So let me tell you about my week :)
Monday night we had a home evening with Tanya at the Michaud's home (that is where I got the flu from :/ their kids have been sick and they thought they were all better...) We watched the Joseph Smith movie with her- well we tried too... man kids! haha You know I love them, there is no way I could have been a nanny all those years if I didn't but sometimes- especially in lessons- they drive me crazy. Maybe what really drives me crazy about it is that I can't really do anything about it. We can't hold kids or pick them up or anything. Ug. We also went by a sweet couple (wife is recent convert and the husband is a returning member) and we shared a thought with them about the temple. Did I tell you the Gilbert Temple Open House starts this Saturday??? I am sooooo excited!! :D We have some investigators that we are going to take with us and we are going to try to get Tanya over to see it as well. Sooo exciting!!
SO Tuesday was a crazy day. We were in the middle of our companionship study when all the sudden the District leader called to remind us about interviews and inspections that morning. WHAT. I was POSITIVE they weren't until later in the week! Man was I glad he called because last time we had gone to the wrong building and ended up being late 30 minutes late. You know me - horrible with directions haha! So anyways we got ready and headed over there. I was really sad because we had to cancel some appointments that I was really looking forward to :( But of course it was wonderful having that one on one time with President for my interview - the inspections are for the cars. He had us write down on a note card something we want to learn while we are on our missions that we believe will change the rest of our lives. Well you all know what has been on my mind and as I had this opportunity to really contemplate and ponder how this could change my life I felt that the Lord was really answering one of those deep personal questions of my soul. I must learn to trust in the Lord in all things. Trust that He has put me where He needs me and that this life is so much more than what calling you hold, what kind of job you obtain, or even the kind of house you live in. How do we measure our progress and be satisfied that we have lived up to the measure of our creation? That is the question and I have been pondering it and studying it out quite a bit. I read a talk in the Ensign while I was sick that talks about this man who is in his mid 30's and single.
Family we CAN have confidence that we are on the right track when we are doing EVERYTHING we can. We have to stay close to the Lord- close enough so that we can hear those promptings of the spirit whispering to us that we need to be better. We need to listen and then obey. We need to have confidence in ourselves and recognize that God has a plan for us that may be different than what we had expected. It all comes down to trust and then humbling ourselves to accept the will of the Lord. Then number one question you can ask yourself is this, "Am I happy?". Let that set inside you for a few minutes and if you can honestly answer yes then you can know you are in the right place doing the right things in your life. If not, then turn to your Father in Heaven and He will direct your paths for good. So this is the lesson I have learned- now I need to work on applying it and mastering it- that's the hard part! ;)
Being a member of the church is very hard for him because he wants to have a family- he wants more than anything to be a husband and father, but that opportunity has not come to him yet. Anyways he was preparing the sacrament and looked down at the little cups. He noticed that come of the cups had little holes in them and therefore were useless. He felt like that little cup and thought to himself that like the cup he will never be able to live up to the measure of his creation. Of course he recognized that this was not true and he found other ways to measure his progression even though the hand he was dealt in life was not exactly what he had hoped for or even expected.
Family we CAN have confidence that we are on the right track when we are doing EVERYTHING we can. We have to stay close to the Lord- close enough so that we can hear those promptings of the spirit whispering to us that we need to be better. We need to listen and then obey. We need to have confidence in ourselves and recognize that God has a plan for us that may be different than what we had expected. It all comes down to trust and then humbling ourselves to accept the will of the Lord. Then number one question you can ask yourself is this, "Am I happy?". Let that set inside you for a few minutes and if you can honestly answer yes then you can know you are in the right place doing the right things in your life. If not, then turn to your Father in Heaven and He will direct your paths for good. So this is the lesson I have learned- now I need to work on applying it and mastering it- that's the hard part! ;)
Ok so Tuesday night was when I got super sick and I was down all day Wednesday. Although I really did still have to work because we had these other appointments that I did NOT want to cancel so I tried for hours to find sister T a companion to go with her and then I had to find someone to babysit me haha! Oh the awkwardness of being a missionary ;) But I was so proud of Sister T! She did it! I helped her thoroughly plan out the lessons and I tried to practice with her and then the member came to pick her up and I went to sleep haha
Then on Thursday I was really dumb and decided that I was all better- I wasn't. But in the morning I knew I just had to go at least be on the temple grounds while you all were in the temple. I had such a sweet experience. We decided that we would just go in and sit in the lobby and finish our personal study. We walk in and I immediately look over and see 2 young men sitting in white next to their fathers with their little self endowment slip pinned to their shirts. I couldn't believe it! They probably thought I was so crazy just staring at them and smiling so big- I'm sure they thought I was crazy! haha But I just thanked Heavenly Father so much for allowing me to feel close to you all- and especially to Christopher during this special experience. I could just see him sitting there with Papa. It mad me feel like I was a little part of it :) I am so happy for you Christopher! I know that being endowed completely changed me and took my testimony from strong to solid. You are ready to go and serve the Lord! You have entered into covenants- one of them being consecration. Now is your time to truly give everything to the Lord. What a great adventure awaits you!! You can't even begin to imagine all that lies ahead- but know this, it will change you, but more than that it will help you become a worthy servant for our Heavenly Father :)
Then on Thursday I was really dumb and decided that I was all better- I wasn't. But in the morning I knew I just had to go at least be on the temple grounds while you all were in the temple. I had such a sweet experience. We decided that we would just go in and sit in the lobby and finish our personal study. We walk in and I immediately look over and see 2 young men sitting in white next to their fathers with their little self endowment slip pinned to their shirts. I couldn't believe it! They probably thought I was so crazy just staring at them and smiling so big- I'm sure they thought I was crazy! haha But I just thanked Heavenly Father so much for allowing me to feel close to you all- and especially to Christopher during this special experience. I could just see him sitting there with Papa. It mad me feel like I was a little part of it :) I am so happy for you Christopher! I know that being endowed completely changed me and took my testimony from strong to solid. You are ready to go and serve the Lord! You have entered into covenants- one of them being consecration. Now is your time to truly give everything to the Lord. What a great adventure awaits you!! You can't even begin to imagine all that lies ahead- but know this, it will change you, but more than that it will help you become a worthy servant for our Heavenly Father :)
Friday morning I felt very sick again, but the Beckstrands were having a farewell breakfast at the Jenkins home so I HAD to go to that! I felt horrible like the whole time though and after I only lasted like an hour at my vc shift. I went home and slept and then began the process again of trying to find somebody to watch me and to be sister T's companion. Rachel Tyler was so sweet and came to stay with me one night and then Sister Ballard came to be with me the other. Everyone was just so sweet and they were all taking such good care of me. They brought me anything I could ever possibly need :) Sister T went out again and did an awesome job!! I think it was probably a good experience for her to really have to lead. Poor thing I know she is still super insecure with the language in lessons, but she has improved sooo much! I just wish I knew what I could do to help her more...
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Then Saturday morning there was a big devotional for the Gilbert, Scottsdale, and Mesa missions and I was sick again :( Luckily Sister Ballard came and stayed with me again and Sister T got to go. As the day went on I began to feel a little bit better and then finally on Sunday I felt well enough to go to church! Miracle! Now I am completely back to health! So this next week is going to be crazy getting Tanya all prepared for her baptism on Saturday. Sooo exciting!!! I can't even describe to you the love you feel for these people as you go through this process with them. I want her to succeed more than anything!! I want her and her boys to live a happy life and to be blessed eternally by the gospel. It has been incredible :)
Well family, I am going to go! Sorry I didn't have too many exciting stories to tell- darn flu!! But I still saw miracles even though I was sick thanks to online proselyting! I could message my online investigators and still teach them. I could follow up on my member referrals and work with the members and encourage them to keep inviting their friends.What I love most about online proselyting is that it is teaching me how to be a missionary after the mission- really everything about my mission has taught me that, especially the vc.
I love you all!! Pray that everything will go off without a hitch for Tanya's baptism!!
Love,
Sister Hamstead