I can't believe it has already been one month since I left
the MTC and came to this land of lush green "forests" (look up some
of the surrounding areas. little groves of maybe 10 trees, yet they call it a
forest. IDK.) and strongly religious people.( more on that later)
My week started of rough as I woke up Tuesday to
a swollen, grossly goopy eye due to pink eye. Guess Sister Scott was telling
the truth when she said "Fat Mama" had pink eye. By the way, Fat Mama
is one of the youngest Scott children. She is 18 months old and my best friend.
She always comes running to me yelling "SISTEW!!" whenever we come
over. Too cute. We don't actually know her real name because the Scotts won't
tell anyone. Sister Lisa Scott says that her name to everyone is "Fat
Mama" and it will stay that way. Don't know how that is going to go over
once she grows up. I don't like it will be appealing or confidence building to
be called "Fat" all the time. Guess that's their bridge to cross.
Anyways, she is my best friend and likes to pretend to braid my hair into corn
rows or little braid/dreadlocks like hers. She has to make frequent trips to
her room to get more pretend elastics to put in my hair. Love her to
death...even if she did give me pink eye. Might have to see if she fits in my
suitcase to bring her home with me..
This week has been the turning point in my
training from "welcome, get comfortable." to "okay, do this door
approach/ start this lesson off by yourself" I'm glad I have
Sister Fa'ulao as a trainer to gently push me into work... who am i kidding!?
She is a freakin Tongan workhorse! She has absolutely no sympathy for my
not-so-social personality. She is going to work that RIGHT outta me!
For real though, she is a wonderful trainer
and is helping me to go out of my comfort zone in order to share the gospel. I
am enjoying, no I am loving this area. Despite its obvious weaknesses. *cough*
Member work *cough* It is a great area full of wonderful people. We have
been working a lot with the less-active members and we thought we were being
very successful and obedient missionaries. Nope. We got a call from the Sister
Training Leaders telling us to stop LA work and focus on finding. Which is what
the LA work was doing for us, with the added bonus of actual help from the now
active members. Anyways, they claimed that President Olson had told them that
our work was not what it needed to be, and we needed to stop working with the
less actives and focus on finding more people to teach. We both were
discouraged by the phone call and reprimanding that we got, until the Zone
Leaders heard about it from Sister Fa'ulao. She asked what we were doing wrong
and how we could be more obedient so we didn't disappoint President. The Zone
Leaders got all mad and said "we'll take care of it" Turns out Sister
Mitchell and Sister Houston (the STLs) had been calling missionaries out...
without actual guidance from President Olson. So we are now reassured that we
are not going to be excommunicated and sent home for doing work with the lost
sheep of Clinton Ward. We have changed things up a bit so we are
focusing more time on finding (aka just tracting. groan. I really don't like
the pressure of tracting, but whatever.) It is going great now!
In our 7 hours of tracting this week, we have
found some interesting characters! One door we knocked on revealed a middle
aged man who, upon introducing ourselves, got all angry and said "I'm not
at all interested in whatever you ladies have to tell me." We told him we
understood and wished him a good day to which he replied "you too. I will
be praying for you damned souls." So in response to how are the
people treating me, I definitley have plently to laugh at at the end of the
day!
Another man we tracted into is named Chad
McFearcin. Still not sure about him, his name sounds made up. Anyways, we
introduced ourselves and began to talk about our message. He said that he
appreciated what we were doing, but he was Presbyterian Christian. I asked him
about his faith in Christ and that opened the conversation up to a discussion
about how our religions differed and why we believe what we believe. Though he
was somewhat open to what we were sharing, he was not interested for reasons
such as being baptized. One of the things he said many times was "We
should meet again sometime when I have educated myself more on your
beliefs." seems innocent enough. Yep, he wanted to educate himself so that
he could "convert us to the correct religion and correct our false truths."
Not going back there. I did give him a Mormon.org card and encouraged him to
check out the Follow Him video for this Easter. If he is going to go searching,
he might as well go to the right source. Quite proud of how I and we handled
that interaction.
The people are not all bad though. We also met
two wonderful people that could develop into great investigators and hopefully,
new members! One is named Devon. He is a young college student that is here in
Clinton because he feels it is where he needs to be. He said that he has been
searching for a while for "his purpose" When we shared with him a
mini Restoration lesson, he said that the message, and religion could be what
he is looking for. I might have little girl squealed once we finished and
walked away! I am praying that he continues to feel that way and is open to
future lessons!
One of the things that complicates our work
here in Mississippi is the other churches. One of the Baptist churches down
here teaches an Anti-Mormon class for their equivalent of sunday school.
They talk about what we believe (or what they say we believe) and how to
respond to and turn away the missionaries. Some classes even include how to do
missionary work to the lost souls of LDS missionaries. Please pray
for us. These poor people are so confused. Satan definitely is hard at work
down here. I can't help but laugh as they say "my minister told me about
you. Is there anything I can do to help you get out" (they are told we are
forced to do this. Kind of like forced servitude.) we just chuckle and say
"we would be happy to share with you what we really believe. Is that
something you will let us do?" we don't usually have much luck with those
people. Seeds planted I guess. Only to be forcefully ripped from the ground on
Sunday.
My testimony has definitely been challenged
and tested, and grown through teaching these people. One woman asked me
"why do you believe in modern day prophets?" I stumbled as I tried to
explain my testimony of the God's divinely appointed servants. I know they are
called of God, but how do I explain that to someone who believes that we are
each called of God to witness and be prophets for ourselves. I am so grateful
for the Spirit and its ability to witness to the hearts of those we come in
contact with. Though my answer was less than satisfactory for conveying the
strong belief I have in our divinely appointed Prophets and Apostles, I know
that the Spirit was there to help the woman feel of what I was trying to
convey. As I have testified of the Book of Mormon and its truthfulness, people
have shut me down and said "there is no way God had a hand in that"
it doesn't help that the ministers down here use the Book of Mormon in their
Anti classes and in reprimanding the people. Their actions have worked to cast
a negative light on such a precious book. I found a quote in one of the many
Ensigns we have in our apartment. It has helped me in feeling sure and
confident as I testify of the Book of Mormon, despite many of the people turning
us away because of our belief in it. It says "Could there be any stronger
witness of Jesus Christ than the testimonies we find in the Book of Mormon? Of
its 239 chapters, 233 mention the Saviour." I have a strong and burning
testimony of the truthfulness of this book. I know that the testimonies it
contains are those of servants of the Lord. I know that they are more than just
writings and stories constructed in the mind of Joseph Smith. I know that
Joseph Smith was called of God and given power to translate the records given
to him by a servant of the Lord. It makes so sad when people turn us away and
with us, the truths and happiness that the Book of Mormon can bring. When we
tried to share this scripture, And we talk of
Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of
Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that
our children may know to what source they may look for
a remission of their sins. (2 Nephi 25:26) ,the woman
stopped Sister Fa'ulao as she said, "and this is from 2 Nephi, in the Book
of Mormon." The woman said, "Stop right there. I would rather you not
share anything out of that book." If only they knew of the truths
"that book" contains!
The weather down here is, in one word,
bipolar. This week has included everything from severe thunderstorms, sunny
bright days with temperatures in the 80s and then yesterday, windy 40` weather.
Every morning is a new experience and we have to guess what weather to dress
for! This Sunday we almost had only one hour of church because a
majority of the priesthood holders were away in Louisiana cleaning up after the
floods. There are roughly 1700 houses down there that have been destroyed by
the floods. This weekend the men were able to take care of 10 houses. They went
along knocking down walls, breaking out windows and getting the homes down to
empty shells to be rebuilt. At Boone Lunch (a Sunday gathering of all
the Boones that we alternate attending between the ZLs Elders and us) the men
were talking about the devastation down there. Most of the houses that were
affected were low-income homes where the families have no where to go now. Some
of them have been relocated, but the majority are living on the streets until
they can figure something out. So sad.
To answer your question Momma, I have eaten a
grand total of 0 new foods. We joke that it is like we are still in UT! I have
been fed everything you would expect from good Mormon families
-Hawaiian haystacks
-Chicken enchiladas
-Meatloaf
-Sandwiches with salad and soup
-Hamburgers
We did get a little exotic one night when one
family fed us shrimp pasta, but that is about as crazy as it has gotten. Kind
of disappointing to be honest. I am yet to try "Yolanda's Crawfish
Boil" or "Daquan's Fried Catfish". I'll have to do that. One
of the highlights of this week was our steak dinner cooked by yours truly. We
went to Kroger to help Sister Scott pick up groceries prior to heading to her
house for dinner and a lesson. Sister Fa'ulao has been craving steak for a
while and was practically drooling all over the steaks, so I bought them and
cooked them for us on the stove (we can't have a grill :( ) I seasoned
them with garlic, pepper and salt, and sauteed mushrooms and onions to put on
top. I don't think a dinner has ever tasted better. We have had far too many
pasta salads and casseroles. I was proud to say "my dad taught
me how to make them this way" when asked by S. Fa'ulao how i made them so
good.
Kind of a side note, but I don't think I have
ever been more excited for General Conference in my whole life! I can't wait to
be able to hear the words of the prophet and apostles and use them in teaching.
But also to sit and be able to relax for 8 hours.
I love y'all so much! I love reading your
emails and hearing what is going on at home. Thank you for everything you do
for me and your prayers and encouragement! LOVE YOU!!!
I can't believe it has already been one month since I left
the MTC and came to this land of lush green "forests" (look up some
of the surrounding areas. little groves of maybe 10 trees, yet they call it a
forest. IDK.) and strongly religious people.( more on that later)
My week started of rough as I woke up Tuesday to
a swollen, grossly goopy eye due to pink eye. Guess Sister Scott was telling
the truth when she said "Fat Mama" had pink eye. By the way, Fat Mama
is one of the youngest Scott children. She is 18 months old and my best friend.
She always comes running to me yelling "SISTEW!!" whenever we come
over. Too cute. We don't actually know her real name because the Scotts won't
tell anyone. Sister Lisa Scott says that her name to everyone is "Fat
Mama" and it will stay that way. Don't know how that is going to go over
once she grows up. I don't like it will be appealing or confidence building to
be called "Fat" all the time. Guess that's their bridge to cross.
Anyways, she is my best friend and likes to pretend to braid my hair into corn
rows or little braid/dreadlocks like hers. She has to make frequent trips to her
room to get more pretend elastics to put in my hair. Love her to death...even
if she did give me pink eye. Might have to see if she fits in my suitcase to
bring her home with me...
This week has been the turning point in my
training from "welcome, get comfortable." to "okay, do this door
approach/ start this lesson off by yourself" I'm glad I have
Sister Fa'ulao as a trainer to gently push me into work... who am i kidding!?
She is a freakin Tongan workhorse! She has absolutely no sympathy for my
not-so-social personality. She is going to work that RIGHT outta me!
For real though, she is a wonderful trainer
and is helping me to go out of my comfort zone in order to share the gospel. I
am enjoying, no I am loving this area. Despite its obvious weaknesses. *cough*
Member work *cough* It is a great area full of wonderful people. We have
been working a lot with the less-active members and we thought we were being
very successful and obedient missionaries. Nope. We got a call from the Sister
Training Leaders telling us to stop LA work and focus on finding. Which is what
the LA work was doing for us, with the added bonus of actual help from the now
active members. Anyways, they claimed that President Olson had told them that
our work was not what it needed to be, and we needed to stop working with the
less actives and focus on finding more people to teach. We both were discouraged
by the phone call and reprimanding that we got, until the Zone Leaders heard
about it from Sister Fa'ulao. She asked what we were doing wrong and how we
could be more obedient so we didn't disappoint President. The Zone Leaders got
all mad and said "we'll take care of it" Turns out Sister Mitchell
and Sister Houston (the STLs) had been calling missionaries out... without
actual guidance from President Olson. So we are now reassured that we are not
going to be excommunicated and sent home for doing work with the lost sheep of
Clinton Ward. We have changed things up a bit so we are focusing
more time on finding (aka just tracting. groan. I really don't like the
pressure of tracting, but whatever.) It is going great now!
In our 7 hours of tracting this week, we have
found some interesting characters! One door we knocked on revealed a middle
aged man who, upon introducing ourselves, got all angry and said "I'm not
at all interested in whatever you ladies have to tell me." We told him we
understood and wished him a good day to which he replied "you too. I will
be praying for you damned souls." So in response to how are the
people treating me, I definitley have plently to laugh at at the end of the
day!
Another man we tracted into is named Chad
McFearcin. Still not sure about him, his name sounds made up. Anyways, we
introduced ourselves and began to talk about our message. He said that he
appreciated what we were doing, but he was Presbyterian Christian. I asked him
about his faith in Christ and that opened the conversation up to a discussion
about how our religions differed and why we believe what we believe. Though he
was somewhat open to what we were sharing, he was not interested for reasons
such as being baptized. One of the things he said many times was "We
should meet again sometime when I have educated myself more on your
beliefs." seems innocent enough. Yep, he wanted to educate himself so that
he could "convert us to the correct religion and correct our false
truths." Not going back there. I did give him a Mormon.org card and
encouraged him to check out the Follow Him video for this Easter. If he is
going to go searching, he might as well go to the right source. Quite proud of
how I and we handled that interaction.
The people are not all bad though. We also met
two wonderful people that could develop into great investigators and hopefully,
new members! One is named Devon. He is a young college student that is here in
Clinton because he feels it is where he needs to be. He said that he has been
searching for a while for "his purpose" When we shared with him a
mini Restoration lesson, he said that the message, and religion could be what
he is looking for. I might have little girl squealed once we finished and
walked away! I am praying that he continues to feel that way and is open to
future lessons!
One of the things that complicates our work
here in Mississippi is the other churches. One of the Baptist churches down
here teaches an Anti-Mormon class for their equivalent of sunday school.
They talk about what we believe (or what they say we believe) and how to
respond to and turn away the missionaries. Some classes even include how to do
missionary work to the lost souls of LDS missionaries. Please pray
for us. These poor people are so confused. Satan definitely is hard at work
down here. I can't help but laugh as they say "my minister told me about
you. Is there anything I can do to help you get out" (they are told we are
forced to do this. Kind of like forced servitude.) we just chuckle and say
"we would be happy to share with you what we really believe. Is that
something you will let us do?" we don't usually have much luck with those
people. Seeds planted I guess. Only to be forcefully ripped from the ground on
Sunday.
My testimony has definitely been challenged
and tested, and grown through teaching these people. One woman asked me
"why do you believe in modern day prophets?" I stumbled as I tried to
explain my testimony of the God's divinely appointed servants. I know they are
called of God, but how do I explain that to someone who believes that we are
each called of God to witness and be prophets for ourselves. I am so grateful
for the Spirit and its ability to witness to the hearts of those we come in
contact with. Though my answer was less than satisfactory for conveying the
strong belief I have in our divinely appointed Prophets and Apostles, I know
that the Spirit was there to help the woman feel of what I was trying to
convey. As I have testified of the Book of Mormon and its truthfulness, people
have shut me down and said "there is no way God had a hand in that"
it doesn't help that the ministers down here use the Book of Mormon in their
Anti classes and in reprimanding the people. Their actions have worked to cast
a negative light on such a precious book. I found a quote in one of the many
Ensigns we have in our apartment. It has helped me in feeling sure and
confident as I testify of the Book of Mormon, despite many of the people
turning us away because of our belief in it. It says "Could there be any
stronger witness of Jesus Christ than the testimonies we find in the Book of
Mormon? Of its 239 chapters, 233 mention the Saviour." I have a strong and
burning testimony of the truthfulness of this book. I know that the testimonies
it contains are those of servants of the Lord. I know that they are more than
just writings and stories constructed in the mind of Joseph Smith. I know that
Joseph Smith was called of God and given power to translate the records given
to him by a servant of the Lord. It makes so sad when people turn us away and
with us, the truths and happiness that the Book of Mormon can bring. When we
tried to share this scripture, And we talk of
Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of
Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that
our children may know to what source they may look for
a remission of their sins. (2 Nephi 25:26) ,the woman
stopped Sister Fa'ulao as she said, "and this is from 2 Nephi, in the Book
of Mormon." The woman said, "Stop right there. I would rather you not
share anything out of that book." If only they knew of the truths
"that book" contains!
The weather down here is, in one word,
bipolar. This week has included everything from severe thunderstorms, sunny
bright days with temperatures in the 80s and then yesterday, windy 40` weather.
Every morning is a new experience and we have to guess what weather to dress
for! This Sunday we almost had only one hour of church because a
majority of the priesthood holders were away in Louisiana cleaning up after the
floods. There are roughly 1700 houses down there that have been destroyed by
the floods. This weekend the men were able to take care of 10 houses. They went
along knocking down walls, breaking out windows and getting the homes down to
empty shells to be rebuilt. At Boone Lunch (a Sunday gathering of all
the Boones that we alternate attending between the ZLs Elders and us) the men were
talking about the devastation down there. Most of the houses that were affected
were low-income homes where the families have no where to go now. Some of them
have been relocated, but the majority are living on the streets until they can
figure something out. So sad.
To answer your question Momma, I have eaten a
grand total of 0 new foods. We joke that it is like we are still in UT! I have
been fed everything you would expect from good Mormon families
-Hawaiian haystacks
-Chicken enchiladas
-Meatloaf
-Sandwiches with salad and soup
-Hamburgers
We did get a little exotic one night when one
family fed us shrimp pasta, but that is about as crazy as it has gotten. Kind
of disappointing to be honest. I am yet to try "Yolanda's Crawfish
Boil" or "Daquan's Fried Catfish". I'll have to do that. One
of the highlights of this week was our steak dinner cooked by yours truly. We
went to Kroger to help Sister Scott pick up groceries prior to heading to her
house for dinner and a lesson. Sister Fa'ulao has been craving steak for a
while and was practically drooling all over the steaks, so I bought them and
cooked them for us on the stove (we can't have a grill :( ) I seasoned
them with garlic, pepper and salt, and sauteed mushrooms and onions to put on
top. I don't think a dinner has ever tasted better. We have had far too many
pasta salads and casseroles. I was proud to say "my dad taught
me how to make them this way" when asked by S. Fa'ulao how i made them so
good.
Kind of a side note, but I don't think I have
ever been more excited for General Conference in my whole life! I can't wait to
be able to hear the words of the prophet and apostles and use them in teaching.
But also to sit and be able to relax for 8 hours.
I love y'all so much! I love reading your
emails and hearing what is going on at home. Thank you for everything you do
for me and your prayers and encouragement! LOVE YOU!!!
