Wednesday I went up to White River for an exchange with Sister Jenson while Sister Smith came down to Bloomington to be with Sister Spindler. Sis. Spindler was very nervous, to the point of having a break down, but I knew it would be a good experience for her to be in charge for a day. The exchange I did last transfer when I stayed was a large growing opportunity for me and I learned so much. It was really good for me to go up to be with Sister Jenson for a day. I got to meet an awesome lady named Lucy. Sister Jenson found her 2 months ago when she was there on exchange. She's from Africa and has gone through a lot in life. The Spirit was strong as she told some of her experiences with relying on the Lord. We taught more about the Book of Mormon, and encouraged her to continue reading from it. I also got to meet 2 less active recent converts who are coming back to church now. Wonderful stories they have. It's been a long hard road for them, but they're making it back. We went to institute with another less active who's just started coming back. The institute lesson was really good. Someone made a comment about thinking about the process of how weak things become strong. I didn't catch the rest of what was said because I began to ponder on that, and my current situation, thinking both of how I can become strong and how Sister Spindler can become strong. I was reminded of a story called Hands Against the Rock. A wise old man hires a young scrawny boy to move a boulder. The boy accepted. He worked all day every day to move that boulder. After some time, the boy went to the old man and told him he couldn't do it, so he should hire someone else. The old man had the boy look in the mirror. No longer was he scrawny, but his muscles had been strengthened. The old man explained that he didn't care about the boulder, he had intended to strengthen the boy. I've thought about that a lot, especially in my relationship with Sister Spindler. It takes daily work and effort. I've learned a lot, but I have not moved the boulder yet. I talked with Pres. Corey in interviews yesterday about it and how I'm not sure if I've been asked to move the boulder this time or just become strong. I definitely have learned a lot this transfer because of the hard times. Pres. Corey said he didn't know what the case would be either, but we'd find out what the Lord wants next week. It's kind of nerve racking not knowing what will happen. Both times before, he told us who would be leaving. Either I will be leaving or we'll both be staying here. I pray daily that I'll have the "courage to accept [His] will" and know that whatever the Lord requires is right.
The White River apartment had a sewage flood the day before I got there so we couln't use the sink or the toilet. That meant an early morning trip to CVS down the road for a bathroom break. Ha, it was quite funny to call and ask Pres. for permission for that one. :)
Sister Jenson and I also had a lot of time to talk about things during the 24 hours together. She helped me a lot in coming to realize that I need to focus more on other people rather than on myself. I've been going about it backwards I suppose - thinking about how I can fix myself to better help the people. But she helped me realize that as I focus on helping people, I will become better. It was encouraging talking with her and I learned a lot from her.
Friday we went to Shalom again and Tom was back! It was good to see him again. We talked a bit about prayer (since I gave him part of the BD entry on prayer last time we saw him), and also a little about the Word of Wisdom. He's still looking for something in his life, whether he realizes it or not. I talked with Hank, another volunteer. I felt impressed to talk to him about our church leadership and general conference coming up. I explaine to him about our prophet and the 12 apostles and told him of the wonderful opportunity it was to hear from them soon and I told him that I just felt inspired to tell him about it and invite him. He appreciated the invitation. I'll bring it up again Friday and see what he says. He's a great Catholic man, and he's really devoted to Christ. I've been thinking about giving him a BOM with some of the great testimonies of Christ marked for him. We have a ward activity Friday night - potato bar and lip sync. I'm going to invite both Tom and Hank to that for some good Mormon fun. :) Bill and Aggie are planning on coming.
We met with Bill and Aggie again. They said they enjoyed fast and testimony meeting. We invited them to Why I Believe, a sort of testimony meeting for investigators where recent converts share how they came to the church. They were really interested in attending, but their daughter Cindy (the referral they gave us who is in Sister Jenson's new area) was coming down. They said if she came that day rather than Sunday they might could come. While we were there, Cindy called and said she was on her way. Sister Jenson and Sister Smith met with Cindy on Friday night and Aggie told us that she just loved them and is going to make dinner for them. :) :) :) :) Slowly but surely, the gospel is taking root in this family's lives. Well, Bill and Aggie weren't able to attend the meeting Sunday night because Bill wasn't feeling well. Darn old people getting sick. :) We discussed their reading in 3 Nephi 11 & 15 and it became apparent that they had read the chapters in between and some after. Gotta love 'em.
We went around visiting some members that don't have us for dinner to check up on how their family mission plans are going. We met with the Beasley family. Turns out, Sister Beasley was really good friends with Aunt Nancy! Small world. Her maiden name is Zollinger, and I believe her first name is Janet or something like that. I meant to look at the directory before coming to email, but I forgot.
Yesterday before interviews, the assistants did some training by companionship. The training was exactly what I needed. It was about being cheerful. Our mission motto is "obedient, diligent, and prayerful". When Elder Christofferson came, he was trying to recall what it was and he asked if "cheerful" was the last one. When we corrected him, he told us to add cheerful. So for the training, we talked about how our attitude is the most important thing that we can control. We listened to part of Elder Wirthlin's talk "Come What May, and Love It". It was really what I needed. Sister Jenson and I talked about the importance of being happy and letting people see the joy that we have, because people can tell when we're not happy. I've noticed that I haven't been recognizeably happy this transfer, and I need to do better.
We went tracting afterwards, and Sister Spindler prayed that we would be able to talk with the people and not just talk at them using our usual intros, and also asked that we would be happy. It was a totally different tracting experience. I was happy, and we were able to talk with 3 people for longer than 5 minutes and really talk with them, rather than just talking at them. One guy thanked us for helping him understand more, even though he wasn't interested in reading the BOM at this time. Another lady said we could come back. She has a BOM that was given to them by some senior missionaries when they visited Bryce Canyon a few years ago. I definitely know that Sister Spindler's prayer was answered as we acted and put forth a conscious effort to be happy. I hope I can continue that. Tracting was so much more enjoyable, and we taught some good lessons.
So, that is that I believe. Like I said the first week, I have a feeling that I'm staying here with Sister Spindler another transfer. At this point, that's not really what I want, but that's probably why it'll happen. I'm praying daily to know that whatever decision is made, it comes from God.
Take care all.
Sister Humpherys
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