AH! My amazing family!!!!
Seriously, y'all are awesome! All of your
emails and birthday wishes made my week and birthday! I'm sending a
video of me opening some of the box. Didn't get the whole footage, but
OH MY GOODNESS YOU SENT ME A PIE! A full on pie!
I have been sharing with Sister Griffiths and I don't think she
initially understood the whole magnitude of how great your pie is when
I told her about it, because as soon as she took a bite she said,
"Oh....oh! This is a pie! This is the best pie I've every had. It's
doughy yet flaky. Oh my gosh!" The only reason she's sharing with me
and not eating ten whole thing is because she has to, haha!
More than anything I loved the card and the emails. I miss y'all so
stinking much!
I'm glad you had fun at the family reunion! I'm so happy I get to make
it next year. Woah, that's a weird thought.
Thanks for the pictures and such! I love your chair mom!
There was a scorpion in the house? Yum.
Wait a minute...I'm twenty years old! Woohooo! I made it!
Anyway, onto this week. This is going to be a jumbled mess because I
can't remember anything chronologically anymore so here goes.
I discovered a new word. Engender. I thought it was the most hilarious
thing ever. Engender of the Planet of the Apes. Engender and shine
forth. I am taking it out of how its supposed to be used, but it was
funny at the time.
There is this time called 'the black hole'. Most other people call it
3:00. Seriously, this is where time just stops working. What time is
it? 3:15. Ten minutes later. What time is it? 3:17.
We had Zone conference this week. It was pretty awesome. The trainings
were really good. President hopes to double our baptisms which is
possible if we're doing what we should be.
Our service hours have increased tremendously since C has been
moving. It has been a nightmare because she is 56 and has only one
other person to help her, Sh, who is also just as old. It has
taken her three weeks and she's still not out. We help her as best as
we can, but there's only so much we can do before we need to go
proselyting. It has actually been a really great experience because it
has definitely softened Sh's heart to the church. We was very
stand-offish to us when we first met, but now she gives us the best
hugs ever. Both Sister Griffiths and I have definitely felt that both
of them will eventually be baptized after this move is over. We talked
to the sisters that we'll be handing Cindy to and it really feels sad
to let her go, but that's where God wants her and that's good enough
for me.
So, we were calling one of the recent converts and it went to
voicemail and I wasn't paying attention until there was a beep telling
me to start talking. And in my panic I accidental screamed and then
couldn't stop laughing. Needless to say Sister Griffiths finished off
the recording.
Hills. So going up hills you get this tunnel vision where you notice
nothing but what's in front of you. Going down the hill is another
story. OH MY GOODNESS THIS WORLD IS SO BEAUTIFUL LOOK AT THE TREES AND
THE SKY AND THE CLOUDS THIS IS AMAZING! WHERE HAS THIS BEEN ALL MY
LIFE?!
Communication is everything. We thought we were going to have to drop
one of our investigators, Joe, because he wouldn't pray. But we
decided to figure out why he wouldn't pray and really focus on asking
him heaven sent, inspired questions. And by golly gee whiz it worked
out beautifully. He's willing to pray now! Yeah!
My birthday was yesterday! It was awesome! Thank you so much for the
gifts! Thank you for the Prince of Egypt Soundtrack! I love it so
much!! My roommates aren't too fond of it (except for Sister
Griffiths) but I don't care. I adore it to pieces.
We went to Brother and Sister Wh's house for dinner and they made
barbecue ribs, grilled veggies, and corn on the cob. It was the best
birthday dinner ever. :) They even let me blow out a candle on my
cupcake.
It was a great birthday. God even blessed me with no one who wanted to
yell at us! Everyone was super nice!
We had to call the Relief Society to repentance yesterday. Not
something we really wanted to do, but it had to be done. Basically we
do this missionary moment every Sunday and someone will share their
missionary experience for the week and someone else will volunteer to
give away one of our Books of Mormon.
This week was one of the Sisters turn to share their experience of
handing their out. Turns out she did t give it to him because he has
going into rehab (isn't that the best time to give him one though?)
but she did bear a really good testimony about the Book of Mormon and
how it changes people's lives.
"Thank you. Did anybody else have a missionary experience this week?"
Silence. Again. This is the fourth Sunday in a row.
"Okay, is there anyone that would like to hand out a Book of Mormon
this week? Silence...for a good two minutes.
Then, Sister Griffiths said, "No one? Okay, I have a scripture to
share with you....O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name
of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the
souls of all those who partake of it; that they may eat in remembrance
of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal
Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son,
and always remember him, and keep his commandments which he hath given
them, that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen."
Not all of us carry the name of Jesus Christ on little black tags, but
all of us have promised to take on the name of Jesus Christ. Every
Sunday we promise to remember Him.
Eventually someone did raise their hand to give one away.
I hate that we have to do that. Absolutely hate it. Why can't you just
raise your hand immediately? Blaaaah.
How can we expect to be disciples of Christ if we don't open our
mouths? I don't care if your colleague/friend/family member has
another religion, I don't care if they think they're happy, I don't
care if they're atheist, I don't care if it's hard! I know how hard it
is. Everyone needs this gospels and everyone needs to hear it.
Salvation was never easy. It was never easy for the Savior so why
should it be easy for us?
The gospel train is speeding up and the luxury of getting on and off
the train is NO LONGER AN OPTION. WE ARE AT WAR!
We cannot do this without the members. We can't. The key to hastening
the work of salvation is regular members. Every member a missionary.
Okay, tangent time is over. That felt good.
Sister Griffiths says these profound things out of nowhere sometimes
and I think they're pretty great.
"The thing about hills is that you keep pedaling until your at the top
or over the top."
"Once you realize who you're accountable to, everything becomes
easier." That one has hit me so hard. It has changed my perspective
for the rest of my mission. And she is absolutely right. Everything
becomes easier. Life is still hard, but the actual work itself becomes
more joyful. I have noticed since praying for charity that I am not
angry at people anymore.
When I first started praying for charity I also remember that it is a
commandment to forgive our enemies as well. That was the hardest
prayer I have ever given. I said, "Heavenly Father...I know that I
need to forgive all these people who have said and done mean things to
me, but is really hard and I don't feel like I should. But, please
forgive them anyway, because that is what you want me to do."
Man, can burdens be lifted or what? It's amazing how freeing it is to
not worry about those people anymore and the things they said and did.
I can count the amount of months I have left on two hands and that is
terrifying. I'm glad I still have more time to work on things and be
better. I read your emails about how great of a missionary y'all say I
am. If you only knew how imperfect I am, haha.
Anyway, I digress. Y'all are amazing and I love you so much! I will
see if I have time to respond to everyone's emails they sent me.
I miss your guts!! Seriously, I want to hug you all until you turn
purple, or green, or orange. Whatever suits your fancy.
I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!
Stay classy and sassy.
All my love in the whole world,
Raye!!
P.S. The jar of jam broke. Not sure if anyone could read the giant
word FRAGILE on every side of the box. Oh, well, haha!
emails and birthday wishes made my week and birthday! I'm sending a
video of me opening some of the box. Didn't get the whole footage, but
OH MY GOODNESS YOU SENT ME A PIE! A full on pie!
I have been sharing with Sister Griffiths and I don't think she
initially understood the whole magnitude of how great your pie is when
I told her about it, because as soon as she took a bite she said,
"Oh....oh! This is a pie! This is the best pie I've every had. It's
doughy yet flaky. Oh my gosh!" The only reason she's sharing with me
and not eating ten whole thing is because she has to, haha!
More than anything I loved the card and the emails. I miss y'all so
stinking much!
I'm glad you had fun at the family reunion! I'm so happy I get to make
it next year. Woah, that's a weird thought.
Thanks for the pictures and such! I love your chair mom!
There was a scorpion in the house? Yum.
Wait a minute...I'm twenty years old! Woohooo! I made it!
Anyway, onto this week. This is going to be a jumbled mess because I
can't remember anything chronologically anymore so here goes.
I discovered a new word. Engender. I thought it was the most hilarious
thing ever. Engender of the Planet of the Apes. Engender and shine
forth. I am taking it out of how its supposed to be used, but it was
funny at the time.
There is this time called 'the black hole'. Most other people call it
3:00. Seriously, this is where time just stops working. What time is
it? 3:15. Ten minutes later. What time is it? 3:17.
We had Zone conference this week. It was pretty awesome. The trainings
were really good. President hopes to double our baptisms which is
possible if we're doing what we should be.
Our service hours have increased tremendously since C has been
moving. It has been a nightmare because she is 56 and has only one
other person to help her, Sh, who is also just as old. It has
taken her three weeks and she's still not out. We help her as best as
we can, but there's only so much we can do before we need to go
proselyting. It has actually been a really great experience because it
has definitely softened Sh's heart to the church. We was very
stand-offish to us when we first met, but now she gives us the best
hugs ever. Both Sister Griffiths and I have definitely felt that both
of them will eventually be baptized after this move is over. We talked
to the sisters that we'll be handing Cindy to and it really feels sad
to let her go, but that's where God wants her and that's good enough
for me.
So, we were calling one of the recent converts and it went to
voicemail and I wasn't paying attention until there was a beep telling
me to start talking. And in my panic I accidental screamed and then
couldn't stop laughing. Needless to say Sister Griffiths finished off
the recording.
Hills. So going up hills you get this tunnel vision where you notice
nothing but what's in front of you. Going down the hill is another
story. OH MY GOODNESS THIS WORLD IS SO BEAUTIFUL LOOK AT THE TREES AND
THE SKY AND THE CLOUDS THIS IS AMAZING! WHERE HAS THIS BEEN ALL MY
LIFE?!
Communication is everything. We thought we were going to have to drop
one of our investigators, Joe, because he wouldn't pray. But we
decided to figure out why he wouldn't pray and really focus on asking
him heaven sent, inspired questions. And by golly gee whiz it worked
out beautifully. He's willing to pray now! Yeah!
My birthday was yesterday! It was awesome! Thank you so much for the
gifts! Thank you for the Prince of Egypt Soundtrack! I love it so
much!! My roommates aren't too fond of it (except for Sister
Griffiths) but I don't care. I adore it to pieces.
We went to Brother and Sister Wh's house for dinner and they made
barbecue ribs, grilled veggies, and corn on the cob. It was the best
birthday dinner ever. :) They even let me blow out a candle on my
cupcake.
It was a great birthday. God even blessed me with no one who wanted to
yell at us! Everyone was super nice!
We had to call the Relief Society to repentance yesterday. Not
something we really wanted to do, but it had to be done. Basically we
do this missionary moment every Sunday and someone will share their
missionary experience for the week and someone else will volunteer to
give away one of our Books of Mormon.
This week was one of the Sisters turn to share their experience of
handing their out. Turns out she did t give it to him because he has
going into rehab (isn't that the best time to give him one though?)
but she did bear a really good testimony about the Book of Mormon and
how it changes people's lives.
"Thank you. Did anybody else have a missionary experience this week?"
Silence. Again. This is the fourth Sunday in a row.
"Okay, is there anyone that would like to hand out a Book of Mormon
this week? Silence...for a good two minutes.
Then, Sister Griffiths said, "No one? Okay, I have a scripture to
share with you....O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name
of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the
souls of all those who partake of it; that they may eat in remembrance
of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal
Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son,
and always remember him, and keep his commandments which he hath given
them, that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen."
Not all of us carry the name of Jesus Christ on little black tags, but
all of us have promised to take on the name of Jesus Christ. Every
Sunday we promise to remember Him.
Eventually someone did raise their hand to give one away.
I hate that we have to do that. Absolutely hate it. Why can't you just
raise your hand immediately? Blaaaah.
How can we expect to be disciples of Christ if we don't open our
mouths? I don't care if your colleague/friend/family member has
another religion, I don't care if they think they're happy, I don't
care if they're atheist, I don't care if it's hard! I know how hard it
is. Everyone needs this gospels and everyone needs to hear it.
Salvation was never easy. It was never easy for the Savior so why
should it be easy for us?
The gospel train is speeding up and the luxury of getting on and off
the train is NO LONGER AN OPTION. WE ARE AT WAR!
We cannot do this without the members. We can't. The key to hastening
the work of salvation is regular members. Every member a missionary.
Okay, tangent time is over. That felt good.
Sister Griffiths says these profound things out of nowhere sometimes
and I think they're pretty great.
"The thing about hills is that you keep pedaling until your at the top
or over the top."
"Once you realize who you're accountable to, everything becomes
easier." That one has hit me so hard. It has changed my perspective
for the rest of my mission. And she is absolutely right. Everything
becomes easier. Life is still hard, but the actual work itself becomes
more joyful. I have noticed since praying for charity that I am not
angry at people anymore.
When I first started praying for charity I also remember that it is a
commandment to forgive our enemies as well. That was the hardest
prayer I have ever given. I said, "Heavenly Father...I know that I
need to forgive all these people who have said and done mean things to
me, but is really hard and I don't feel like I should. But, please
forgive them anyway, because that is what you want me to do."
Man, can burdens be lifted or what? It's amazing how freeing it is to
not worry about those people anymore and the things they said and did.
I can count the amount of months I have left on two hands and that is
terrifying. I'm glad I still have more time to work on things and be
better. I read your emails about how great of a missionary y'all say I
am. If you only knew how imperfect I am, haha.
Anyway, I digress. Y'all are amazing and I love you so much! I will
see if I have time to respond to everyone's emails they sent me.
I miss your guts!! Seriously, I want to hug you all until you turn
purple, or green, or orange. Whatever suits your fancy.
I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!
Stay classy and sassy.
All my love in the whole world,
Raye!!
P.S. The jar of jam broke. Not sure if anyone could read the giant
word FRAGILE on every side of the box. Oh, well, haha!
Raye we miss you're blog updates (: :-) love Jenny.(:
ReplyDeleteRaye we miss you're blog updates (: :-) love Jenny.(:
ReplyDelete