KONICHIWA!

Monday 31st March to April 6th

Okay I know Im not in China but HEY! So this week has been interesting I must say. The Lord has definately been testing my faith and patince that is DEFINATYELY for sure. I havent missed home as much like to be honest I didnt even want to come on and write emails. But I love doing it at the same time. So I am a person who doesnt at times like to share my thoughts with how i feel. I just dont. Its not me. Lets just say I believe the hardest thing about serving a mission is defiantely a companion. You have to learn to live with them and be able and open to compromises. I dont know but I feel at times that I do open up but then I feel like I m not being listened to a lot of the times. Oh the joys of my life right now ;) I have been getting better though with controlling myself as at times I feel like I could just say something but I know it would make her feel bad and I dont want to do that. I LOvE my companion, dont get me wrong but sometimes you know you need that space. I have really learnt this week to turn to the Lord. As I have, I have been able to see the changes inside of me and do you know what the best way is to love your companion...? It is to serve them. And that is what I do. I put it to the test and it works. "When ye are in the service of your fellow beings, you are only in the service of your God" and that is so true. I have my moments but I just keep it to myself. I just dont say anything. I just try to calm down and when she says oh we should have done this i just say to myself, I did say that but hey Im learning. I yearned to come home within the last month. I felt like I couldnt do this mission any more, but I turned to the Lord once again and I know without a shadow of a doubt that He knows I can do this otherwise He wouldnt have sent me here. So i guess I just need to realise the potential I have that He already sees in me.

 

This week seriously flew by!!! i cant believe I am into my 6th week since I left home. I am definately getting used to missionary work and I am getting better at teaching and talking to everyone. Sometimes i miss my social life and that I should have made the most of it when I was home but there is no greater joy than serving the Lord. My life has changed so much since i have been in the Church and now I get to be that example to others and change their lives. Its seriously rewarding. Making the most of it! Had a few experiences this week. I went on an exchange with Sister Temakau from Kirbatii and we went to do service in her area. We went with the Elders and the outside of her house i thought looked pretty clean so I was like this service should be easy. Uhhh go to the back and hello, there was seriously a jungle waiting there for us. We only had a lawnmower and that was not going to be able to help as the grass was that long. Elders went to find a whipper snipper and as they left i was like "uh so do you have maybe any scissors?" I just yeah didnt know what to do but she didnt even have those. it was fun though being able to serve this solo mum as she hadnt touched her backyard in a very long time. We found so many things in there but more so alcohol bottles from a very long time before. it was so humbling to be able to serve this lady as she hadnt been to church in a very long time and being able to hear her story and that she wanted to come back to church. She said she has no friends because she didnt want to hang out with them nymore as they were a bad influence on her and i was admired by that. She truly wanted to change. But funny thing was was that she was more excited about my story since I hadnt been in the church for very long and yet i was on my mission. Service is an amazing thing.

 

Oh and I controlled myself in a few lessons I must say. There was one man that started cursing in the lesson and I just ignored him and didnt speak to him until we left. He wasnt my lesson and so I was like seriously if I said something I was going to go off. But nope thankgoodness oh and this week my companion and I had to deal with a book of opposition to what we do. I could have lost it in their to but I know that what we teach is the word of the Lord and that why we wouldnt give up 18months of our life to two years of it for something not of worth that is for sure. We get up to crazy fun things as missionaries like icecream runs after doctors so we feel better ;) its becoming a ritual and ohmygoodness just our fun conversations in the car is hilarious. There is one family that is like to us, "Let it all go... You have nobody to impress" and im like heck no! Im not gaining 20kgs. I would die if I did! I say "I still have to get married after this" and they just laugh. The members are just awesome. They feed us all the time and yeah thats why on a mission you gain weight! not good, not good at all. But I love my ward. My old zone leader became an Assitant to President and he was down in Gisborne. He called me and was like "would you like to me visit anybody?" My first thought... my family. Im not too sure what happened, or if he got to see anybody. I will find out next week when I see him. I just hope they were able to talk to him as he is an amazing missionary, Elder Lee. He was my zone leader and so the one I would talk to if I was confused or needed someone to talk to as missionary life is hard but worth it. I heard he saw a family from the church and they knew me. I got so excited when he said he met Sister Tahuri. That family and the Lloyds have been there from the beginning. Love them so very much.

 

I got letters from my family this week and i was in a meeting when i opened them. I felt like I was going to ball and so I waited til I got home and THEN i did. I got four letters. They were from my baby brothers and sister. i just missed them so much and they drew mw pictures and I just lost the plot for a bit. I thought about home but my kids are just so innocent and they were encouraging me to be here on the mission and im going to do my best to be that example for them. My baby sister wrote to me saying, "I loveyou sister. Please forgive me of all my sins and for taking your things. I didnt mean to bring ll the isns into our house and to be naughty. i love my heavenly father and wanted to apologize for all the lying and bad things i done." Something along those lines but one thing that throughout all the letters and drawings from them, I realised one thing. They told me to love my companion and how are they to know i was having a hard time? Just shows how much our Heavenly Father does love us and that he answers us and shows us signs through other people. they had sent these letters off about 3 weeks before i got them and I just cried. Heavenly Father does hear our prayers and He answers them constantly. It may not be in the time that we may want them which is right here and right now; but the answers will come in the time that our Heavenly Father wants us to know them in. When He feels we are ready. I am seriously getting lost in this great work in being a missionary. Putting my whole heart into this. This is a volunteer thing. I dont have to stay. I dont have to be here. If I wanted I could be on the next flight but there is so much that the Lord has for me to learn and im excited. I miss my family but I have a purpose in being here. I realised I only have like 66weeks and then im home. Not long at all.

 

Thats it for this week , bye for now but not forever :)