Well,
the work is going forward! We taught more member present lessons this
last week than we ever have before in a week! And we did the booth at
Citrus! And that was something I'm pretty darn good at. Cause of
journalism interviews and such.
I lost my name tag.
Shocker right? I never lose things;) And I have been "Sister Wheatley"
for about two weeks now. I ordered a new one three days before I lost
it. So that was revelation on Sister Wheatley's part. But I have been
called "Sister Wheatleys" or "the other Sister Wheatley". It was a bit
embarrassing at first that I lost it. And I would try to cover up the
last name with my hair or part way under a shirt. But now I'm proud of
it!
There were a few
amazing moments in the week. One occurred when our investigator
Deborah...who I wasn't sure how much she was getting...said that we are
answering her questions. In my head, I was like, "what answers?" Cause I
had no idea that we were.
She's a bit like
Joseph Smith in a major way. She has been confused, searching for
answers, and not getting them. And she has a ton of questions. And like
Joseph Smith...she is young! (19) And now, like Joseph Smith she is
learning about the restored gospel! Pretty amazing!
Timing has been an
amazing miracle several times this week. Things just happen at the right
moment. Like, if we had come an hour earlier or an hour later we would
have missed the person. But our timing is impeccable. God sends us
exactly when we can meet a person and have the opportunity to talk with
them.
Our zone leaders
promised on Tuesday that if anyone could get a new investigator that
day....cause it was the end of the month...that they would get free
lunch on them! We had only gotten two investigators the whole month, but
we did it!
Not that the lunch
mattered...but it was a miracle in itself that we met a lady from our
potential investigators list...and she let us in...and we talked about
family for a half hour! And we gave her a dvd...which I put on
later...and it ended up being very cheesy. But still, we are coming back
this week! (so I hope the movie doesn't scare her away) And this week
is going to be incredible!
Oh, and this is quote we have been sharing with EVERYONE(not really but lots of people):
“We
know that Jesus experienced the totality of mortal existence in
Gethsemane. It's our faith that He experienced everything – absolutely
everything. Sometimes we don't think through the implications of that
belief. We talk in great generalities about the sins of all humankind,
about the suffering of the entire human family. But we don't experience
pain in generalities. We experience it individually. That means He knows
what it felt like when your mother died of cancer – how it was for her,
how it still is for you. He knows what it felt like to lose the student
body election. He experienced the slave ship sailing from Ghana toward
Virginia. He experienced the gas chambers at Dachau. He experienced
napalm in Vietnam. He knows about drug addiction and alcoholism. On a
profound level, He understands about the hunger to hold your baby that
sustains you through pregnancy. He understands both the physical pain of
giving birth and the immense joy. He understands about rape,
infertility and abortion. He understands your mother-pain when your five
year old leaves for kindergarten, when a bully picks on your fifth
grader, and when your daughter calls to say that the new baby has Downs
Syndrome. He knows your mother rage when someone gives your thirteen
year old drugs, when someone seduces your seventeen year old. He know
the pain you live with when you come home to a quiet apartment where the
only children are visitors, when you hear that your former husband and
his new wife were sealed in the temple last week, when your fiftieth
wedding anniversary rolls around and your husband has been dead for two
years. He knows all that. He's been there. He's been lower than all
that. He's not waiting for us to be perfect. Perfect people don't need a
Savior. He came to save His people in their imperfections. He is the
Lord of the living, and the living make mistakes. He's not embarrassed
by us, angry at us, or shocked. He wants us in our brokenness, in our
unhappiness, in our guilt and our grief.” (Chieko Okazaki, Lighten Up,
1993
It's definitely worth the time to read. AND read out loud. Gave me goose bumps several times.
Oh yeah...this is the park that our district ate at when our zone leaders bought us lunch....OH YEAH!
And this was at the bowling alley on P-day! Cute, right?
God
loves us and he has a plan for us. We mean the world to him. And he
wants us to help his children find joy and happiness in life.
I'm
so grateful for Mothers...especially mine. Being a missionary is nice.
But it pales in comparison to being a Mother! Nothing is as good and
does as much good for the human race as being a good mother does. So if
the choice is between motherhood and missionary service....I say pick
motherhood. Happy Mothers day Mom! I love you! Your the best! I'd much
rather have you than the nicey Mormon moms, and I wanna be like you!
Happy
Birthday Dad! I hope it was amazing, and I hope you didn't party too
hard. And happy anniversary! 21 years!!! WHOOOA! That's long!
Love you all!
Sister Staker
