^ That's probably the most Portuguese I've said in a while. #visawaiterstruggs
Oh wait. That's a lie. When we pray together as a companionship I
say it in Portuguese. And we pray together A LOT. But that's still the
extent of my language practice. It is what it is.
Life in Oregon is sah-weet!
And life with iPads is sah-weet!!
We got our fancy shmancy ipads this past Tuesday and they're
awesome! We got together with another zone for a technology roll-out
with President Samuelian and other leadership. Our planners, area books,
scriptures, basically our lives are on these things
now. I could tell a lot of missionaries have been feeling apprehensive
about using technology, but this is the direction the Lord is taking His
work. President asked us how hard the work would be if we didn't have a
cell phone, then he asked how hard it would
be if we didn't have texting. As a missionary working with the young
single adults, I can tell you that it would be impossible. I send more
text messages now as a missionary than I ever did before. If we didn't
have texting we couldn't effectively do the work,
if any work at all. He drew a parallel to this new technology. In a
very short amount of time, taking away the technology we have would be
detrimental to the work. And I can really see how that's true. We've
already been able to use these new tools to hasten
the work of salvation. It's amazing that I get to see this all unfold
before me. What a tender mercy!
So even without rockin' iPads this week has been good! Let me tell
you about one of my favorite people ever. B. Oh my lanta he's so
great. I've told you about him before but every week he just grows and
grows! He's gone from not wanting to even talk
to us outside of a lesson to setting up his own appointments. That may
not mean a lot to you, but WHOA. That's a big deal. So we were in a
lesson this week talking about repentance and Sister A pulls out a
scripture in Doctrine and Covenants that talks
about your confidence waxing strong in the presence of God. So we read
the scripture, B blinks a few times, and bursts out, "How do you
think of these scriptures off the top of your head?! And what does this
even mean?!" He was just baffled how all that
happens. What a hoot.
Went on exchanges to Brownsville. Pretty fun stuff. Brownsville is
right next to Sweet Home, so it was a bit nostalgic. Just a bit.
Ok right now there are like 15 elders in the family history center
that just got finished playing basketball. And they're arguing about
iron man vs batman. Bless their hearts.
But Brownsville was fun. I fed cows for the first time in my entire
life! And I got to pet them. Good times, good times. That night at
dinner I also heard a story about how this guy had to taze a moose to
get him unstuck from wire fencing that was wrapped
around a tree. It took like an hour and we were late to exchange back.
But it makes for a good story! Ha.
Happy 6 months to meeeeee!
Want to hear a awkward/sad story?
Don't worry, I'll tell you.
Last night we were looking for a referral from another ward. So we
were walking around this apartment complex and talking to people that
were outside and whatnot. So this guy starts walking towards us from his
car and we start up a conversation with him.
He looks pretty uninterested and like he wants to run away. We get that
a lot. But I don't understand why. We're awesome! And the message we
have is even better!! Anyway Sister P just jumps to it and asks if
he's ever met missionaries. And without missing
a beat he says, "Yeah. I used to be one," then tries to walk away. Oh
no no no buddy. Not happening. So we ask him about his mission and
whatnot but he wouldn't really talk to us which I find pretty sketchy.
The whole situation was just bizarre. Moral of the
story: returned missionaries- stay active in the church!!
Kay. Rant over.
Oh! So we had interviews with President Samuelian! I just love that
man! So much! I also just so happened to be wearing the same shirt as
Sister Samuelian. That's when you know you've got style! Anyways, we hit
on a few things in the interview. He asked
me about how I feel about my visa-waiter status. I told him that I'm
all good in the hood (basically. didn't use that phraseology.) and that
I'm happy to be serving here because it doesn't matter where you serve.
We're called to serve the Lord. We're assigned
to labor in a mission. The assignment isn't what matters most, it's how
you serve. So I told him that in a little more detail and he just looks
at me and says, "Sister Baker, there are challenges ahead for you. You
know that, right?" I said that I figured
things would get much harder pretty quickly because right now I feel
like I've kind of got my footing even though I'm in a new area. Heavenly
Father always changes things up on me when I start to get comfortable.
So he told me that I'm going to be transferred
to a new area. An area that has probably never seen sisters before and
that I will be training a new missionary. Now I don't know how all of
this will work with my visa paperwork apparently moving along, but I'll
let him know. So the fantastic trio life is
going to end in a few weeks. Then he also talked about how much Satan
hates me. Typically it would hurt my feelings to hear about how much
someone hates me, but it doesn't bother me a bit because I hate him just
as much. Satan hates me and you and everyone
else that is trying to do the Lord's will. And he always will hate us.
#hatersgonnahate
So then I told him about how my mind has been driving me crazy. The
past month or so my mind has been slow. I don't really know how to
describe it, but it just feels like it hasn't been working properly. And
it's not like I think I have a tumor or anything,
it's just that I can't pick up on things as fast as I normally do. For
instance, we talk about the lessons we will teach in the morning during
comp study, then right before we pray to go into the lesson we review
it. It's like as soon as we step into their
house I forget everything we talked about. And every time I pray so
hard that I can remember what it is they need and the commitments we
were going to extend and it just doesn't come. It's been so frustrating
and I don't know why my brain can't handle mission
life! It's been not good. So I told President about that and he was
said that he can tell I'm really smart and I pick up on things very
quickly (I'm not as smart as he described me though). And that I've been
given this temporary mental block as a hurdle so
I can understand and empathize with those that don't catch on as
quickly or those that can't remember things well. That made a lot of
sense to me and has been pretty comforting. It's nice to know that my
brain isn't shutting down permanently, you know?
And that's life in this Salem neck of the woods!
Spread the gospel, follow Christ, remember who you are and what you stand for!
Sister Baker
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