Another week
This week we went on exchanges with Spanish sisters that we are over, my companion was defiently excited about that. She got to go back to her old area, she is more bold in Spanish I feel like. I think she is just hesitant in English and I have been trying to get her to be pushed out of her comfort zone little by little each day. It is a struggle at times but it is helping, or at least I think it is. I do feel like it was a game of good cop/bad cop though. The assistants had called us the previous week about talking to the sisters about some things. Well when it came time to talk to them my companion kind of sided with them because they are friends so I was kind of the one that had to deal with it all and was the bad cop in a sense. The sisters that I am over are actually the two that I double trained about a year ago. They are companions again and serving together in Spanish which is kind of crazy and weird. It is hard at times being over them because I trained them, but I just have to be straight honest with them about things. Sometimes it is hard to help sisters out, there are things that they turn to you with things they are struggling with and there is just nothing you can do to help them. For example if they want to get up on time they have to decide that for themselves, there is nothing that I or the Lord can do to help them with that. That is something thing I have been grateful for on my mission from playing sports. That I have the inward desire and drive to motivate myself to do things. Being out for over a year it is hard to get up at 6:30 and I am tired too in the morning, but I still get up because it is what I promised my Heavenly Father I would do when I accepted my call. There is nothing that makes it easy, you just have to get up and get moving. I don't have dad there anymore waking me up for seminary 5 times and making me breakfast, meaning toast :) There are so many life lessons I feel like you learn on the mission having to do with yourself, friendships, callings in church, family relationships, and future family relationships. I truly believe that the mission is the MTC for the rest of my life.
This week we had interviews with our mission president, it went really well. We had a good discussion about a bunch of different things and he even brought up to me different options that might happen to me for this up coming transfer. He said a lot of things that I needed to hear, at the end I put in my "dying" request. Which is just telling him what we want towards the end of our mission. Not saying that he always gives it to you or will even consider it, but I just felt like I needed to give in my two cents. I told him that I really wanted to train one last time before I went home, which sounded crazy when I was telling him. He seemed a little intrigued/surprise at my request. I told him that I knew there were so many other capable sisters that were able to train and I know that I got my fair share at training, but how I have really missed it. It is funny how when I was training back to back to back I wanted to be done, but now that it has been a while I miss it. I feel like i grew so much when I trained and it really pushed me to never slack. It seems crazy to me thinking about it because I have been getting warn out on having everything on me and to lead an area and training is asking for that even more. There is just something different when you getting a missionary fresh from the MTC who is just so excited to just go to work and is wanting to learn and trying to soak everything in. Well we will see, I am not getting my hopes up, but it is a desire that I have.
This week we did well lesson wise, but it still felt like a long one. Things seem to be moving slowly here with our investigators, I have been trying to dig deep and really study and pray about what they need to progress even further in the gospel. We have been trying to find new investigators as well, there seems like there are a lot of people who are nice out hear that are willing to listen, but aren't wanting to change. Saw some tender mercies this week though as well. We watched general conference at peoples homes all this weekend which was really nice, it felt like I was back at home with our family. For the Sunday afternoon session we went to a members house who she invited over her non-member friend. He investigated the church over 5 year ago and then stopped. Right now he is going through some tough times and going through a divorce so the member invited him to watch conference. You could tell that it effected him a ton, we had a good discussion with him afterwards. He kept throwing out all these questions to us and was wanting them to be answered. He mentioned how years ago when the Elders taught him they never could answer all his questions. I explained to him that he needed to first gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon. That is the keystone to our religion, that once he gains a testimony that 1-Jesus is the Savior of the World 2- That Joseph Smith did see God the Father and Jesus Christ and was called to be a Prophet to restore Christ Church and 3- That the Book of Mormon is the word of God and another testament of Jesus Christ, then none of else matters. That those questions and concerns he has will not matter. It just hit him, and he committed to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. Sadly though he doesn't live in our area, but that is how it usually goes I feel like in the missionary world. I really do see great things for him and his two kids in the future.
Speaking of Conference, I just loved General Conference this weekend. It was so good! Each speaker was so good and powerful, I could just tell they were called and inspired of God. Some of my favorites were
Elder Anderson-I loved his talk on Joesph Smith, it is what I needed to hear. I feel like so many people out here on my mission try to tear him down and it just hit me how important my testimony of him is important to me and how I need to continually strengthen it. As well as that as we near the second coming more and more will try to discredit him.
That is why i also loved Elder Uchtdorf talking about between logical and spiritual. That is what is hard sometimes for people to grasp, that when you have a spiritual question you need a spiritual answer from a spiritual source(i.e. the scriptures, prophets, prayer).
I just loved Brother Klebingat of the Seventy, he is one of my new favorites. I feel like there is always one person where you think, where did he come from? I like to refer to him as a miniature Jeffery R. Holland. I also loved Elder Eyring and I think the one that was the most powerful for me was Brother Godoy. Those two talks is what I needed to hear about personal revelation, I feel like they answered the questions that I was wanting to be answered during general conference. What was also a little tender mercy to me was that I have met Elder Godoy a few times, he has come to our mission to talk to all the leaders. I felt like that was a sign from my Father in Heaven that he knows me by name and he knows the desires, questions, and concerns that I have in my heart.
I cannot tell you how much I know this church to be true. I know that Thomas S. Monson is the Prophet of the world today, that he is here to lead and guide us back to Our Father above. He is called of God and inspired by him as well. I am truly grateful for this short period of my life that I get to declare the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the people of Boise, Idaho. It is all true, every single bit of the Gospel is true. Joesph Smith saw Our Heavenly Father and Our Savior. Our Savior sole purpose of being here was to fulfill His Fathers will. That is what our purpose is here as well, to fulfill our Fathers will for ourselves. That is a lesson that I feel like I have been continually learned on the mission and I know it is one that I will continually be learning for the rest of my life.
I love you all so much! And I hope that you are doing well.
Side notes:1-We are able to see Meet the Mormons, we are actually going to see it this Wednesday as a mission at the mission office before the release here in Boise. So that is pretty exciting.
2- I heard that Utah State beat BYU, that kind of brought some joy in my life.
Life is good. The Gospel is good.
Love
Sister Metcalf
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