Do We Really Appreciate What We Have?

6/9/14

Well another week has come and gone!

Morg: Have fun waiting for the call! I remember how looooooong the wait seemed to be to get my call. I almost went crazy and I actually kinda had a sort of a meltdown​ one day when I thought it was coming and it didn't (ask Mom). So good luck! But you've been in my prayers! My guess: Canada Toronto Mission...Mandarin Speaking! okay really though. I don't know...I see you going to Asia or South America. (I'm really specific I know) For your sake though i hope you go to Alaska.

Alright as for the investigators....

(Name) is doing great! She moved her quit smoking day to this Thurs! I'm super excited but I'm super nervous....I want her to enjoy the blessings of baptism and smoking is the ONLY THING HOLDING HER BACK...and I know Satan knows that too. I don't want her to get discouraged or anything. But I know God has a plan for her....and we are going to do all we can to help her. She can do this. I'm praying so hard that she'll do it! I know anything is possible with God. I love how the Word of Wisdom is made "for the weakest of saints" (paraphrasing) ​G​od wouldn't expect us to follow it if it were too hard. She couldn't come to church because her asthma was reeeeeaaallly bad. She couldn't breathe at all. But next week she'll be there!

Unfortunately (name) isn't going to meet with us anymore. At last for now. He has completely ignored our texts and calls and has dropped off the face of the planet. Sad. :*( we're not sure what's going on...I think either he read the pamphlet on the word of wisdom and didn't like the no coffee...OR his family situation got in the way. 

We saw (names) for the last time last week. He is now out of town working his new job. She is still here trying to get everything ready for the move. We are going to be seeing her on Tuesday and we'll still be teaching her until they officially move, and then the (city) missionaries will take over. Man I'm going to miss her so much but I'm excited because once they are settled they'll be able to progress in the gospel!

We have a new investigator... She's 9 yrs old and she is the granddaughter of a member here in our branch. She's gone to primary for quite some time and loves it. We were having dinner with her grandmother and we asked how she was...She said she loves primary but that her mother wants her to learn more about the church before being baptized or anything. ​And we offered to teach her the discussions so she could make a decision to be baptized or not. The grandmother got all excited and last week we taught her the first discussion! It just brings back memories of (names)....i LOVE TEACHING CHILDREN!!!! We taught her the Plan of Salvation. And my comp was taught the discussions when she was 12 so she has all these awesome ideas up her sleeve! It's awesome!

(Name) is doing pretty good. His health issues were preventing him from progressing in the gospel....so we helped him go to a family doctor who​'s a member and he got some medication and he's been so much better ever since. ​H​e told us he read the Book of Mormon and he understood it far better than the other times he's read it! And he's been able to focus in on lessons so much better.  I'm so grateful for doctors!!!! 

The family whose parents we were teaching are doing well. We haven't seen their parents for a while though. So we don't know when they will be back at their house.  We go over and eat at the family's house every week. They ALMOST came to church....but due to some family issues they had to go out of town.  

Humidity? I LOVE HUMIDITY! It hasn't been too bad. I'm pretty used to it. And there's usually a nice gentle breeze going so it's perfect. But come mid July-Aug it might get pretty roasty. The mosquitos are still quite bad. But I'm getting a nice tan going on! YAY! And I think if I survived the stuffy humidity in ​Toronto, it’s going to be cake this summer! ​The country feels a lot better than the musty city. It is so PRETTY ​here! We had to drive to a nearby town for a missionary meeting and I kept telling my companion, "it's so greeeeen!" she laughed because she's from a ​Washington farm country town and she's like, "I know." I'm so happy that it's not winter anymore can I just say that?

Zone conference is comin up in two weeks which I am always STOKED for. By the way...the (names) are coming to Utah in July to visit their son. Maybe I'll have them pop by?  We are going to try to be teaching (name)’s sister on Tues so that will be fun. 

​This week I had a really humbling experience. I think I'm just feeling a lot of pressure because my mission is coming down to a close much faster than I anticipated. I feel like I have come a long way...but last week I felt sad because I wasn't ​yet where I wanted to be. I had many discouraging thoughts about not being good enough...had doubts ​whether I would be able to accomplish what God needed to be ​done here...felt like I should be so much more on fire than I was...Just a lot of selfish, negative thoughts.  Then yesterday...we had the impression to go see (names). We went and he said it was a bad day for him...he looked pretty bad. Then she came tromping into the house, drunk. She just started sobbing hysterically because they went to the doctor and it could be a ​matter of weeks ​when he passes away. She was asking if she could kill herself and she was just extremely upset. We sat and listened and tried to provide the comfort that they needed. We sang a hymn (he liked it...she was upset because it wasn't upbeat) We expressed love but unfortunately she became hostile and started yelling and we just had to stand up and walk out. It was really intense. 

On the car ride home we asked each other why God would prompt us to go see them when all that was going on? We didn't understand....there could be a lot of reasons. But when I got home I just felt sad for them and how hard their lives have been. It made me grateful for my life....It made me so grateful for the gospel.  Because of​ it I KNOW that God has a plan for all of us. It made me grateful that I grew up in a family that wasn't abusive...in an atmosphere full of love rather than drugs and alcohol. It made me grateful for the friends and support I had....Here I was being all selfish and sobby about myself where others are going through so much more....my trials are nothing compared to some people​’s...I have soooo much to be grateful for....and lately I've been very ungrateful. Do we really know what we have? I don't think I realize it...but I'm beginning to.

I love you all! Thanks for being the amazing examples that you are to me. Have a good week.