Hey!
So this was another pretty crazy week for us. On Thursday we went to Puebla for mission leadership counsel. It's when all the zone leaders and sister training leaders go to the mission home to talk with President about the needs of the mission. It's a lot like ward counsel, except it's only once a month, not every week. It was a really good experience for me. It was a bit weird for Hermana Traylor and I to be there because we're the only new sister training leaders in the mission, so I definitely felt a little out-of-the-loop...but it was good. We were able to split off with President and Hermana Stellmon to talk about the needs of the hermanas for a bit, and then talked a lot about the Atonement. And President Stellmon said something that I really liked...he said that our time as leaders is the perfect time to become as Christ-like as we can. (not that anytime isn't the perfect time, but as leaders, it may be easier to) And another hermana said something like this, "It's now our time to 'wash the feet' of the other missionaries". And really, that is what a real leader is - someone who serves as Christ would. Nothing more, nothing less.
Friday I had the opportunity to have intercambios with Hermana Hernandez :) She is an AWESOME missionary. We spent the whole day working so hard, and literally talking to everyone we saw. Her area is in the city, so there are definitely a lot more people to talk to...so that's exactly what she did! We also had a lot of good talks about what it means to be a successful missionary... she's about to be "9 months old", so she knows just as well as I do that the time just keeps going by faster and faster, and it's important that we know what the true meaning of "success" is. It was great being with her this week and learning from her :)
And can I just say how much I loved General Conference?!?!? It was so wonderful to see all 4 sessions!! God answers our prayers, I promise. Every single one of my questions was answered a thousand times over, and I'm so grateful to have a living prophet and apostles on the Earth today. I feel like Conference just keep getting better and better every time I watch it :) (Fun Fact: Elder Klebingat that spoke Saturday Afternoon was my friend Kati's old mission president!! So cool, huh??)
The thing I think I liked most about conference is how much they invited us to know for ourselves. They talked a lot about receiving personal revelation, but also about agency, and our ability to decide for ourselves. Something that I've learned over and over again as a missionary is that WE are the ones that get in the way of receiving answers from God. It's just like Pres. Uchtdorf's comparison from the General Women's Meeting - God has a shower of constant blessings, and answers, pouring over us all the time...but sometimes, we put up umbrellas that keep them from getting to us. It definitely helped me to think about the personal "umbrellas" that I put up that keep me from receiving answers or blessings.
And I absolutely loved President Monson's talk Sunday morning. "Nothing else, no other choice we make, can make of us what He can." One of the quesions that I had going into Conference was how I can become more Christ-like. And as President Monson started talking about the paths that Christ walked... I realized that as a missionary and member of this church, I have the prime opportunity to walk as He did - on paths of disappointment, temptation, pain, prayer, service, and teaching. This is the kind of path that will make us even as He is, and all we have to do is willingly follow Him.
Funny Story of MY LIFE: Ok, maybe this isn't the best story of my life, but it's pretty good. So yesterday, we were on the combi back to our house after conference. We were about 5 minutes away when Hermana Traylor turned to me and asked, "Do you have the phone?!" That was not a good question to ask, especially when she had kept it with her all last week. I searched my bag, and what I already knew was confirmed. She explained to me that for some reason, she had given it to Hermana Gomez, thinking she would give it to me(?) and forgot about it after that. Well, Hermana Gomez never gave it to me haha. So we hopped off the combi and hopped on another one to go to the city again. We were praying and running to Hermana Gomez and Talbott's house...but when we got there, they weren't. We had NO way of figuring out how to talk to them, so we decided to just wait. If it hadn't been a Sunday, we wouldn't have bothered, but the phones are pretty important on Sunday. So we waited...and waited...and waited. We helped some people push a car! Then we waited some more. Finally, when it was pretty late (but not too late, don't worry) we saw them coming. When they got there, they just started laughing and explained that they had gone to OUR house to give us the phone! They told us that Hermana Gomez had asked EVERYONE where the "misioneras güeras" lived and since almost everyone knows, they were able to find it after some time. Unfortunately, they didn't find us. To say the least...I thought it was funny, Hermana Gomez and Hermana Talbott thought it was funny, and Hermana Traylor says she never wants to be in charge of the phone again haha. It is probably another one of those "you had to be there" kind of things...but I think it's funny haha
This is going to be another fun, fast week, with zone conference and 3 intercambios, but we're excited! As of right now, we are in the process of finding new investigators to teach, as always. The work is moving forward :) And I just love the people here more and more everyday. And I love all of you too!!! :) I hope you all have a great week, and we'll talk again soon!
Love always,
Hermana Smith
PS - As a result of listening to Elder Anderson's talk, I'm going to put a Book of Mormon scripture at the end of all my letters, one that I personally know is true. I hope you all read it, and search for your own too :) This week's: 3 Nephi 9:14
No comments:
Post a Comment