When members get involved, miracles happen!

Ohhh my goodness! This email will be a complete gongshow. I can already tell! Becauseeee, to start... This has been a crazy, unexpected, miraculous, wonderful week! 
First things first... I have a new companion!! I can't wait until the end of the email to tell you, but I will wait to explain it all... Well, Sister Willis is currently sitting beside me, emailing! So that is the main miracle right now!
MY BEST FRIEND IS MY COMPANION!
So... with the end being the beginning, I will try to align my thoughts to start again.

Monday: Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. day!! Sister Brown and I drank chocolate MLK to celebrate. Also, I bought a fox sweater from the children's section. That night, we met with the sisters & came up with a goal calendar. They set their own goals for reading, attending church, and praying. We promised them a reward at the next lesson and they were super excited! They are still trying to be like Nephi.

Tuesday: Sister Brown and I went on splits. Ahhh, it was wonderful!! I went with the beautiful Sister Young, a ward missionary, and Sister Brown went with Sister Anderson, the Relief Society President. I LOVE when members get involved!! It's the best. So, Sister Brown had wonderful adventures and I had a great time with Sister Young. We went to some set appointments, and then went back to her house and frosted cinnamon rolls and talked. I just love her. 
That night, we went on visits with Sister Root, another Relief Society president.. Seriously, these women are amazing. 

Wednesday: We visited the Berry family, and they were wonderful. They are active members, and they just waved to us when we were walking, so we stopped in to get to know them better. They had all of these Harry Potter movies and books on the shelves, so we became best friends immediately. And then the little boy came out of his room in a Harry Potter cloak and showed us his wand, so I was just infatuated. He has an old soul and just the cutest personality. Ahh!
Also, visited the Walkers... They are possibly my favorite people I have ever met. Sister Walker is possibly an angel... She was so excited when we showed up and said that we needed to be there, because she was planning on asking her non-member friend to go to church with her, and she needed our support!! Well, we found out that that night, she did ask her friend, but not just to go to church, but to meet with the missionaries!! And her friend said yes!! YAYY! Miracles happen when members get involved!

Thursday: We visited this elderly woman in a healthcare center. Her service aid was there and hasn't shown any interest, but she sat in for our song and message. While we were talking to the elderly woman, her assistant was writing in a notebook, basically not paying attention. I felt prompted to ask her if she liked to write in her journal... Well, I love the Spirit more than anything, because she opened up SO much and told us all about searching for revelation, and all these things! 
That night, we had a missionary meeting with the Stake President and our new senior couple, the Carlstons, who I LOVEE! And then, one of the counselors asked us if we could stay after the meeting, to talk about Missionary Prep. So we stayed and Brother Walker, the stake Young Men's president, and Brother Bickel were there. The Young's Return Missionary son was also there, and we found out that we will teaching the Mission Prep class together... I never had that class before my mission, so I'm a little bit nervous! I am so super excited that they asked us though!

Friday: We had district meeting with our new senior couple and the other senior couple in the elder's stake. I love the light and knowledge and wisdom that they bring! What a blessing! 
Afterwards, we went to Zupas (my favorite!). 
Later, we went to do service. These members were moving out of their house, so we helped them pack. 
Later, I was feeling super anxious. I don't know if it was because I am nervous every day about the count-down of my mission, or what, but I felt like I needed a Priesthood blessing. Our district leader and his companion met us at the Carlstons (the senior couple) and Elder Carlston gave me a blessing.. It was so special. The Spirit was so strong. I found a lot of comfort through his words. 

Saturday: We had a lesson with our investigator at the Carlstons. She lives out of the stake, so we are trying to transition her to her own ward, but she is having a rough time with it. Sometimes, she feels like we are kicking her out, and so we invited her home-ward bishop to the lesson. It went SO well!! We read through 1 Nephi chapter 2, and had her start the study with a Question and a Prayer to have that question answered. We honestly got through about 7 verses, but by the end of the discussion, she had received so much revelation and help from the senior couple and her bishop. It was so great.
Later, we went to a lesson with our less-actives, who we are preparing to go to the temple. Miraculously, 2 women from the primary presidency came over at the exact same time, with cookies!! We all had this amazing discussion! One of the women had past experience being inactive, and had just been sealed with her family in the temple within the past couple of years. She related her experience and was so understanding and encouraging. It was perfect.. Again.. The members helped us experience a miracle!! There is SUCH a pattern! We cannot do this work without these wonderful members!
That evening, we went to a lesson with Tshering, our recent convert, and the Carlstons. They were able to practice their teaching on her. They are so good! A little while into the lesson, I saw the phone vibrating and it was the Assistant to the President (the AP) calling. They are the elders that work closely with the Mission President, so we always answer the phone when they call. I went to the bathroom to answer it, and the AP said, "Sister Wall. There is going to be an Emergency Transfer," and my heart sank! I asked who was being transferred, and he said that it was Sister Brown, and that she needed to be packed and at the mission office by 2 pm the next day. So I went back out and sat down, completely shocked and taken aback. And then the phone rang again. It was the AP's again. So I went to the bathroom a second time to answer it. "Sister Wall, I need to give you more information about the transfers tomorrow." I said, Ok... And he said, "Your companion will be Sister Willis..." and I just about died! I thought he was playing a prank... So I said, "Are you joking?" and he asked, "Is that okay?" And I said, "OF COURSE THAT IS OKAY!" but it still wasn't real yet. So he told me that I could call the mission president if I didn't believe him. When we left the lesson, I told Sister Brown and she was upset, and so I suggested we call the mission president to be sure. We did and sure enough, he told us that Sister Brown and Sister Willis were switching places, and that Sister Willis would be my companion and Sister Brown was going to Wyoming! I could even believe it! But, I really didn't think that the mission president would play a prank on us, so I just tried to believe him!

Sunday: Sister Brown and I went to our less-active's house and rode with them to church. They were all ready to go and I was so proud! Later, we spoke in the 26th ward and it was so great. I looked into the congregation and saw so many wonderful people who I love so much, and I just wanted them to know how much I cared about them, and how deeply I wanted to help them share the gospel! Afterwards, the Stake President came up to me and was tearing up, telling me that he could tell how much I cared about the people in his stake. I do!! I do!!
So then, we went to the mission office. I tried not to be too excited, because I do love Sister Brown, but I was SO looking forward to being companions with my best friend!!
Well, we got there and Sister Willis was just as beautiful as can be and I realized that it was real and we would be companions and I just hugged and hugged her! 
After transfers, we went to a baptismal preview for the upcoming 8-year-olds who are preparing for baptism. Then, we went to dinner, and then we had a lesson with a non-member who has been going to church for about 4 months!! It was SUCH a miracle! He is SO prepared! And I loved teaching with Sister Willis and feeling her Spirit. I am so excited to serve with her! So, we picked him up as a new investigator, and he said that we could see him next Saturday, and text him throughout the week, and see him at church on Sunday! Woo hoo!
We were running all around, busy as bees, and so we ran to the Mission Prep Fireside. President Boyer, our stake president, did an amazing job! I absolutely love these leaders! 

Welll... What an amazing week full of changes and fun and love. I am positive that these next three weeks will be completely perfect and maybe a little bit wild, but I am sure that Sister Willis will help me "sprint to the end." Also, I am SO super excited, because Abe's baptism (my Amish friend) is this next weekend, and I get to go!! It is a miracle that he came around and I am so glad that he made this decision! So many wonderful missionaries have played a part in his conversion, so I will get to see them there, too!! I get to go with my bestfriend, Sister Willis, and see our other third who we can hardly live without, Sister Summerhays!!!! 
I don't know how to reiterate this, week after week, without just saying it: I LOVE MY MISSION. I Love the Lord. I love my family; my bestfriends; my investigators. I love this gospel. I KNOW that the Lord is 100% aware of ME and my needs. He sends me miracles when I don't deserve them, and He even sends me tender mercies when I feel like I do. 

Love you all!! Have a wonderful week!

1 comment:

  1. Ariel, I am excited to see you again, but I know you are going to leave tears behind you when you move home. You are such a blessing to the Latter-Day Saints. I love you so much. Don't ever lose you desire to serve the Lord. Sincerely, Ruby

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