For those that don't want to read this novel, just know it was a good week. Also we are moving. We currently live 7 miles away from the closest place in our area, which kills our miles, so we are moving closer. I will get you the address next week.
Monday: Learned Sister Soto was leaving and began to help her pack her things. We spent the day packing her up and relaxing. The evening was spent saying goodbye to people that she wanted to visit and then finishing up last minute packing things. Then the Queen City Sisters came over to spend the night so they didn't have to drive the hour and half on Tuesday morning. I ended up spending the night on the floor since we only have two mattresses and one couch. It was okay, not too comfortable, but bearable.
Tuesday: Woke up at 5:20 to get ready, pack things up, and head over to the church to load everyone who was getting transferred into a Penske truck and two 12 passenger vans. Sister Soto went to Jonesboro LA. Hopefully she enjoys herself and loves her companion. She was very nervous and broken up about leaving. Poor girl.
We headed to IHOP to eat breakfast and wait for the T van to arrive. Then we headed back to the church to study and wait some more. Then off to service to continue waiting. The T van finally arrived around 3:30 and we all filed out to help unload the penske and await the news of who our companion would be. There were only 3 sisters so we tried to guess. Turns out we were all wrong. I am now with a wonderfully awesome companion from Payson, UT named Sister Spencer. She has been out for 5 months. She is the 3rd of 5 kids. 3 brothers 1 sister. She is wonderful and loves to have fun while working. Just like me. She appreciates my sass and funny personality. We are doing fabulous things in Brownlee.
Wednesday: Tried to start MyPlan. No luck. It wasn't working for about half of those going home. Text the Assistants to the President and asked for help. They said they would try to figure it out. Headed to District Meeting. We ate lunch and started to get to know the members of our district. There are three trainees in the district so we are full of greenie fire! It also has the 4 members of the zone that are leaving this transfer so we are full of trunky fire!
We had a game to get to know each other and learn what everyone was like before the mission.
After DM we headed out to contact a referral that lives 14 miles away from our apartment. They weren't home so we tracted around his house. Then we visited with the Craigs, a PMF. Cassie is a typical teenager that just wants to hang out with her friends, even if that means going to a baptist church. Trying to work with her on that one. We also visited with the Lancasters, another PMF. They are both in their 80s and Chuck has no intention of joining the Church. We just try to love them and help them in whatever way we can. They are the ones that we helped out by scrubbing their floors on our hands and knees.
Then we went to the church to teach the activity day girls (ranging from 8-11, all in one group. So different from UT) about The First Vision. Those girls get DEEP. One of the Bishop's daughters asked us where God came from. Then another wanted to know who Heavenly Mother is. We tried to steer them back on topic and help them learn about the First Vision so they could teach it to their families like they needed to to pass off the requirement. Silly girls!
Thursday: Did some service at Renesting, a project that helps people coming out of homelessness to have basic household furnishings. It is always an adventure there! There are two woman in charge and then 5 other older woman that think they are in charge. All telling us different things to do. Makes for an interesting couple hours of service. We tried to visit a LAPMF after that, but they were mowing their lawn and said to try back later. 'parrently Jesus ain't more important than their lawn being mowed. Whatever. Their loss. We tracted and met some fun people, none of whom were interested in our message. Again, their loss!
We had a lesson with one of our potential investigators named Cliff. He had scheduled a time for us to come but had to cancel because his wife wasn't home, so this was the rescheduled time. When we knocked on the door and he said to come on in. His wife and two daughters were on their way out to go to the swimming pool. I had to awkwardly explain that we couldn't be alone with a man, to which Sarah, his wife, looked at Cliff and said "what do you want to do? They really want to go swimming" We finally agreed that we would teach a quick lesson so they could go swimming. It was...interesting. Sarah was mocking Cliff the entire time for even inviting us back. We tried to really bring the Spirit into the lesson, but it wasn't very successful with her laughing and looking at him all judgmental. We invited him to read 3 Nephi 11 about Christ coming to the Americas, and he half heartedly agreed. Poor guy. I really think he would be very excited about it if it wasn't for his wife.
Friday: Weekly plannning. Finished in record time. Don't know what was different this time, but it went really fast compared to past planning sessions. We set a goal to teach and set 3 people with a date this week. We have some pretty promising potentials, it is just a question of whether they will find to meet with us. We tried to visit one of them, Tasha, but she was heading out to run some errands. We ended up tracting and trying not to keel over from the heat. It was sort of successful. In the end we ended up walking the mile to the gas station and getting an Icee so we could cool down. Both of us had sore feet and our brains weren't working so well because of the heat. Lots of water is being consumed this time of year. I feel like a camel.
We also visited a potential named John. He said to try back when we met him a couple days previous. So we did. We sat down with him, while his wife was in the bathroom washing their pit bull and golden retriever. Restoration lesson that was going well and John seemed generally interested, not like a lot, but enough to warrant continuing... then his wife walked in. Another case of judgmental wife syndrome. She said they were firm in their faith and didn't believe in "a false bible that glorifies John Smith" I always want to ask why they keep mentioning Pocahontas' husband, but have to bite my tongue and explain that JOSEPH Smith isn't anything like Christ to us. That we believe Christ is our Lord and Savior, and Joseph Smith and the prophets that have followed are like Moses to us. Prophets. Mouthpieces for God. Not our Christ.
She wasn't having it. We left them with an invitation to pray about it, which she smirked at, and then prayed with them. A prayer which she insisted on saying. 'Cause you know, we would probably pray to John Smith or something.
Saturday: Stared MyPlan. Not okay. Panic attack ensued the moment the pretty little missionaries' pictures popped up with the words "Congratulations! You've reached your final transfer." *heavy breathing* Got to think about my future and what I want to do with my life. About what God has done with me during my mission, what Christlike attributes the Lord has helped me develop and what spiritual truths I have learned. This week is all about setting a life plan out. Like how long you think it will take for you to be married. No biggie.
Headed out to the far reaches of our area, which is pretty far, and tried some people. LAs, PMFs, potentials, AMs. Pretty much got it all. Guess what! None of them wanted to see us. I know! Rude! We spent hours driving, walking, and eventually almost crawling from one place to another trying to share the good word of God. Nothing. No interest. No "Come on in you sad pathetically sweaty creatures!" Nothing. We headed back to the church for ward correlation dejected and weary from all the walking. Then we tried to AI (additional or always invite) at CVS. Basically walking around and trying to talk to people. Usually ends with them thinking you're crazy, but there is sometimes the occasional person that wants to learn more. This was not one of those times.
Then we made calls to formers and potentials to try and set up a time to see them. Many disconnected numbers or voicemails. One lady even answered, said hello, allowed me to start the "It's the missionaries..." but before I even got to the "the", she hung up on us. hahaha. The life of a missionary!
We ate dinner and passed out.
Sunday: Another wonderful set of meetings. The Elders taught about Priesthood organization to us and Eddy Landry, a less active that is working on getting back active. Fun times. Then we headed home to each lunch, study and get ready to go out for the day. We had set up an appointment with a former named Jayme Kerns, so we headed to see her. Her husband answered the door and knew exactly what we were there for. He invited us in and went out back to get Jayme. The back door opens and in comes Jayme... followed by 5 dogs of varying sizes AND a miniature pot belly pig named Hank! I was so excited about that! I was like "Y'all have a pig!?!" Apparently Hank was found in a horse trailer with 5 other feral pigs. The 5 feral ones had to be shot because they were too wild from being abandoned, but since Hank was only about 6 weeks old he was rescued by Jayme. All of her animals are rescues from rough situations.
Anyway, we had planned to talk about the Restoration, but we ended up getting to know her and discussing how history and religion come together, with intermittent mentions of Joseph Smith and the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jayme comes from a long line of Catholics, and has a varied ancestry of Cuban militants like Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, as well as Nazi regime members and Jewish refugees. Interesting past. She is very into history and knows her facts. It was a cool discussion.
Her uncle lives with them and was in the kitchen while we were talking. He asked if we could make a deal. They would come to our church if we came to theirs. Cue the attempt at explaining why we as missionaries can't go to other churches. He asked why if he was willing to come to ours, we aren't willing to come to his. I tried to let him know that we can't as missionaries, but it isn't that we think they are wrong, as he suggested. I said we would look into it (being able to go with them in exchange for them going with us) He responded all grumpily with "I will look into yours too. By the way, that means I am not going."
Curse you mission rules! JK. It just makes it hard to explain to people.
We also visited with the Haleys. They are the sweetest elderly couple ever. They have a way of making you feel so at home and loved. I am grateful for people like them.
Last night I had a dream that I was giving my final testimony at zone conference. It was a pretty funny scene. Everyone was laughing with me, then crying, then laughing again. I woke up and had to write down some of the things I said in my dream to use for advice in my testimony.
I also had a dream this week about Ashley and Riley. Ashley and I were in a big bathroom fixing our hair, when Riley walked in and started talking to us. He offered to fix my hair for me, which I accepted while Ashley stood by us and did her own hair. We had a nice conversation about something while we fixed our hair. Riley was really good at doing hair in my dream.
I am currently in Mormon in my Book of Mormon reading, which is ahead of schedule. I plan to read the New Testament and the Book of Mormon again before I arrive home. Going to be a good last 37 days!
-- Sister Lindberg
