so she said it in English. Well I have pondered on this principle. What if we went to Him first? Before anger, before hurt, before sadness, even in the midst of joy and happiness. What if we went to Him first? How much time, emotion, and energy could we save to be used in a greater way? We could save ourselves hours, days, months, or even years of heartache if we would just turn to the Savior first. Why? Because He knows. He is the ONLY other person that you can go to and ask "Hey do you remember feeling what I feel right now? Do you remember how much it hurt? How I felt like giving up?". I can tell you that He does remember, and He wants to help you through it with His perfect love. There is nothing you are going through that your Savior and Friend has not felt. Go to Him, allow His understanding and love to encircle you. Allow Him to change you.
This gospel is my greatest joy, and I am so thankful for the incredible opportunity that I have to serve. How can I put into words the joy that missionary work brings? Thank you for your support and love my dear loved ones.
con amor,
Hermana Thorne
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