Letter Nov. 15, 2021

 

Once Upon a P-Day

Today was an exquisite P-day, truely. Sister Bealer and I went shopping at Old Navy and found a few cute new dresses to wear! It was wonderful! But on the way there, we saw a little car on the highway with a sign in the window that read,

"Ask God. Listen!"

So OBVIOUSLY the only proper response to that was to make a heart with my hands as we passed the little old lady driving the car. Her eyebrows shot up in surprise as she saw me smiling at her. Then a few minutes later, she sped up to pass us and gave a big thumbs up and approving nod. It was the funniest little exchange and it made my day. Something about this little old lady was so endearing, I still can't help but laugh looking back on it. 

Later we got Del Taco for lunch and even indulged a trip to our favorite soda shack ever: Quench! (The Bishop's wife owns it so we get free drinks on Fridays. But lately, we've been going even when it's not free. :'D)

But good cakes aren't made of purely sugar. It takes a lot of nasty things like raw eggs and baking soda to make a cake come together. So naturally, this glorious P-day had it's messy moments too. 

While we were in the car driving from errand to errand, we were listening to a voice clip from a Sister missionary who was previously here in Fruita. She was talking about how she'd messaged one of our favorite members, I'll call her Sister Smith, to tell her that she missed her and was thinking of her. Sister Smith answered and said that she missed the missionary. She said that Sister Bealer hadn't been the same since she'd left. That Sister Shill is great, but she is really passionate and kind of "a lot", and Sister Smith felt bad that Sister Bealer had to live with me. 

So we came to a crossroads. 

Please note that Sister Smith is my FAVORITE member ever! She's a young mom with a lot of spunk, the funniest stories, four cute kids, two BIG, fluffy, lovey dogs that let me squeeze them half to death, and the most kind and authentic spirit about her. Her flaws tend towards brutal honesty, but the flip side is her fantastic authenticity.

So. My favorite member thinks I'm "a lot" and feels bad for my companion. Could be that she didn't mean it that way, or even say it that way. After all, I didn't see the original text. I just got a teenage girl's interpretation of the text. And even if she did mean it that way, she just doesn't have all the facts. And her opinion reflects her love and concern for my companion which I can appreciate and relate to.

So I could choose to believe the worst which is what I heard, or I could let it go, and assume the best/somewhere in the middle is more likely.

If I assume the worst, I'd have to lose a friend. If I assume the best, I can keep her. So I assumed the best.

When Sister Bealer asked if I was okay, I looked up and explained my reasoning and my choice. She said, "Wow. I'd probably never talk to her again." I laughed and then we laughed. And it was a great P-day. 

Today is Mon, November 15th. I wrote the above a week ago. And now I can say that I'm glad I chose not to take what I heard to heart. We visited Sis. Smith this week as we do every week, and this time, out of the blue, she said, "Oh, by the way, I think I have someone for you to teach." 

Which to a missionary, is the most miraculous statement ever to come out of anyone's mouth. And this time it came UNSOLICITED!!! So Sis. Smith is STILL one of my favorite members. And she is so real and honest, it's not really a question if she likes me and cares about my companion. :D I'm so grateful to have her in my life.

Thoughts on Fellowshipping: (may have already sent this, don't remember)

We had an amazing lesson with a man we are teaching. I'm technically not supposed to share names of people we are teaching publicly, so we will call this man David. 

David is around 63 years old (if I'm remembering right.) He got into drugs and alcohol when he was young and it ended with him in prison for 19 years. In prison, he found Christianity and was baptized. He got out of prison six years ago. Feeling like the baptism he'd had in prison didn't do much, he decided to get baptized again. This time he was baptized by the preacher at his current church: The Country Church. He and his girlfriend go there every Sunday. 

David started meeting with us initially to study the Bible; his church was studying Revelations and he wanted some help. He also felt like he needed to be spending more time in the Bible generally. We introduced the Book of Mormon after our first study, and he was open to it. He admitted he'd heard lots of crap about Joseph Smith, but said he wouldn't take anyone's word for it. Rather, he would find out for himself. We've met with him three times now. Our last lesson is the one I want to talk about.

We had the lesson at Sister Connor's house. She's a 91 year old lady with a fantastic testimony and nothing to do. :D We visit her every week to have a lesson, and when we asked if she'd be willing to host lessons with nonmembers, she was delighted to. (And let me tell you, we were delighted, too. :D) The hardest part about teaching people is scheduling. Truly. And when Sisters are teaching a man, they need another woman to accompany them. So now you don't just have to find a time that works for your busy nonmember, but also a time that works for your busy member-fellowshiper. It kills. So to have Sister Conner who's available anytime with a few hours notice (except on Thursdays from 11-noon when the library has the Senior potluck), well! That just makes the whole world a brighter place!

Anyway, so along with Sister Conner, we invited Brother Randal: an older gentleman in our ward who joined the church just 6 years ago. He's a ward missionary and we visit him and his wife every week as well. So in other words, he was the perfect candidate. 

When David came to the lesson, we were all there and waiting! He walked in and everyone got introduced. Then David told us that he hadn't had a cigarette in 6 hours! We were all so excited for him. His doctor told him he needed to quit, and he was giving it his all. Brother Randall proceeded to share his story of overcoming smoking, and both Sister Conner and Brother Randall expressed their sincere support and encouragement. Sister Conner just warmed my heart as throughout the lesson and before David left she said, "I'm always here! You stop by anytime you want. We'll be your family now and we'll support you." 

In other words, members who are willing to give of their time and their hearts to those we are teaching are our absolute FAVORITE people in the world. And they matter IMENSELY in the work. If I could convey to every member how great their impact can be on missionary work, just by being willing to fellowship anyone interested in the gospel, I believe many people would find time in their busy lives to help out the missionaries.