"Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama... to Key Largo, Montego, baby why don't we go.... way down to KOKOMO!!"
I am here in Kokomo with my favorite sister in the whole wide world - Sister Mat! Oh, it's been great! We have so many differences, yet so much in common, and it's turning out nicely. I'm really excited for this time of my mission. The ward is very nice here, though it's small - only about 20 in Relief Society. Sunday, Bishop Marler introduced me to the PEC as the missionary they had been praying for. (I ate at his house when I came here on exchanges in November and they fell in love with me.) It was quite the compliment - I hope I can live up to that!
Well, backtracking a little, this week was crazy! Transfer calls came Monday morning - I was told I was leaving and S. Latu would train. I knew it. I knew that I would leave and she would train like 3 months ago. I didn't really feel like I connected with the people or the area that well, so it wasn't too hard to say goodbye. Tuesday we found out transfer meeting was postponed from Wednesday to Friday because of weather. Then Wednesday we found out that it would be Thursday. Wednesday at 5:30pm we found out that S. Latu would also be leaving and 2 different sisters would be double transferred in to Lafayette. CRAZY!! Goodness, it was a whirlwind from 5:30 Wednesday until we were on the road to transfer meeting at 8 am Thursday morning.
(In Lafayette) I got to visit with Linda once more. I was able to bear my testimony to her one last time and encourage her that though she doesn't feel like she's receiving any answers, the Lord is proving her and opening a place in her heart for His answer to come. I testified to her of the importance of having a correct, solid foundation and that if we don't, we can only get so far before we have to tear down and rebuild. That's a really important lesson that I learned from my time in Lafayette. She again told me that I just seemed to have this glow about me and told me I was the most put together person she knew. Wow. It's nice sometimes for other people to point out what they see in us when we're too hard on ourselves to see it.
We met with Destiny and Br. Ruby one last time as well. We had planned on talking about Christ's earthly ministry, but S. Latu switched it up on me. It kind of threw me for a loop, but the way the lesson went actually lined up perfectly with thoughts that I'd had that morning about faith in Jesus Christ. Both of them have a strong faith in God, but their faith in Jesus Christ is lacking. We were able to testify to them of the importance of faith in Jesus Christ. As we taught, it re-affirmed my testimony of the need for Jesus Christ and just how important He is in my individual life. Oh I love teaching the gospel! I learn so much!
We went over Lehi's dream with Br. Workman. We asked him to choose a parable to discuss, and he asked if there were any in the BOM, and his wife suggested Lehi's dream. We had a really good discussion at the Asay's home, and they were really good fellowshippers. Members sure do make a difference! Br. Workman is waiting for his answer. I think he's just dragging his feet. Obviously he doesn't have a way strong testimony yet, but I do see that he has that seed of testimony. I hope he acts on it before it gets snatched up by the birds (see Matt 13).
We taught Laura about enduring to the end. She is so awesome! She is still feeling like a baptism in March is what will happen. As we discussed enduring to the end, she shared that these things are things that she WANTS to do, not things she feels that she has to do. She is truly so prepared for this gospel! It's been amazing to see the progress that she's made. And she's slowly helping her husband to come back to the church. That will probably take a long time, but the seeds are being planted.
We began to teach Krystal about Christ's earthly ministry and the establishment of His Church in that time. She has no real knowledge of religion or Christian beliefs. It's kind of nice to work with a clean slate, but also somewhat challenging to start from the very bottom and work up. We shared with her the "cup lesson" and she was able to see the importance of each layer - apostles, commandments, gospel of Jesus Christ, and Christ Himself - in order to keep the organization strong. It'll take some time for her to be ready for baptism, but she's on her way as long as she keeps on this path.
Wednesday night we went to Br. Mills' house (ward mission leader) to give him all the info he needed so that the work would continue seamlessly with the new sisters. S. Latu then asked him for a blessing, and I took him up on that as well. The blessing was amazing. The Spirit was so strong. In it I was promised (among other things) that I would be able to know the needs of my companion, the area, and the investigators, and that I would be able to reach people who could never be reached before, and that miracles would happen, and the area would be blessed with baptisms. Man, it was a very powerful blessing! I was so excited to get to my new area and get started!
Transfer meeting Thursday was good. We got 20 new missionaries, so it was a lot of change! As S. Latu was on the stand because of training, and since S. Mat is my favorite, we were sitting next to each other. I had a strong feeling that I was going to Kokomo with S. Mat since Monday. Pres. announced S. Mat's name and she stood up, and it took her a good 5 seconds after he announced my name to compute that I was her new companion. She's a bucket full of energy, so you can just imagine her reaction when she realized I was right next to her. I got barrelled over basically. :) During those 5 seconds, I was just waiting for her to make the realization. I saw the assignment coming, so it didn't surprise me, but it sure did surprise her. Oh, I love my S. Mat! Another surprise came after transfer meeting - Sister Norton dropped in to see me! She heard I was going to be there, so she came to say hello. Oh I love her so much!
Thursday night we had dinner with Bishop Marler. Mama Marler welcomed me "home". She said she too had a feeling that I was coming. Oh, it's great to be here! The Marler's are awesome, and so is Mama Marler's cooking! :)
Friday we met with Mike. We were going to give him a drop lesson. We talked about real intent and discussed a bit about Matt. 13:44. (I love that parable!) He's got a strong background in Christian ministry. He studied with missionaries back in the '60s and was going to be baptized, but then he got antied. He is 7th Day Adventist. We asked why he started meeting with us again. He said he's looking for what God wants him to do. He has some element of real intent, so we decided not to drop him yet. (And he came to church Sunday!) The problem is, well, #1, he's an intellectual. He wants proof. But more than that, he's willing to jump if God says jump, but he doesn't believe that God will say jump. So that's kind of blocking the pipeline for him to receive his answer.
We met with Melody later. She's excommunicated or something (I don't know the situation). She's got a strong testimony, she just can't quit smoking. As we were sitting there talking (about something unrelated), the Spirit bascially started screaming at me. I felt the Spirit through chills, heart pounding, excitement, you name it, it was all there. So I told her I was going to change the subject and speak very directly to her because the Lord wanted her to know something. I very strongly told her that the Lord wanted her to quit smoking NOW and set a baptism date and there was a high sense of urgency in the matter. Man, I was shaking. I've never felt the Spirit SO STRONG on my mission before. I was truly being used as an instrument. Then a miracle happened. Melody agreed on the sense of urgency, and she mentioned a 15 step stop smoking program that had worked for her before and she couldn't find it or anyone who knew about it. THANK YOU TRACI FOR SENDING ME THAT PROGRAM LAST YEAR! Already, I've seen one reason why I'm here. Melody was very excited that I had a copy of the program. We met with her again Saturday to prepare her to start the program. We're going to start it with her this week. Then, in 7 days, she'll be smoke free.
We dropped in to see the Buttermores Friday night. Ron is really funny, and right away I was able to fit in with his personality and click with him. He's just a big goof, and Judi is such a sweetheart. Sadly, when we went to our appointment with them Sunday night, Ron dropped us. :( :( He said he just doesn't see himself changing and he didn't want to waste our time. Judi wasn't home but called us later and asked if we could come over one more time. Ron had asked us some questions Friday, so we decided to go and have one more lesson. It was hard to say goodbye to them - and I only just met them! S. Mat took it harder as she's come to love them so much. They will receive the gospel at some point. They just need more time and more understanding.
We stopped in to see Sister Boonstra, a less active. We talked about repentance, and she brought up that she doesn't do anything big, just small things that aren't a big deal. I was able to be sweetly bold with her and tell her that to God, there are no small things, they are all big things because they pull us away from Him. I don't know if it fully sunk in, but she at least got some of it. That's one of the blessings of being the new missionary in town - I can be as bold as I need to be. :)
I'm still trying to learn the area and the people. S. Mat has only been here 3 months, so she's still kind of learning too. It's been so great so far though. I'm really excited for the miracles the Lord has promised as we are diligently obedient. We've got some investigators, and I've only met a few. The work is about to move forward even faster now! I'm excited for this area, and for this time of my mission. I'm really grateful to be serving alongside S. Mat at this time. She is awesome!
Again, I'm drawn back to the lessons I learned while in Lafayette. AGAIN, I learn more from Pres. Uchtdorf's talk "Of Things That Matter Most". I realized that during my 3 months in Lafayette, the Lord was helping me to focus on the basics (on survival in his terms), so that I could grow more now. I remember first hearing the talk in conference, and it impacted me a lot and I felt that the talk was just for me. I had no idea just how much that talk would be a key in my life.
I'm really seeing that my time with S. Latu, I was like an apprentice. She was really training me. I see myself now doing things that I learned from her, that I wasn't able to do in Lafayette. I was so antsy to do, do, do in Lafayette because I didn't realize at the time that the Lord wanted me to learn, learn, learn. And that S. Latu was providing that example for me to be able to follow. My time in Lafayette was a crucial time in my mission, and a crucial time in my life. I'm grateful that I was able to finally open my eyes and see what the Lord intended for me.
Well, hopefully by next week I'll know the area and the people a little better, and be prepared for more miracles!
sister smurf
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