The lights on Temple Square turned on and all of the people weren't joking, it is madness! Seriously, it is like General Conference weekend but every. single. night. It is madness. But I love it! We have been super crazy busy though the past week and I feel like I haven't had time to breathe. So mom, I totally get you wanting to just have a day to do nothing and chill. So do it! And think of me while you are and then it will be like I'm chillin out with you;)
I'll give you a picture of what our everyday schedule looks like. We are supposed to studies every day before 5pm because studies are a priority. We haven't done studies all week. Between zone service projects and district council and missionary department training, it has just been too wild. Oh my gosh, this email probably doesn't make sense and it is because there has just been so much going on that I don't even know where to start. I think what I'll do is give a day at a time from this past week and write the highlights.
Saturday: every day, every single zone has what they call "sing smile find (ssf)" that is where we stand outside the Tabernacle and sing songs to get people in the Christmas spirit. There is another Christmas assignment though, it is called "spreading Christmas cheer" and that is where either as a companionship or as a big group of people who have the assignment at the same time, you walk around outside all around the Square and sing for everyone. We got together with all of the other sisters that had that assignment and sang and let me tell you, it was ridiculously cold outside. I couldn't feel my feet by the time we were done. Then, right after that hour, we had ssf. So in total, we were outside singing for 1.5 hours in the middle of the winter. I'm not complaining, I actually kind of loved it because I know that it will be something that I will remember forever and cherish, it was just kind of chilly out there.
Sunday: Was actually pretty chill. We went to church, did a lot of proselyting at night, and sang Christmas Carols for the world to enjoy!
Monday: We had Mission Leadership Council (MLC) and we learned some things that the mission is hoping to implement and help us improve on. District Council was super stressed and wanting to make District Council a very spiritual setting where we are able the feel the spirit. We talked about roleplays in District Council and how that would help us all improve and how everything should look. I always feel a little bit incompetent during Mission Leadership Council because there are just so many things to do and things that I could do better on. I took notes though and Sister Safuan and I made plans on how to be better so I am excited to see how to become a better leader this transfer. Another thing they focused on was being friends with the sisters, but being leaders first. I think this is always a hard balance because you want them to know that you love them and care about them but you still need to lead them. I think a good way to do this would be hanging out with them and being their friend outside of official meetings like District Council. That way they know that we love them, but we want them to become better and be better missionaries. Speaking of, they stressed a lot helping our sisters to be good teachers and missionaries and to know that is the most important thing that we are all doing. Ugh, I just feel like at Mission Leadership Council there are so many things that we have to do and we have to be and I just don't feel like I can do any of them. Any suggestions on how to improve on any of these things? I'm guessing you both have had ample experience with this stuff.
Tuesday: We scheduled everything so we could be prepared and do studies and get everything done but we had other things to do. Go figure. We had Relief Society at 7:30 am and I was ridiculous exhausted. For reals. During the Christmas season we go to bed at 11:30 and wake up at 7:30 but on days with Relief Society and Sacrament, we still have to be up at 6ish to get ready and be there on time so you are just especially tired. At the end of Relief Society, all of the senior couples dressed up in Christmas outfits and ran out to give us all Christmas presents!! It was the cutest thing EVER!! After that, we covered Assembly Hall for some sisters last minute and then right at 10 we had training from the missionary department about a pilot interaction that we would be starting. They are called member referrals. Basically, members can go onto LDS tools and refer their friends. They put the friend's info and their info and then it comes into our online teaching queue. We pick those up, contact the members and talk about their friends and their needs and verify that they are expecting the missionaries to come over (because it is against church policy to send them without permission). We then conference the local missionaries into the call and if they aren't available at that time, we call them later, get them in contact with the member, and they can hash out the details on how involved the member wants to be and everything. It was a two hour training and I was kind of annoyed the whole time because I just didn't really understand our purpose in the entire thing. We aren't really going to help to teach these people it seems like so I am confused as to why we have to just add another person to the equation. I asked that and they said that they found without us, people were slipping through the cracks because we are "experts" in sending referrals and working with missionaries online and making sure people get taken care of, so that is why they need us to do this and why it can't go right to the locals. Honestly, I just need to humble myself because I want to feel like I am doing something too like I am helping in the teaching and not just chatting and then passing these people off. I decided to just go into it and see what I could get done. I did what they told us to, called the member, discussed the person, called the missionaries discussed the situation and told them to work with the member because they wanted to be involved. The problem with this situation is that the person being referred had a whack address and we didn't know what area they were in and there were two possible sets of missionaries, so, we just called the person being referred and talked with him. His name is Collin and he is super cool. We chatted for about 10 minutes and talked about the missionaries, verified his address, and then we said we would call him in a few days and read the scriptures. So boom! Now we are in and can help teach. I know that I won't always be like that, but I'm glad that Heavenly Father knew I was frustrated and softened my heart toward this new thing so I could feel like I was doing something and not just wasting my time. It is only our zone that is doing this because it is brand new, so I'll keep you updated on how everything goes. The rest of the day and night we were seriously running around here and there and everywhere. We ate lunch while we did Teaching Center because it was just too busy and we didn't' have any other time during the day to do online work. We were so busy that we forgot to tell Apollo that we couldn't make out appointment and I feel so bad. Apollo has kind of stopped in his progression because he keeps all of the commitments and wants to be baptized but he won't go to church. The locals went over and explained that he couldn't be baptized if he didn't go to church and he said that he would go. I'm really hoping that he gets baptized before I go outbound which will probs be in about a month. If he goes every week, we can get it done!
Wednesday: Yesterday was thankfully less crazy than Tuesday. We had a zone service project and we went to Days for Girls and helped make reusable pads for girls that don't have access to those kinds of things around the world. I mainly cut and measured fabric with a sister in the district who is finishing her mission in the next few weeks! It was good to get to know her better and I feel as if she trusts me more now because I actually know her. We had more Teaching Center time yesterday which was a blessing and we found the biggest miracle, her name is Isabella. Long story short, she requested a Bible and has had a hard life and she is only 18. She has been to a few different churches and she just wants to know what is true. She was baptized twice and I explained to her priesthood authority and she wasn't really understanding it, so I tried a different way to explain it and she still didn't get it. This is all on our very first phone call, mind you. Eventually, she expressed a desire to join our church because she knew that it was a good church, so I invited her to be baptized by someone holding priesthood authority, the same kind that John the Baptist had when he baptized Jesus and she said yes with no hesitation! I explained to her that we like to set dates that we can work toward and asked if she would be baptized in a month on January 4th and she said yes. She is going to meet with the local sisters and they are going to get her a ride to church this Sunday. It. was. crazy. That never happens parents, literally never. When we called the local sisters, they were super crazy excited. They were basically screaming on the phone when we told them that she was already on date and that she was wanting to go to church. We are calling her in the next few days to go to know her better and try and help her understand the doctrine a little bit more. Right now she doesn't understand it too much I think, but we can help her! Please pray for Isabella that she will be able to understand what we teach her along with the local missionaries and she will stay on track to be baptized on the 4th!
Sister Safuan and I are still doing great. She is seriously the kindest person ever and I love her a lot. I feel like I haven't been feeling the joy of missionary work too much lately, but this past week I just feel so happy. Don't get me wrong, I am freezing and exhausted and not eating enough because we keep forgetting to pack dinner but I am super happy to be a missionary. I am finding a lot of joy in the work. There are a lot of factors but a big one is having a companion that wants to work that that is nice to me. I'm so grateful for her and I'm very grateful that Heavenly Father let us be together.
I love you both! I feel like so much more has happened but I can't remember. Basically though, besides those highlights, we are walking around the square all night talking to a million people. Mostly, they are members. We talk to a few guests but in general, the square is full of Jesus loving members of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We have been inviting a lot of people to light the world and post on social media and more. I have actually grown to the point where I don't mind the members too much. I know, I know, I've changed so much;) But I can really recognize that they need help too and I don't know everyone, but they do, and by them reaching out to the people they know, that will change lives. My favorite invitation I've given so far has been to increase their Temple attendance, and to "repent and light the world bro". Those words came right from my lips, believe it or not.
Well, love you guys and I hope that we will be able to call today. The schedule is kind of weird but we can try to make it work!! Miss you and talk to you soon!!
Love
Em
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