Week 9

Hey everybody! Another solid week in Reno, Nevada baby!

 

 

Alright so this week was definitely filled with some ups and downs. I have some really good days and then some really bad days, but nonetheless I love being here. Hahaha okay so I have two little stories to share!! 

 

 

Tuesday morning we get a phone call from some Elders in our zone. They call my comp and say, "Hey, there's this lady, she knows you well, she wants to invite you to come to lunch, then go to her house for service, then go to dinner right after. You down?" I'm sitting there trying to pretend like I didn't hear every word he said hahaha and he goes "LET'S DO IT!" I then was like alright let's go! Fast forward, we go to lunch with her. Her name is Yeya which is grandma in Greek. She is this old Greek orthodox lady who loves the missionaries. She takes them out to all sorts of things. Anyways, we get there and she starts calling everyone weird names. Some names consisted of... cowboy, potato head, whitie, and blonde boy. When I first shook her hand she told me, "Your nickname will come soon!" I'm like, oh shoot this is gonna be bad. The whole day goes by and we're finally at dinner. (We had all you can eat sushi, sorry mom and dad) As we get up to leave she looks at me and says, "LONELY LIPS!" Everyone. Started. To. Laugh. She called me lonely lips for some reason?!?! Don't ask me why. So now my nickname is lonely lips! I probably could've made this shorter but who cares!! My nickname is lonely lips.

 

 

Okay, so my second story is a little shorter. After me and my comp had just finished this lesson with one of our investigators, we biked down the road and saw a trash can. My comp decided to empty his bag of trash. As we were doing this, there was this man sitting in front of his apartment. I usually never do this, but I decided to spark a conversation. I asked him what his name was, what he does for work, what he likes to do... all the basic stuff right. Then my comp jumps in and we're talking to this guy, and then his neighbor comes out and goes "aren't you all mormons?" I was like, alright here we go. But this man was asking us about our church, genuinely. He is a former Baptist and was recently diagnosed with cancer. He had been struggling with his faith and had lots of questions. However, every question he had, I answered perfectly in harmony with the spirit. He even asked the questions that I was going to bring up! As we told him these answers he began to cry, explaining he's been searching for a church for a while. We asked if we could come back and he said yes. The spirit was so strong!! It's so cool to see how the Lord makes things happen. To think if we didn't decide to empty our bags of trash!! Anyways, I said it was shorter but it wasn't. There's a lot more I could go into, but I won't hahaha.

 

 

Okay! Now a basic summary of my week. I'm having hard days and having good days. If you remember my feelings that sometimes I just wanna put the tag away and fly home, it's still true! I also have days where I feel like this could be the rest of my life. Mixed feelings, but good. It's okay to feel this way! I've learned so many ways to cope with my anxiety, sadness, and anger. Through consistent practice and work I've been able to almost conquer my weaknesses! We've been teaching a family that is so sweet, and their two little girls are not members. Everyone else is inactive but the little girls aren't members. They recently expressed to us that they would like to be baptized!! We've got to do a lot of logistical things but it's exciting!!

 

 

Spanish is coming along. There are a lot of times where I feel like bursting in tears or screaming in anger because I can't understand what someone is saying. I've never studied so hard either, but I know my Heavenly Father will help me. When I need it he will give it to me. If you're reading this and you've Learned any other language. I tip my hat to you because this is hard. Anyways, Spanish is tough but I'm trying my best.

 

 

Yeah! My week was busy but in all, amazing. I love this work and I've been growing because of it. I'm so grateful to have this title and opportunity to serve my Heavenly Father. I have been nerding out in my studies! I am grateful for the time I have each day to be here. Hope you all are well and enjoyed my (a little confusing) email. Feel free to reach out to me! Be safe!

 

 

D&C 121:7-8 - 

My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;

    And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.