The Week Sent From God

This past preparation day was the most lame one I have had on my mission. We sat in the apartment the whole time and left for 30 minutes to get groceries. Ain't no complaints though because I got to talk to all of you so much. As I was reflecting on my day while calling mom and dad, everything seemed to weigh on me. I truly didn't know if I could handle this situation. Towards the end of my call with mom and dad, dad looks at me and says in his business mode voice,"Go get the spirit, you will never be sad if you have the spirit." He then proceeded to conclude the call and hang up. To me the call seemed so abrupt, but this was exactly what I needed. God decided to help me realize how I can handle my trials starting with Tuesday.

Tuesday was a day sent from God. I got up and did my morning routine. Headed to service with not the best attitude, I still was letting everything get to me. We arrived home and from 1-9 I decided I was going to dedicate myself to the work. We left the apartment at 1:22 pm and did not walk back in the apartment until 9:01 pm. We got rejected on every door we knocked on. I yelled across the street to talk to people who were not about our message at all. I wasn't getting the best attitude from my companion, but the one thing that changed me was that I had the spirit. I was so happy. I was exhausted, but so happy. This was the truth dad spoke so clearly to me the night prior. Nothing seemed to make me sad. The sun seemed to be shining brighter, my smile seemed to be bigger than before, nothing could have changed the mood I was in. My life is in God's hands. This is what I needed to learn. 

We are teaching two boys by the names of Christain and Noah DeLong. Noah is 9 and Christian is 12. Both of their parents are members, but their mother who has full custody of them is inactive and does not plan on returning to church. The father who is an active member wants them baptized. Tuesday night we had the chance to be over for dinner with the mother of the boys. This has never happened because the mother was against us being over. Her home is top notch. It reminded me of a home in Alpine or Highland, UT. The floor was clean, it smelled nice, granite countertop, all white kitchen, and there was dinner! So many wins. She expressed her concerns and we asked if it would be okay if we met with the boys every Sunday and Wednesday in her home so she can judge for herself if the boys are ready for baptism. She happily agreed. The boys are very fun to be around. One of the main reasons I got sent to Charlotte was to teach these boys. 

Wednesday was another one for the books. We were so busy and I was wiped. We had a district council in Holt which is 30 minutes northwest of us. Our district consists of two sets of sisters and our Zone leaders. We have a pair of sisters serving In Holt and they are Sisters Griffith and Gibson. The other sisters are serving in Portland and their names are Sisters Kitzman and Hansen. To conclude our district we have the zone leaders who are Elders Tueller and Spencer. I love Elder Tueller, he is literally so great. He would easily fit in with one of the boys.  Fun fact, he grew up with Addie Matern in Halladay, UT haha small world. Elder Tueller, if you are reading this you are sus. A very fire district if I do say so myself. In the early afternoon we had our interviews with President Heap! Mine was seriously so so good. We talked for about 45 minutes and I loved it. We addressed the concerns and worries about everything going on. He later told me,"Do not get too comfortable, have your bags ready." He then explained to me that I will probably be in Charlotte for only one transfer, maybe two max. He also gave me a handful of tips on how to handle the current situations I am in. How can you not love this man? He is a king. 

BUDDAYS BIRTHDAY! Happy birthday Weston! I had the chance to call him on Thursday for a brief second. So grateful you are in my life. I bet you loved the sun poisoning photo I posted on Facebook.

On Thursday I finally had an experience I always wanted to have. We were out door knocking on some inactives and I saw a group of high school kids playing basketball since it's so nice outside, it was about 70 degrees. I go up to them and ask if we could play with them. They happily allowed us to. We ran a game to 11 and we popped off. It was fun being with the kids and allowing them to have a good view on missionaries. They thought I was an undercover YouTube star who pranks people since I rolled up in a white shirt and tie. That's how NICE I played. They were blasting rap music and then one of the guys was like,"AYE put on some gospel music for these boys." It was really funny. As we were leaving they were all so happy we stopped by. You could hear all of them say,"WE GOT TO PLAY BALL WITH THE MISSIONARIES!" We were sweating and we did smell. We didn't hand out any pass along cards or copies of The Book of Mormon, but it was a really fun opportunity to play ball with some kids and have them view missionaries as fun normal people. 

The hardest adjustment for me coming from Bay City is the branch. It's just wilding over here. They have one speaker during Sacrament and then we end at 10:35 am so Sunday school is an hour and 20 minutes. So crazy, yet funny. Back at home we thought our congregation was small, but man I would love a Grove 1st congregation as a missionary.

Overall. This was a week sent from God. We technically started "teaching" 12 new friends, but we only recorded 8 since the other 4 are just Bible bashers who we will end up stop teaching this coming week. This week took all my energy out of me. I fell asleep some of the time during my nightly prayers. It feels amazing everyday I lay in my bed and I know that I did everything in my power to be the best missionary God wants me to be. At times it would be nice to be home, but after these two years are up, I am going to miss every second of torture, happiness, misery, and joy I feel everyday as a representative of my Savior. 

Side note that I might add: On Saturday we found out that an apostle and two members of the 70 are coming out to visit our mission in the next 5 weeks! We have the privilege to hear from Elder Bennett tomorrow, followed by an apostle a month later, and THEN Elder Bennett AGAIN! This is amazing. The Lord is so mindful of the MLM.

I love you all. I do love being a missionary. I know this is what God needs me to be doing. Message me! I will be pretty bored all day in the house. If you are new here or forgot I add all my photos to the "Photos in Michigan" album in Google Photos. If any of you want to call me, feel free! I would love to talk. As always #FindTime4Me:)).