Monday: It was just a normal pday. We emailed and we had a good time.
Tuesday: This was my first real training visit as a Sister Training Leader (STL)! I have been on Training Visits before as a District Leader on the Square but for some reason, I was just so nervous about it. I guess at this point I just don't really think that these Sisters can learn anything from me. I'm just a lowly missionary. I just put a lot of pressure on myself for the days to be good so I hope that it was. I went with Sister Poulsen, she is in her third transfer and she is training a brand new missionary and she is really having a hard time. She has never struggled with anything like anxiety and depression but now she is dealing with it and she is just always feeling anxious. She is saying that is started when she was in self-isolation so I hope that is true. I went to her apartment in the Youngstown area (which is Ohio) but she lives in the part of the area which is in Pennsylvania so I was in Pennsylvania for the day! It was so fun! I wanted to get a picture with the Welcome to Pennsylvania sign but Sister Poulsen was really having an emotional day so I decided that it wasn't a top priority. Basically, I just let her talk and vent her feelings to me all day long. She doesn't want to let her trainee know how bad she is struggling because she thinks that her companion deserves better as a trainer. I just listened and listened and comforted. And then at the end, I said "thank you so much for telling me, I am going to be honest Sister Poulsen, I don't know how you feel so I won't pretend to, and I don't know what to do to help you so I won't give you suggestions. The only thing I know is that Jesus Christ knows how you feel and at this point, you need to depend on Him so He can help you" And she was like, "I really appreciate that you didn't pretend and just give me advice, thanks for being honest." and then we just talked about things that she had seen that did help or that did make her happy. We brainstormed some action items because if she is going to be inside all day with her trainee, she might as well put all of her energy into training her companion and helping her become the best missionary that she possibly can be and setting her up for success. We are going to go on more exchanges with that companionship though because they are both struggling. At the end of the night, I was happy to be home to Sister Johnston and Sister Nicol.
Wednesday: We had Zone Conference via Zoom! Let me tell you, things are way more effective and efficient over technology. Sister Johnston and I led a training and I think that it went pretty well. She talked about Nephi and the Bow and the Liahona and having faith and making the best out of bum situations and following the spirit. I followed it up with 3 Nephi 19 where we talked about prayer and how "faith has feet" or in our current situation, "faith has fingers". We invited everyone to change how they pray and not just say okay give me something and then not do anything to get it but to pray and tell Heavenly Father your plan and ask Him to confirm it. Ask Him, "whither shall I go to obtain miracles" and then get going and get them! Faith has feet people!!! I think it went pretty well. At the end, President was going to go over some things in 3 Nephi 19 but he was like "the Sisters already gave us some fantastic things to work on in there so we are going to go to 13 instead" and that made me feel good! Overall, the training I think went well. I hope that the Elders and Sisters in the Zone liked it and learned what they needed to from the spirit.
Also on Wednesday, we had a lesson with our good friend Wanda. Wanda is probably around 70-something or 80ish and is the worst at technology. We spend every Sunday on the phone with her helping her set up the Zoom to tune into church. This day, we tried to get to her Facebook messenger call us but she couldn't get that so we just talked over speakerphone and taught her the Plan of Salvation. We have talked to her a lot about baptism and she is super close. She is praying and trying to find an answer. She says that she loves talking with us and she always feels so good when she reads the Book of Mormon, so she already knows the truth, she just needs to recognize that she has already found her answer. We are hoping that May 9th will be her special day. Please send some prayers her way that she can figure out her answer!! By the way, this is one that called us after the Keeffer Family Easter service!
Thursday: Yet another training visit! Okay, our Zone only has 8 companionships and 5 of them are sisters, so we are going to be going on a lot of training visits. Thursday we went with the Rootstown Sisters. Rootstown has a reputation for being a really dead area and they haven't had a convert baptism in I think close to four years. These Sisters were doubled in and they are a trainer and a fresh trainee. They are on FIRE though. They love the ward and the ward loves them (which is awesome because that ward has a reputation for being a bad one) and they have someone on date for baptism! When they got to the area, they had maybe three people that they were teaching and it was not very promising for any of them, but, these sisters had so much faith that lo and behold, a call from TEMPLE SQUARE comes in telling them about someone that wants to meet with missionaries. They put him on date almost immediately and he sent the sisters a video of him throwing away his coffee to live the word of wisdom. He LOVES the church and everything about it and he is going to live it for the rest of his life. It is so amazing to see how many miracles are coming to Rootstown all because of the missionaries that are there. I got to go with the trainer and she is so sweet. She is a little softspoken and wouldn't really say much in lessons, but I'm going to guess that is because we were on training visits and we had never taught together before and that can always be nerve wracking. She is so awesome though and it was a miraculous day. We called a referral that they had to do a Bible study and it was like I was back in Salt Lake on the phone doing a Bible study and then introducing the Book of Mormon! I realize how easily I can do those things and I am grateful that serving at Temple Square has given me so many great ways that I can contribute to the digital work here in Ohio right now!
Also on Thursday, we had a great lesson with our good friends Eric and Emily. They are the ones that we called and weren't too interested and then we talked about temples and now want to get baptized! We got to teach them the Plan of Salvation and it went great! We drew pictures in our notebook of the different parts as we went through the plan. When we were talking about the celestial kingdom and being with our families forever, Eric and Emily were just like man that sounds so good. So, we said we can get you to the temple, but how is praying about May 16 for your baptism date going? And they said that they both felt good about it and they had even talked to some family members about it. It was sweet! I tried to move it up because this past Sunday was their third time at church so they could get baptized sooner, but they said that the 16th was good. I'm okay with it, I'm just bummed because I won't be here because I'll be back in Salt Lake. But, I can hopefully just video call in. What matters is that they get baptized!! We also taught the law of chastity twice to some of the people that Sister Nicol was teaching. It was so funny because Sister Nicol had never taught it before and Sister Hortin had only done it twice and they were both so awkward. Sister Nicol at one point just looked at me desperately because she didn't want to have to explain it, so, I just said it, and the guy took it in stride and wants to live it! It was awesome!
Friday: Friday was a good day. We had some awesome lessons with some awesome people. On training visits, Sister Johnston had found two people in a Dairy Queen parking lot (always follow your cravings people) and we got to teach both of them! One had met with missionaries before and always liked how we were so healthy. So, we naturally taught her the word of wisdom and committed her to live it. The other was trying to find a church for her family with good youth and children programs for her kids. My oh my, are we the right church for her! It was awesome! We got to teach her the restoration and she loved it. I don't think she really understands the magnitude of it yet, but that is okay because neither did I until I came out on the mission. But it was great to tell her about it. We are going to be stopping by her house today with some Bibles and Books of Mormon for her and her kids. She even (we think) tuned into church on Sunday which is awesome!
Also on Friday, we had a great lesson with our good buddy Tyler. He is the one that called us and asked about God and cried when we invited him to be baptized. We called with some members over Whatsapp and taught him the Plan of Salvation. He just said the entire time "wow this is amazing" and "wow I never knew that before" so he seems just super prepared. Sister Johnston still gets weird feelings from him and now is refusing to call him unless there is another male present. I don't feel weird about it but I trust her so we are just going to have a lot of member present lessons which is ideal anyway. We called him just over the phone the other day for daily contact and talked about how he was feeling after praying about the Plan of Salvation and he said that he knew it was true and that he loved the Book of Mormon and then proceeded to tell us all about Laman and Lemuel and Laban and we were like "what? how does he remember all this stuff?" and then we talked about his family and asked if we could teach them and he said sure he just needed to ask but that he wanted his family to know about all of this stuff which is awesome. We talked about baptism and he was like man I am so excited and we were like us too! And then we asked if we could have his address so we could drop off a physical copy of the Book of Mormon on his porch and he was acting all weird and saying that he didn't feel comfortable with the virus and everything and we were like it's all good we won't even talk to you, we will just leave it there and he still didn't give us his address. Kinda weird. Then after that, he was like "is it normal to be nervous about baptism" and we were like "where is this coming from because two minutes ago he was gucci about everything" and we just told him that yeah it is but the closer he gets and the more that he reads and prays, the more that he will feel peace and not nervous. What a funny dude.
We got Chickfila for dinner and watched Maddy and Carson get married after that and it was magical. Sister Moran loves love.
Saturday: Man this day was crazy. We got a call from President Stratford early in the day saying that Sister Nicol would not be with us anymore, but that they were getting her a comp all the way from Columbus and that she would be going back to New Castle. That was sad for us because we love Sister Nicol, but it was super sad for her. She was just crying and crying. The poor thing, this is going to be her fourth companion this transfer. We decided to just do everything for her and make her feel better, so, naturally, during lunch, we went to Walmart and got ingredients to make a cake. I forgot to mention, it was also Sister Nicol's 4-month mark.
So, we went and we experienced so many miracles in that stinking Walmart. We met this lady named Emma while I tried on a dress over the clothes I already had on. She said that it looked nice and I said thanks and we started chatting. We started talking to her and told her that we were missionaries. She is very active in her own church. I started talking about her relationship with Christ and shared Alma 7:11-12. She asked where it was in the Bible and we told her about the Book of Mormon. At first, she was not interested but then we explained it more and asked if she would download it and she said sure! She invited us to her church and we invited her to ours. It was sweet.
In the middle of the contact, we were getting a phone call so Sister Johnston went and took it and it was this mean guy that threatened to kill members of our church and burn down our churches and kill our families back at home. It was some bad juju. We called President who told us to call the police. This guy called again later and I talked to him and he gave me his name... it was Legion. So there was something seriously wrong with him. The police said they couldn't do anything, which was to be expected, but they took his number and told us to block it so we did. Kinda a crazy day and a little freaky. He called us again but he started talking about demons and dogs and I just hung right up.
Also in Walmart, we met this member that hasn't been to church in about seven years because his wife who he was sealed to in the temple, went super against the church and won't allow any contact anymore. It was so sad. But, he still reads his scriptures and prays and does everything that he can which is awesome for him. We read him a scripture and told him that we loved him and that God loved him and he started to cry it was so tender. That was a super huge miracle actually because there is no way that it could have happened by accident. Plus, we were just going to go to Giant Eagle because it is right across the street, but God just knew that we had to go to Walmart. So cool.
We also met this guy named Greg that drove a motorcycle. He wasn't interested but he was cool. We also met George who is from Greece originally and has a dope accent. He told us that on Sunday it was Greek Easter and he taught us how to say it in Greek! We got his phone number so we could pray with him the next day.. he didn't pick up and the voicemail was a lady talking but you never know it could be his wife! So we will just keep on trying.
After our miracle filled time at Walmart, we came home and did some contacting while Sister Nicol packed up her stuff and we then headed off to New Castle for her to get her new companion. Sister Jackson just came from being an STL down in Marble Cliff (the area right by Gahanna) and she is so cool. She is 27 and this is her last transfer. After chatting with her she is exactly what Sister Nicol needs. She is someone that will just love Sister Nicol to death and will help her with the work and show her how to improve and be better and I love it. We got Raising Canes (an east coast chicken place that is famous amongst the missionaries) and I made Sister Johnston take my pic with the drive-through sign for the memories and we were back to our house. So crazy.
Sunday: We FINALLY got to take the sacrament. We had our church service and we had five people call in (whoohooo!!!)! I really hope that they weren't bored and confused because all of the speakers were super old and complex and I was a little bored... so hopefully they were engaged. Sister Johnston in the middle of the zoom church said "wow. our church is really old fashioned, isn't it?" and I was just like, you know it actually really is. With the organ and hymns and the quietness. It isn't bad! Just super traditional! But yeah, we had the church and it was good and then we wrote up some stuff for the new Youngstown area Facebook page. This is a new Facebook initiative that the First Presidency is moving out so I am in the process of inviting every single one of my friends to like the page. We send in content to the Technolgy Specialists for this area of the mission, and they then post it. The idea is that the page will trend for the area and all of the members will join in and such and that everyone will just see it and then join in and like it. In the test mission where this was done, the page got 1,800 likes and 180 people started to get taught in just one zone. Not too shabby! So, like the page if I invite you to like it please!
After this, we went to the Stake President's house 40 minutes away to take the Sacrament. We are only allowed to go to a Bishop or the Stake President's for the sacrament and if they don't want us to come, then we are just out of luck. Our Bishop's wife is out of town so we couldn't go, but President Connor heard and made sure that we could still have it and I am just so grateful. It has been right around a month since we had the sacrament last so I was just so happy to do it. It was so special and sacred to do it in a member's home and to feel how sacred of an ordinance that was. This time around, the spirit impressed to me that I would need a worthy priesthood holder in my future home to do this and how special that is and important it is to me personally to have a priesthood holder in my future home. Priorities people. They had asked President Stratford if we could share a message when we came and he said we could and that we could all have a meal together and that was SO AWESOME. I loved it. The Connor's daughter Sarah is a Senior and is really having a hard time with going to BYUI because all of her friends got into Provo and she doesn't know anyone in Idaho so we got to share a thought based around relying on Jesus and knowing that she will be in Idaho for a reason. She started crying during the discussion and in the end she said that she felt a lot less nervous which is good.
The Connors have this tradition with the missionaries when they come over where they have to join "The Team". To join the team, you have to sing all of the verses to your favorite hymn or Primary song and then they will measure you and put your name and where you are from on the wall. I sang a lovely rendition of High on the Mountain Top and then I was measured. I didn't know where to say I was from on the wall so I just asked her to put USA there because I just didn't know. Kinda funny. They sent us home with all of this food and kindness. Such a good Sunday.
On our way home, we dropped off a facemask at the New Castle Sisters Apartment (because the mission had all of the Amish members of the church make us facemasks), and then we drove back through Youngstown so we could take pics with a building that said Ohio at the top. Sister Johnston and I are in agreement that I need to do all of the outbound and Ohio things because this is my last month here (weird). Plus, she only has one more transfer after this too so she will need to experience this stuff as well!
We had a Mission Leadership Council (MLC) call with President on Monday and we talked about the missionaries that were thriving and the missionaries that were struggling and what we could do to help the missionaries that were struggling. We have a little less than two weeks of this self-isolation left (if we get out on May 1st like the governor of Ohio says and we think that we will) but missionary work is never going to be the same after this and President wants the missionaries to be okay right now and be able to thrive in any circumstance. Honestly, I am working on developing more empathy for the sisters that are having a hard time because I am chilling with isolation, we are working hard and seeing so many miracles every day! But not everyone is. Right now the mission is like half and half on doing well and struggling. Sister Johnston and I brainstormed on what we could implement and we decided that with the struggling companionships we would do daily planning with them because if they could plan their day more effectively then they could feel more purposeful and happy. We also came up with doing fun things with all of the sisters in our zone! Movie nights via zoom screen sharing, doing Come Follow Me together, doing cross-zone secret sisters, etc. The sisters seemed excited about it so we are excited to see what will help all of the sisters!!
Last but not least, we had an awesome miracle with Asia this week! She ghosted us for a hot second but then resurrected and now she is going strong to get baptized!! We went over to her house and taught her the entire restoration again through the snow and sleet from six feet apart and since then, we have been calling her every single night and reading understand before her baptism. She should be getting her marriage license this week and then interview next week, and then marriage with the baptism right after on May 2nd! Pray that things will work out with the courthouse and that she will be able to stay strong! We also called on Sunday night this guy that I met on the Square a hot second ago! We have kept kind of in contact and I have tried to start teaching him for a while but he never really was interested but I reached out again this past week and asked if he wanted to call and read the Book of Mormon that I gave him and he said sure! So, we called and we had a dope lesson with him. We talked about everything because he just had so many questions. Finally, I was like Ben, you have asked us so many things, but what do you believe? And he was like "well I grew up Catholic but that stuff just doesn't make sense to me so I just don't really believe in God anymore." We bore some powerful testimonies and we invited him to read the Book of Mormon and to pray with just the slightest glimmer of hope and faith that God was there. We told him that it would change his life and that He would feel happier and more peace and he was like "sure, I'll give it a go. If this is true, I want to know if it is" and I am SO EXCITED FOR HIM. Oh man, pray that He will feel the love of God and find answers and more importantly, RECOGNIZE the answers when God is doing it. We talked about recognizing the spirit but it is always so different for people how they feel the spirit that I never know exactly how to teach that, so we did our best and just pray that he will find what he needs and hear the voice of JESUS.
Okay really this time, last but not least, the Assistant to the Presidents (APs) called us and said that they were going to be in our area on Tuesday and President had asked them to give us blessings when they were up in Youngstown and we were like "what really?" and they were like "yeah so when works for you?" and it was so tender that President has been thinking about us and wants us to have blessings. It has been an exceedingly crazy transfer so I am glad about it and I think that it'll help. I have been feeling a little in a funk since Thursday which is weird, so hopefully, this will help with my funk. And trust me, I'm fine, I've just felt a little more down than usual.
Okay, this was a super fat email. I hope that I didn't forget anything. Oh! I dyed my hair, my companions convinced me to do it. That is what I forgot. Anyways, I love you both so much and I hope that you have an awesome week! Stay Safe!
Love,
Em
No comments:
Post a Comment