"A mission is like a roller coaster. It has it's ups and it has it's
downs. You can never be really sure what's around the next corner
until you are plummeting to the ground at a speedy rate. Chances are
you will probably get whip lash because it's a brutal ride. When you
climb on the roller coaster you must make sure your seat belt is
buckled firmly, because there is great risk of being blown right out.
And of course you could end up sitting next to the girl who is
screaming and crying and saying she doesn't want to go on the ride.
And then you ask yourself, What have I gotten myself into?! And
through out the whole ride you are screaming at the top of your lungs,
your eyes are watering from the wind, and you count the minutes until
it's over. But when all is said and done, and the ride comes to a
stop, you realize how much you loved it. And through the tears and
screaming and excitement and fears, you realize that it was all worth
it because you did something nobody thought you could do. And you have
conquered The Roller Coaster.
I think this analogy can be compared to many things but for me it's my
mission. There are times when I say to myself, This is not what I
signed up for! Whether those be good times or bad times, a mission is
unexpected. I have truly come to find joy in the journey as President
Uchtdorf has taught us. I think that can be the hardest principle to
learn sometimes. We so often get in the habit of saying that we are
not happy now, but we will be as soon as this happens. But where is
the growth in that? Life is a series of disappointing moments,
interrupted by brief moments of indescribable joy, as President Fenn
would say it. But those moments of joy far out weigh the moments of
disappointment. And since we know that we are more likely to have to
live through more moments of disappointment throughout our lives, the
key is to find happiness in those hard moments. And I know that we can
find that happiness by keeping Gods commandments and being faithful
even in times of despair and disappointment. I think sometimes we feel
abandoned, forgotten by our loved ones and by our Father in Heaven.
But he has not forgotten nor forsaken us. As I have been reading the
Book of Mormon I am blown away by Gods promises to his children. He
says many timers, If ye will keep my commandments ye shall prosper in
the land. And even though he knows that as He blesses the Nephites it
will eventually turn into pride and war, he still blesses them. Time
and time again, he blesses them as they humble themselves into the
depths of repentance. Even though he knows His blessings will result
in the destruction of a whole nation, He keeps his promises. And that
shows me how much he truly loves us and cares for us. I know that
Jesus Christ lives. And I know that Joseph Smith saw God the Father
and Jesus Christ that spring morning. And that through him the
priesthood of God was restored to earth. This knowledge is important
to me because it has changed forever the way I live my life.
Well updates for this week are as follows: we got the most new
investigators in one week than I've ever gotten on my mission. We
found 6 people interested in our message! 6!!! That's a lot! And it's
mostly thanks to the members. 3 of those 6 are friends of members and
the other 3 are from our own efforts. We have this awesome member in
our area who loves to work with the missionaries and since we didn't
have the car some of this week she took us around town for 4 hours!
Now that is truly sacrificing for the missionaries and she has no idea
how much she helped us out. I've mentioned Carol before and we have
been trying so hard to get her to come to church, and she finally came
yesterday! And Tonya, the Eldes investigator who we'll now be
teaching, wants to meet with us. We are seeing so many miracles in our
area and it's so great to see progress in an area that started at 0
when we got here. But on the down side, Leena got a job and will now
be working nights and she works every Saturday night from 1:00-9:00
AM. She told us she probably won't be able to come to church anymore
and that about killed us. We did not baptize her to walk in the front
door and out the back. We are really scared and have no clue what to
do. But The Lord knew this was coming and He has a plan, we just need
to find out what it is. And it rained so much this week as well!
Which, rain means warm weather right?! Absolutely! It got up to 45
this week and we were rolling the windows down in our car, but it's
supposed to be like 15 again this week. Just great. The picture I'm
sending is of me and the snow bank I parked in last Monday. It took us
15 minutes to get unstuck. Don't ask me why Arizona was driving in the
snow storm, but I was:) if you look closely you can see me waving from
behind the steering wheel! So that's about it from Oswego Illinois! I
hope you all have a safe and blessed week and find joy in the journey!"
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