This week has been crazy, but awesome!
Last Monday
for P day, Sister Stephens and I played volleyball at the beach with
the other sisters, the English elders, and some young adults from the
ward, which was super fun! That evening, we had an appointment with
Justin who we contacted on the street last week. We found what we
thought was the address and knocked on the door. But to our surprise, it
wasn't Justin who answered, but Marsha, a lady who we had met two
months ago! It wasn't even Justin's apartment! Back in July, Marsha's
friend who is also not a member but loves missionaries told Marsha to
call the missionaries for help with moving. She contacted us, and we had
helped her move a ton of furniture into a truck, but we had assumed she
had moved! Nope! Marsha invited us in, thinking we had come by to see
her, so we went with it! She's officially moving in October once she
retires. We talked about her friend's interaction with missionaries, as
well as Marsha's background, her family, religion, etc. We found out she
has a very strong relationship with God but hasn't gone to a church
since she was little. She talked about her desire to find a church that
fits her, and we talked a lot about prophets since she had a lot of
questions. She was really open with us and she's so kind and willing to
learn more about our beliefs! She is such a happy person! We came back
another night and talked about the Restoration. She wants to keep
meeting with us! It was a miracle that we knocked on her door! Sister
Stephens and I later realized that we had looked at the address wrong,
but we know that was no coincidence! Marsha is so prepared!
We did eventually get to teach Justin, too, but it was a little crazy because he kept having to chase his toddler down. :) On
Wednesday
we had zone conference in Niceville. Our zone has such awesome and
diligent missionaries who are so fun! President and Sister Smith are the
best! I learned so much from them and from the missionary leaders who
taught at the conference.
One more miracle! One
evening, we visited with a sister who hasn't been at church for a few
years since she married her husband who isn't a member. We invited her
to come to church on Sunday, and she said she would because she did miss it. Lo and behold, she was at church!!! She sat
with friends and every lesson and talk made me think, "wow, that's just
what she needs!" After church, she thanked us for inviting her and said
that everything she heard was perfect and just what she needed to hear.
One
of my favorite lessons at Zone Conference was "Teach People, Not
Lessons; Be People,
Not Robots" :) where we talked about utilizing the personality and gifts
God has blessed us with as missionaries and being ourselves as we do
His work. We each have unique things to offer to God and to others as
the individuals we are. Our goal is to become like Jesus Christ, but
that does not mean we are all going to be the same. We each have
different ways to bless others' lives that become evident as we serve
them and as we strive to be more Christlike. We can pray to recognize
our strengths so we can focus on developing and utilizing them as God
would have us.
I love seeing the strengths and characteristics that others possess! It helps me to love them more.
P.S. A lot of the pictures are from other weeks, so look back at old stories. :)
Relaxin'
Bike Selfies
Elephant cupcakes!
Facial fun!
Some beautiful flowers
Nicky met a new friend, but their taking it slow ;)
Helmet head!
A healthy breakfast of Nutella and caramel...
Working hard with masks
Service!
Beach volley ball fun!