The last two days in Fishers were tender mercies. I was able to say goodbye to a lot of dear friends. Tears were shed. My heart really did break when I had to leave Fishers. So many people - members and investigators alike - have become a part of my life. I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to have dinner with the Nortons one last time and say goodbye. Mom and dad, you've met them - you know what I mean. Saying goodbye to Paul was difficult too. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to see the process almost from the beginning and see him through his baptism, confirmation, and ordination. That man has changed my life. Seven and a half months is a long time to dig in deep, and that's exactly what I did there in Fishers. My mind and heart are still there somewhat, and I'm trying to figure out how to get them here so I can completely love the people here and work well here.
Tuesday night before leaving Fishers, we had a great lesson with Devon with Naoto Suzuki there. We followed up on the Word of Wisdom and he admitted he hadn't been able to live it fully. We had planned to teach another commandment, but I felt prompted to hit the Word of Wisdom again and help him have a greater desire to live it. It was a way awesome lesson, and after a long, silent wrestle with himself, he finally gave us the Word of Wisdom breakers that he had in his possession. It was really difficult for him, but the Spirit was strong. I have new found respect for that kid. We talked to him about how much baptism is worth giving up so many things, and he was able to see that. Naoto being there really helped a lot too. He's really befriended Devon, and Devon told us as we were leaving that had Naoto not been there, he probably wouldn't have handed the stuff over. Thank goodness for Naoto.
Ramasamy - the math guy - called Monday night and wanted us to come over Tuesday. I had been planning on swinging by to see if he had checked out the website. So we went over, and of course he wanted to show me more math. He had his laptop out when we got there. As he taught me a few more things, then he gave me some problems to work out on my own. So as I did that, I had him pull up www.mormon.org and browse the website. He said he had already looked at some of it. I encouraged him to browse more, and then I purposely took longer working out the problems so he'd have time to browse. :) He works at some college in India (a Catholic one I think) and he mentioned he was interested in having me come and give a lecture at the school. Ha. What's even more funny is that he emailed me today and thanked me for coming and learning and complimented me on how quickly I picked up on things and he wants to teach me more. Silly Ramasamy. :)
Wednesday at transfer meeting, Pres. Collins talked about how the world will hate us because we are not of this world. It was something I really needed to hear. Last Saturday while we were out and about, a BOM got returned to us and the mother of the lady we talked to was just very rude. I was hurt, and I got discouraged a bit. I was tired of people being rude to me, people mocking me, and the like simply because I have on a name tag and a skirt. But after President's comments, I realized that that's how it works, because that's what the Savior experienced. I read some verses in 3 Nephi 12 this morning that said that we should have exceeding joy when we get persecuted.
Coming to a new area is interesting. It's a bit disconcerting knowing Fishers like the back of my hand and then coming to Lafayette and being totally disoriented. It definitely makes for inspired tracting though! As I am still getting to know the area and the people, I'm not much help when it comes to planning. So, I get to pick the streets we tract. Not knowing the area, I have nothing to rely on other than the Spirit. We've seen a lot of success and we've picked up a lot of potentials from our tracting. It's great to see that work as we rely on the Spirit rather than our own understanding. Proverbs 3:5-6 is coming to mind right now.
After dinner Wednesday, we went to visit Preston, a LA who just came back to church last Sunday. He's got some family struggles, but he's showing great desire to get back into the habit of church and scripture study. We had a great lesson on repentance and the importance of daily scripture study.
Thursday we met with Linda. Oh Linda. She sees the BOM as nothing more than a historical novel. She doesn't quite see a need for Jesus Christ. She tells us though that she's got questions she wants God to answer, so she's looking for the answers. The problem is, she can't articulate exactly what her questions are. We taught about mercy and justice and the need for a Mediator with her, and between her and Sister Latu talking, I wasn't able to say much (imagine that. hehe), but I did get the opportunity to bear strong testimony that her questions would be answered as she opened up her heart and allowed herself to believe. The Spirit was way strong, and I again had the privilege of being a conduit for the Spirit. It was amazing.
We met with Destiny that afternoon. That's a great part member family. Eddie is slowly coming back, and Destiny is progressing towards baptism. She's so willing to do whatever we ask, even if she doesn't quite have a witness for herself yet. She trusts us a lot. That's a great quality that leads to her own testimony. We talked about keeping the Sabbath day holy and tithing. She is willing to pay tithing, but she doesn't understand/agree with that money going to things such as building temples. She thinks all the money should go to helping the poor and that the poor shouldn't have to give tithing. The testimony will come in time. It goes back to John 7:17. It's so refreshing to see someone who is willing to live a commandment even before gaining a sure testimony of its truthfulness. She is blessed because of that.
We stopped by to see Sister Lerma Friday and she told us about her husband wanting to get sealed to her (he's not a member). He saw some movie recently about a husband and wife not knowing each other after death, and that really hit him hard and he doesn't want that to happen, so he wants to start the discussions and prepare to go to the temple. Good for him! The only problem is his work schedule is crazy and he leaves at like 5am and doesn't get home until 9:30 or 10:00pm. So, we'll have to figure something out.
We had another lesson with a part member family - the Workmans. Bro. Workman is so nice and likes to meet with us, but he's pretty content with where he's at right now. We focused on our purpose in meeting with him and assured him that it was all about him and his relationship with Jesus Christ, and not about anything that we as missionaries would gain from it. He admitted he felt that our main purpose was to baptize him, which in a way is true, but hopefully he now can understand why baptism is a goal and that it's a means to an end, not an end in and of itself.
We met with an eternigator, Steve and helped him to see that the ball is in his court. He's read the BOM 2 times already. He's met with missionaries for a long time. We helped him to see the things that he needs to do in order to come unto Christ. He admitted that he needs to put forth more of an effort. That being said, he didn't show up to church. :(
We met with the Hand family, yet another PM. Brother Hand has a different view on what is scripture and what isn't, and he's approaching everything from an intellectual perspective and ignoring any spiritual aspect of it. The Spirit started out being there, then it left, and then Sister Fayhe (ward missionary) was able to bring it back as she said the closing prayer. It was probably one of the most spiritual prayers I've ever heard.
We met with Sister Snyder later that day. She came to church last week. We had a really good lesson about scripture study and the importance of being in the BOM daily. Sister Latu and I shared experiences of receiving personal revelation exactly when we needed it because we were on the right page on the right day because of daily study. We also shared with her the importance of the white spaces in receiving answers to our questions. She is so sweet. She was baptized 10 years ago and feels she doesn't have much to show for it since she's been LA for a while. But she's getting back on track and putting the important things back at the top of her list.
Sunday we had dinner with the Stephens family. They just moved here about a month ago. In the course of talking and getting to know each other, I found out that I know their daughter-in-law, Vanalorin Kitras. I went to college with her. We were in the same ward for 3 years. Crazy - small world.
Oh boy, Sister Latu is amazing. She is exactly what I needed right now. She tells me the same thing. She is such a spiritual giant in my eyes and such a go-getter. I'm really blessed to be able to serve with her. We decided that we're going to serve together here until the end of my mission. We'll have to tell President that. :)
Sorry if this email seems a bit "off", my mind is kind of elsewhere today for some reason. Maybe I'm just stoked to go play dodgeball. :) Take care! Love you all!
sister humpherys
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