May 21st, 2012
Good Morning!
Have I ever told you all how much I love my life? I am so
grateful to my Heavenly Father for all that I have been blessed with.
I think I mentioned in my email last week about a friend we took
to the temple and were going to focus on this week. Well guess what? It worked.
We fasted for Laura last Sunday and were really focusing on
getting her to church this past Sunday. We couldn't get our
schedules to coordinate most of the week but we finally saw her Saturday
afternoon. We weren't able to talk much as we were in a rush, but as we were
leaving I noticed a cute pair of shoes sitting by the door. I mentioned
something about them and Laura said, "I just bought a new dress to go with
them...maybe I should wear it to church tomorrow." Sister Kavea and I both
stopped and probably said, "Yes come!" with way more enthusiasm than
necessary. But she agreed and she came! She came to church! It was so
amazing to recognize that Heavenly Father had accepted our fast and recognized
all the prayers for her.
We have been doing a lot of tracting because our area is
slightly dead. We were knocking on a few doors before heading home and we got
talking to a really cool kid. He knew a little about the church and wasn't all
that interested. We handed him a Mormon.org card and Sister Kavea was
explaining a little about the website and all I could think about was to give
him a book of Mormon. I couldn't concentrate on anything else but that. I had
no idea how I was going to bring it up again but I knew I had to say something.
After Sister Kavea was finished I asked him if he would like a copy of the book
of Mormon to read. He happily agreed. As we left and headed home Sister Kavea
turned to be and said, "I had the strongest feeling that we needed to give
him a book of Mormon. I was struggling to tell him about the website because
all I could think about was giving him a copy." I turned to her and
expressed the same feelings. We have no idea why that prompting was so strong
but it was and I’m so glad we were able to give him one.
Last night we had dinner with possibly my favorite person in
Manhattan. Sister Burdette has been and is going through a lot in her life. We
had gotten to know her over the past few months and have completely fallen in
love with her. She has so much faith! Her example through it all is very
inspiring. Our dinner conversation was hands down the best one of my
mission. We talked about...everything, everything that we were and who we
are now. We talked about our missions and the life changing experience it has
been. As we talked the Spirit became stronger and stronger. We
shared the Mormon message "My new life" and I don't think
it could have been anymore perfect. After watching it she turned to us and
said, "that was everything we have been talking about!" We all had
tears of love and gratitude for each other as we left. I wish I could explain
it all better but it was just another moment that I hope to take with me
forever.
Sister Burdette asked us how much longer we had to serve. These
days I usually try and avoid that question and let my companion do the talking,
but last night the question eventually came to me. I confessed how much longer
I had and then added, “I'm afraid.” Sister Burdette looked at me straight in
the face and asked, "why are you afraid?" All I could think of
was "isn't it obvious?" But she wouldn't let me drop the topic. She
wanted to know what I was afraid of. And so I tried to explain. I tried to
explain that my mission would be over and that I don't get to be a missionary
and do “this” anymore. I guess I didn't do a very good job of expressing the
fear because again she looked at me dead in the face and said, "You have
nothing to be afraid of. You will no longer have to carry the mantel of other’s
salvation, but that doesn't mean that you can't still be the person you are
right now and that you’ll feel the Spirit any less than you do now. You will
still pray and find answers; the Spirit will still guide you. You can
still be the best version of you, and you can go home and jump right into the
gospel that is waiting for you there and can make a difference."
I was kind of taken back by her statement. I've been
thinking a lot about what she said. And she's right; I can still be Sister
Hall, just in a different calling. What I will feel will be the same spirit,
just different situations.
I'm still nervous about going home but I don't have to fear. I
don't have to fear for what lies ahead come August. All is well.
Each day for me brings more appreciation and gratitude for all
the wonderful experiences I have been blessed enough to have in my life. Thank
you to all of you for supporting my companion and me. I'm here, loving what I'm
doing because I have the support of you. Thank you so very much.
Be safe. I love you.
Sister Hall
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