This week has been amazing as well! Seriously, I just love being a missionary. I cannot believe how fast time is going. It is making me so sad but I am loving every second that I have left of serving the Lord here in Missouri.
Last Monday, we had our FHE lesson with the Russell's. I absolutely love that family so much. We taught them the first part of the plan of salvation and are going over tonight to finish it up :)
On Wednesday we had interviews with President and Sister Vest during our district meeting. I feel so incredibly blessed to be serving in this mission with the Vests. Yesterday, they brought all their extended family into the jail in the evening and I got to take them through on a presentation! I have learned so much from both of them and know that I needed to be in this mission because of them. Yesterday, there was a couple from Shoal Creek Valley that we were starting to teach before I left that came into the jail too! They came in with one of my favorite families! It was so much fun to go through the jail with them. The wife of the family came up to me afterwards and said that she has been through the history presentation at the jail countless times but never understood the history as well as this time when I took them through. That is huge coming from her if only you knew. Haha. So yesterday was very good!
Thursday we went on exchanges with the sisters in the Liberty 1st Ward and are done with exchanges for the rest of the transfer now. I was with Sister Anderson in Doniphan! She is such an amazing missionary!! That morning, Sister Baggett and I both gave trainings at TMTM. I gave a training on the miracle of a mission. I jus talked about what being a successful missionary means and then I quoted some of the talk by Elder Holland called "The Miracle of a Mission". This is one of the parts of his talk that has been meaning so much to me recently...
"In two years my life was changed forever and forever and forever. Everything I hold dear, everything I cherish in one way or another, I owe to the experience that converged from my childhood, my lovely parents, and my good home. Converged and passed into my soul on a mission. Everything — my marriage to Sister Holland, my children, the fact that they have been on missions and all married in the temple and now are raising children to go on missions and be married in the temple, my education, and my chance to have a profession in education, my church assignments—everything that has ever blessed me I owe to the gospel, collectively, broadly, and to my mission specifically."
I can't even begin to describe how true that is. Here was an elder who served out here like a year ago that said "everyone says that missions change you. Missions do not change you, the Atonement of Jesus Christ changes you. The mission is just a greenhouse for the Atonement to take place". I am so grateful for this little greenhouse that I get to live in for these 18 months to help shape who I need to be.
Yesterday, we were also asked to help in primary by telling the kids how we prepared for missions and we came in a little early and got to listen to end of their singing time and they were singing the song, "Gethsemane". It was the sweetest thing ever. The chorus of the song goes like this:
Gethsemane, Jesus loves me, so he went willingly to Gethsemane.
The strongest battle that ever was done. The hardest fight that ever had won.
The fight was won by Jesus. Gethsemane, Jesus loves me.
So he gives willingly, in Gethsemane.
I am so grateful for my Savior. I am grateful for His Grace and for His love for ALL of us.
Saturday, we had some awesome opportunities to do some service before our shift at the jail. We did lots of gardening and cleaning! I love getting to do service. Our bishop was talking last week to us about the importance of serving and letting others serve you. He said that one the most meaningful home teaching visits was when his home teacher asked what he could do for him and the bishop told him he had to do a lot of lawn mowing to do and asked if he could come help for his home teaching visit. So, instead of a formal family lesson, they mowed lawns together! He said there were two very important needed things that made this one of his best home teaching experiences... 1. his home teacher caring enough to serve him/letting him know that and 2. him allowing his home teacher to serve him. Letting other serve us keeps us humble and also allows others to receive the blessings of service. I am not the best at letting my companion, friends, others serve me but I love serving others. I have been realizing more and more that others need to be able to feel that love and peace of serving too and I can help others to feel that Christlike spirit!
Picture time! We took like no pictures this week, so this is all there is. Haha
Exchanges!
My sweet companion 😍
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