I want to start by saying I love yall. I really do. Anyways.
Monday- Got taken to Applebees for dinner for the 1st time on my mission. No, it’s not the best tasting place, but it made me think of all the times my friends & I would go during the summer past 9 for cheap wings and it made me happy. Memories are something that means so much to me. Sappy, I know. That’s life for ya :) Also, I got new stamps…they are a little scary, and semi-disturbing hahah, but that’s all they had. So just a warning to all you great people that write me.
Tuesday- I must tell you before I quote myself that in the mission when you train a new missionary they occasionally will refer to you as “mom” and they are your “daughter”. Well, since Sister Van Heel had already been trained 6 weeks (you get trained for 12) when I got her, she technically became my “step-daughter”. So that night she was doing something funny to annoy me and I busted out with “Listen up, woman. Imma bout to beat you like the red headed step child that you are!!!!!!” We have a good time together. Hahahhaa. I feel like that’s one of the blessings I’ve experienced with all of my companions. No matter how different we were or how much we got under each other’s skin at times, we ALWAYS knew how to laugh and just fool around. I think that’s so important in every relationship whatever the situation may be. Humor is a good thing.
Wednesday- I got told that I have “lioness eyes”? Not sure what that meant, but he said it was an AWESOME thing haha. The member that we live with got home from her 9 day vacation and it was so nice to come home to someone again. Have I ever told you how much I love living with members??
Thursday- We made some Halloween cupcakes that momma sent me in a package. We figured it would give us a really good excuse to stop by and see some people that we teach :)
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Crazy story from this day: President Hobbs taught us something kinda cool a while back. It says in the seminary book, a lot more eloquently that I can put it “After years of preaching the gospel, Ammon praised the Lord and expressed gratitude for the blessing of being an instrument in His hands to bring the gospel to the Lamanites. Many Lamanites began to believe in the Lord, repented, and called themselves the Anti-Nephi-Lehies. After the Anti-Nephi-Lehies made a covenant with God to never again take up weapons of war”
These people were blood thirsty people who fought ALL the time, but because they were SO converted to the Lord they buried there weapons in order to prove that love to Him. He then related it to us missionaries and how we all have our own “weapons of war” or things that distract us from the work/keep us from having a good relationship with God. For all of you it could be something like spending too much time on social networking sites which makes you think you don’t have enough time to pray at night, or maybe you work so much that you feel too tired to read from the scriptures daily, maybe you KNOW there is a certain sin that you don’t want to give up but know you should, whatever the case may be we all have them. So occasionally we will do what President invited all us missionaries to do and invite the members to “lay down their weapons of war”. So first off, I want to invite all of YOU to evaluate your life really quick. Figure out what your own weapon of war is and if you can’t pick one, pray and ask Heavenly Father which one is most important for you to do NOW and do it. Bury it deep. Love the Lord so much that you’re willing to give up something of this world that you hang onto…
Anyways…the funny part of the story………after sharing this message with a member and after much awkwardness the whole dinner she takes us outside to show us what her ex roommate had left behind…it was this bad boy!!
She got SO excited…a little TOO excited about how she was going to legitimately bury her weapon of war after we left…she said we had inspired her and this was going to be AWESOME….oh. my. Gosh. It was hilarious. She is crazy. Life is good.
Friday- HALLOWEEN. Oh, yeah, just as a little disclaimer really quick since we got asked this question about a million times this week: members of our church ARE allowed to celebrate Halloween. Ok. So we took cupcakes to lots of people this day and it was awesome. I love making people feel remembered and love. So much power in that :) Katherine told me I “have the voice of an angel” and I was like WHOA. I wish hahaha. Super sweet. All the missionaries had to be in by 6 that night so yeah. PARTAY. Not. We planned…haha.
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| Halloween Night - kind of scary! |
Saturday- BLAKE AND BELLA GOT BAPTIZED!!!! I taught them while I was in Hesperia so I got to go back for it. They asked me to sing so I couldn’t decline! Bella was so precious…she held my hand the whole time. I missed that little girl. It was a special baptism. The spirit was strong. When I had to leave bella wouldn’t let go of me haha. Those are the moments I live for as a missionary. It was nice getting to see all of my old missionary friends there too. Mini reunion WHOOP WHOOP.
I had a huge eye opener after a lesson with a 70 year old woman this day. That lesson was proof to me that as long as we, as missionaries, prepare ourselves for lessons that God will take control. We went in reading Mosaih 18 and she ended up opening up and asking questions about the 1st part of the Book of Mormon she’d read. Sure, that chapter wasn’t what she needed, but we followed the spirit in not just teaching a lesson and it allowed her to be open with us and let us in. Heavenly Father allowed the situation to go the way it needed to because HE is in control of the work going on. Not us. Especially not ME. Also, in the lesson I was prompted to something I’ve never said in a lesson before; the little “Missionary: someone who leaves their family for 2 two years so others can be with theirs for eternity.” She literally gasped and said WOW. Heavenly Father works through us. He won’t stop the work, especially with a daughter of his that is so close to finding the truth for herself. I love this work. I love the trust we can put in the Savior to provide a way for us to help bring his children back to Him.
Sunday- One of our investigators FINALLY came to church and LOVED it. More goodness happened but that’ll have to be told some other time :)
All in all it was a great week. Lots of laughing. Lots of learning. This week we have interviews with President so I’m pumped. I hope yall get something, truly GET something out of my post every now and then. Misssssssss youuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
-hugs-
Sister Toolan
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