Loving and Growing

I love the missionaries.  They are so good to us.  I am learning to read their body language.  I can tell when they have had a really tough morning.  Their body language seems to say, “Everybody rejected us this morning and I’m really tired but I’m trying to keep going.”  Sometimes it says, “I don’t like being with this companion.” Sometimes, “I just want to know someone cares about me.” And the best, “We had such a great morning and I can’t wait to go back out.”  Marc and I try to set aside whatever we are working on and try to encourage them and just show them that someone loves them.

We like to think they linger in the office because they like to be with us but I suspect it has more to do with the air conditioning and the water cooler.  My favorite thing is passing them on the street.  They seem genuinely glad to see us.  So maybe a little of the lingering is because they like us—maybe 20%.

We delivered 2 new cars this week to missionaries out on the island (everything east of Queens is considered “out on the island.”)  I love driving out there to where it’s green and especially enjoy making the missionaries’ days by handing them the keys to a brand new car.

Then there was the unfortunate broken elevator event.  I got in to go workout and it descended rather rapidly, and abruptly came to a stop with a loud thud.  The display said I was on floor 11 (there are only 6.)  I kept pushing buttons to no avail—I was stuck on the mythical 11^th floor.  I actually wondered if I would plunge to my death (or to my pain since I was only actually on the 2^nd floor) or die a slow suffocating death in the hot elevator.  So I tried a fervent prayer.  All of a sudden the door opened.  I know the Lord watches over His missionaries and am constantly impressed at how often prayers are answered in quite dramatic ways.

Later after getting out of the shower I heard alarms in the hallway.  Standing there in my towel my first thought was, “Oh no, I can’t run out without my nametag.”  While pondering whether to pin it on my towel, the alarms stopped.”  Seems someone was stuck in the elevator!  Guess I should have warned them, or at least left a note saying, “if stuck try prayer.”

Last week was a difficult one.  There was so much to do that I didn’t have time to work on Activity Day.  The activity I had planned fell through so I was a bit stressed (ok, a lot stressed.)  I tried fervent prayer again asking Heavenly Father to please put ideas into my heart.  Within half an hour ideas did come and we had the best Activity Day ever.  I know it was the answer to the prayers of a desperate missionary.

I am learning to do hard things.  I can honestly say working in Primary has taught me patience.  Those rowdy kids are not nearly as irritating as they first were and I can honestly say I love them and love being with them.  I find as I communicate with them one on one it is much easier and I can see maybe just a little bit of what our Father in Heaven sees in them.  Their comments surprise me sometimes.  One very rambunctious 8-yr-old was describing the people who rejected Nephi’s teachings.  He said, “They had a force field around their hearts that kept them hard.  Nephi tried to break the force field and soften their hearts.”  I love it.  Kind of what our missionaries are trying to do.

This week I was reading 3 Nephi 12:16.  “Let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”  Sometimes as Latter-Day-Saints we get this wrong and think it is saying “that they may see your good works and glorify you.”  Or, “They may see your good works and know you are better than everyone else.”

Elder Holland said of potential converts, “They are children of God, our brother and sisters, and they need what we have.”  This is true of unruly 8 year olds as well as strangers on the street.  Sometimes we just need to pray for the ability to serve and teach with love.”  If we can do this they will see our good works (or our love) and glorify God.

I love serving a mission.  I love what it is doing to our hearts.  I hear the caring and concern in my companion’s voice when he is on the phone with missionaries whose car was broken into or who is having some other difficulty.  Sometimes I feel a little sorry that we are not directly proselyting but am convinced this is the best kind of mission ever and I am grateful for the opportunity for growth and that we can have fun while we are growing.

Chapel in Bayside.  The chapels out on the Island are beautiful.

Modeling my necklace Mom Williams made.  Love it.

Marc gave me my own TiWi card.  Now when I drive mission
vehicles I'm not constantly hearing, "No driver, no driver."  (Now
I hear, "Check your speed, check your speed.")