Hi, this email won't be as organised because I didn't write my customary list of things to address in my planner.
Transfers! For five more weeks I'm with Sister Fangupo, from Wollongong, New South Wales. An hour south of Sydney on the coast. She's not far from home. She's a tall, fast Tongan Australian. In other words, she's my physical opposite. :) I feel like I've been exercising for the past week. She has a strong personality and character--all the sisters in the mission do. If missionaries were princesses, she'd be Xena the Warrior Princess. I told her that last night when I was supposed to be going to sleep and we cracked up. She's tall, dark, and fearless. And she has a short blonde sidekick. I think I would be Belle from Beauty and the Beast--"with a dreamy, far-off look and her nose stuck in a book." Belle sometimes tells off Beasts and likes to work by melting hearts. It's going to be a good final transfer.
Anyway.
Elder Bednar came to visit our mission, and it was a lot different to how I thought it was going to be. It was verrrry interactive. He is SO confident and has a great sense of humour. He wanted us to learn how to learn, and to learn how to help others learn. "We are not in the business of dispensing fish," he said when relating this teaching style to the proverb "give a man a fish and you'll feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you'll feed him for a lifetime." His most important lesson was that you cannot learn independent of acting. Remember in the Doctrine and Covenants, it says seek learning by study and also by faith? Joseph Smith said that "faith is the principle of action and of power in all intelligent beings." Which means if you're going to learn by faith, you're going to have to learn by taking action and then feeling that it's true. As the last hour or so of his visit, he invited us to ask questions and said that a good question is prompted by the Holy Ghost and suited particularly to the experience of the person you're asking... so don't ask weird questions, in other words, because you won't get much out of it. I asked him a question, and was the only sister missionary to do so. I won't write what my question was right now, because it was very personal for me. But as part of his response he said that he's disappointed when people continually refer back to their missions for their best spiritual experiences ten years after they finish. He said to always have a current strengthening experience.
At an Australia-wide broadcast, Elder Bednar gave some advice for marriages. I'm not married, I hope, but I think it's so valuable for any human relationship. He quoted the Proclamation on the Family, saying "gender is an essential part of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose." A male spirit and a female spirit were created to have eternal differences. We should not try to minimize these differences nor resent them, but see how the two genders complement or complete each other. Each has capabilities and a nature that the other doesn't have. I guess that means to celebrate the differences. I guess it also means that one cannot be complete or perfect without the other.
I love meeting interesting people. While eating lunch in the park the other day, a Mr. Peter Weare came to the rotunda we were under measuring for a wireless security camera. He engineered the clock tower in the park and it keeps getting vandalised. He was born in the UK in 1941 and remembers the air raids. He worked as a district nurse but somehow got introduced to model trains or something and found that he was a natural engineer. Then he got his pilot's license and was introduced to helicopters. He found some new genius way to install and remove equipment quickly. Now he's an artist. He doesn't believe in God but loves learning about what others believe and was hesitant to take a Book of Mormon that he wouldn't believe in, but I told him I'd be honoured to give him a copy. And he was similarly honoured.
We're teaching an 18-year-old Sri Lankan Hindu (his language group is an ethnic minority there) named Kodge. We took him on a chapel tour on Monday and it was such a good experience. His parents asked him what we're doing and he assured them he wasn't planning on converting. I think he's a little conflicted because he keeps all his commitments and wants us to keep teaching him. I wonder if he wonders why he keeps meeting with us.
Andrew and Jessica (Andrew's a recently reactivated member; Jessica's not a member. She's Fiji Indian like Sister Kumar. We've gotten to know them quite well.) had their baby, Katelin, a few days ago. She's so beautiful. It was hard to not be able to hold her! Nikki was meant to have had her baby as well yesterday.
We went to do an endowment session at the temple this morning and I did one of Sister Lindley's family names. I chose one from Norway. Both Sister Lindley and I have a lot of Scandinavian heritage. :)
Yesterday we went on a trek with Bishop Skibbe to teach a lady who's been less active for 42 years! She's been getting letters from a lady in the ward for years but has never responded. She feels she has a calling to return to church, but she isn't sure. Her town is an hour away, a little country town, and she and her husband constructed their house out of mud bricks they made themselves and timbers from an abandoned bridge. On the way over we noticed it was her birthday the next day so we stopped and bought some gifts and she was so appreciative. Cherie still remembers everything about church from 42 years ago when she joined and was very involved for a few years. Her husband said he's not interested in the Church, but he's very interested in family history, so we reckon that's the path to softening his heart.
Our investigators have been slipping away a little. We taught a great lesson to Cameron, friend of the Pereiras, on Monday night. We invited him to attend Ken Russell's baptism (an investigator of mine from the Frankston area) and he said he just wants to stick to the reading for now. Poor guy, he probably thought we were inviting him to HIS baptism. We have a few appointments with new people over the next few days though, and I think it's only fair that I should expect some great miracle to occur during my last transfer. Even if the miracle is just that I survive the heat. (This has been the hottest March on record. It's been 39 degrees or hotter the past week, which is over 100 Fahrenheit.)
Okay, I think I need to go home and get a little rest. No rest for the weary! Ciao, please write... and maybe this isn't fair but sorry I haven't been able to write back. Love you heaps! (to use an Aussie word)
Bye.
Sister Nilsen
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
the Rescuer Down Under
I'm feeling everything at once right now. Six weeks left. Sister Erickson's moving. I'm staying. I have no idea who's coming. I have no post-mission plans, which I guess means my options are verrrrry open. Here's some events, some more significant than others.
1. Joy and Russ White, Americans in the ward, took us today to the Healesville Sanctuary about an hour away. It's in another stake, so we had to get permission from President Lindley, so I felt special. The place is basically a small interactive Australian zoo. The zookeepers come out at appointed times to do feedings and shows. The best was the birds of prey presentation. The barking owl (really, they sound like dogs) swooped right over our heads for a few minutes, to the delight of the audience. The falcon caught food when the guy threw it in the air. The buzzard picked up rocks to break open a plastic egg they gave her. Sister Erickson and I were hurrying to see the platypus and we ran literally into a flock of pelicans who somehow knew it was about to be their feeding time. When I was in third grade (I think), we studied endangered species and I chose to study the platypus. Ever since then I've wanted to see one, and today I did. Little girls' dreams really do come true :) I saw flying foxes, or fruit bats hanging in a family--Stellaluna! We went into the night animals exhibit. It was so dark. I kept running into Sister Erickson, even though she was standing right next to me. I couldn't see her! We saw all types of animals from the Rescuers Down Under, including Joanna the goanna and Frank the frilled lizard.
2. I received a letter from my mission president yesterday that was REALLY nice. I'd written him to ask for suggestions on goals for when I go home. He said some things about how he felt when he finished. His suggestion was to make goals regarding study, planning, and scheduling, but his specific advice was to make sure that I am socially active so I can be a good influence on my peer group--not for the sake of getting to know or dating young men. I didn't expect that.
3. Somehow Sister Erickson and I together are a recipe for horror huntsman stories. She was cleaning out her closet last night--I was standing by her talking--and she made some dramatic noises... in the back of the closet was a huntsman mother nurturing her hundred babies. Why!?!?!?! This happened last year, and as far as I know, it hasn't happened to anyone else. Even though it was about 10:30 pm, we called the elders and asked them to come rescue us from the invasion. They came. They captured the mother and sprayed the babies. These spiders are vile. They're not dangerous, but they look like tarantulas. We couldn't sleep with those in our room. We caught them just in time, too...
4. Somehow, our teaching opportunities keep expanding. There's this guy, Dave, the friend of Garren. We've been trying to get him to let us teach him since forever. He's the one that's colorblind and asks us to help him coordinate his outfits :) Friday we had Vilma with us for an appointment that didn't work out and we wanted to help her have a good experience so we tried Garren though we didn't think he'd be home. Dave was home, he let us in, we watched the Restoration DVD, and by the time we came back a couple of days later, he'd read a significant portion of the Book of Mormon. He lost the card we wrote his assignment on, so he read a lot so he wouldn't miss the part we gave him. We were amazed!
Another guy, Cameron. I think I already wrote about the Easter initiative, but maybe not... we're helping members choose friends to give Finding Faith in Christ pass-along cards to as an Easter gift. The El Salvador family, the Pereiras, started talking about this good friend their dad has that talks to him about the Church, reads the Book of Mormon, wants to participate in service projects... we're thinking, why don't we know about this guy!? So we went to talk to him, and he's so wonderful, and he wants to learn more!
I need to go, tomorrow's a big day and we have people to visit before Sister Erickson leaves. All these blessings are pouring in and I know I'll be so busy during these next few weeks. I'm trying to put everything into it. I adopted as my motto "the time that is left is worth as much as the time that's passed." President Lindley said if I make this the best transfer of my mission I will carry that energy with me into post-mission life. I will. Please pray for me!
:)
Lots of love
Sister Nilsen
1. Joy and Russ White, Americans in the ward, took us today to the Healesville Sanctuary about an hour away. It's in another stake, so we had to get permission from President Lindley, so I felt special. The place is basically a small interactive Australian zoo. The zookeepers come out at appointed times to do feedings and shows. The best was the birds of prey presentation. The barking owl (really, they sound like dogs) swooped right over our heads for a few minutes, to the delight of the audience. The falcon caught food when the guy threw it in the air. The buzzard picked up rocks to break open a plastic egg they gave her. Sister Erickson and I were hurrying to see the platypus and we ran literally into a flock of pelicans who somehow knew it was about to be their feeding time. When I was in third grade (I think), we studied endangered species and I chose to study the platypus. Ever since then I've wanted to see one, and today I did. Little girls' dreams really do come true :) I saw flying foxes, or fruit bats hanging in a family--Stellaluna! We went into the night animals exhibit. It was so dark. I kept running into Sister Erickson, even though she was standing right next to me. I couldn't see her! We saw all types of animals from the Rescuers Down Under, including Joanna the goanna and Frank the frilled lizard.
2. I received a letter from my mission president yesterday that was REALLY nice. I'd written him to ask for suggestions on goals for when I go home. He said some things about how he felt when he finished. His suggestion was to make goals regarding study, planning, and scheduling, but his specific advice was to make sure that I am socially active so I can be a good influence on my peer group--not for the sake of getting to know or dating young men. I didn't expect that.
3. Somehow Sister Erickson and I together are a recipe for horror huntsman stories. She was cleaning out her closet last night--I was standing by her talking--and she made some dramatic noises... in the back of the closet was a huntsman mother nurturing her hundred babies. Why!?!?!?! This happened last year, and as far as I know, it hasn't happened to anyone else. Even though it was about 10:30 pm, we called the elders and asked them to come rescue us from the invasion. They came. They captured the mother and sprayed the babies. These spiders are vile. They're not dangerous, but they look like tarantulas. We couldn't sleep with those in our room. We caught them just in time, too...
4. Somehow, our teaching opportunities keep expanding. There's this guy, Dave, the friend of Garren. We've been trying to get him to let us teach him since forever. He's the one that's colorblind and asks us to help him coordinate his outfits :) Friday we had Vilma with us for an appointment that didn't work out and we wanted to help her have a good experience so we tried Garren though we didn't think he'd be home. Dave was home, he let us in, we watched the Restoration DVD, and by the time we came back a couple of days later, he'd read a significant portion of the Book of Mormon. He lost the card we wrote his assignment on, so he read a lot so he wouldn't miss the part we gave him. We were amazed!
Another guy, Cameron. I think I already wrote about the Easter initiative, but maybe not... we're helping members choose friends to give Finding Faith in Christ pass-along cards to as an Easter gift. The El Salvador family, the Pereiras, started talking about this good friend their dad has that talks to him about the Church, reads the Book of Mormon, wants to participate in service projects... we're thinking, why don't we know about this guy!? So we went to talk to him, and he's so wonderful, and he wants to learn more!
I need to go, tomorrow's a big day and we have people to visit before Sister Erickson leaves. All these blessings are pouring in and I know I'll be so busy during these next few weeks. I'm trying to put everything into it. I adopted as my motto "the time that is left is worth as much as the time that's passed." President Lindley said if I make this the best transfer of my mission I will carry that energy with me into post-mission life. I will. Please pray for me!
:)
Lots of love
Sister Nilsen
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Elder Bednar's coming!
Last week I tried golfing for the first time with the other members of my district. My ball mostly hopped rather than sailed across the course. I thought it would be easier...
Sister Erickson and I found a new finding approach: reverse tracting! Ha, we've gotten a kick out of telling people about this. We ordered a pizza for lunch. Sister Erickson got a Book of Mormon and a pamphlet ready and made sure she looked especially missionary-like for Jason the pizza guy to arrive. After we opened the door and he asked for a pen so Sister E could sign the receipt, I took an extra long time finding a pen while she taught a short lesson and gave him the Book of Mormon. He said he was agnostic, open minded, and took the books. He probably went to work and talked about what happened. Something will come of it, someday. We figure if it's successful, we can get a lot more money in our allotments so we can do it every day! (that was a joke.)
During fast and testimony meeting on Sunday, a woman our age said she wasn't sure that she wanted to be in our ward and didn't understand why her family had to be moved there, but then she met Sister Erickson and me and knew she had a purpose here. It was so sweet. They're a Spanish-speaking family from El Salvador. The Spanish ward was just disbanded so all the families had to relocate to English wards. Last week in someone's closing prayer, the brother expressed thanks for the fine sister missionaries in the ward and for the sweet spirit they bring. He was talking about us! It was pretty special to hear those words of appreciation.
The Romero family is doing fine. They're reading the Book of Mormon. John came to church alone on Sunday. We're going to teach them tonight. When we taught them last week, John said that he felt starting to pray is a huge change for him. They're still progressing slowly. The key will be helping Maria feel the embrace of other sisters in the Relief Society. When we've got Maria convinced, we've got the whole family.
The Area Presidency here is doing an initiative for the Easter season. They're doing a kind of media blitz (everyone's seen the ads), but at the grassroots level we're giving out Finding Faith in Christ pass-along cards to members to give to their friends. It's a unique phone number, so when someone calls to order the DVD, the Church will know that they got the card from a member friend. We exchange a card for a name that they give us so we can help them by following up to see if they've given it out.
And now my most exciting news: Elder David A. Bednar, who was called as an apostle just a few years ago, is visiting our mission next week! President Lindley promised us that if we prepare ourselves well, it will be a life-changing experience. This visit is a surprise and I'm thankful I'll get to meet an apostle while on my mission. I was thinking it wasn't going to happen! We've been reading all of his General Conference talks and thinking about his calling as an apostle of the Lord. The preparation President Lindley spoke of is having effective morning study and having a more focused missionary effort throughout the day. I really want to be ready. I can already feel how important it's going to be.
A few of our investigators have dropped us this week. We found Geoff yesterday tracting. He's around 20 years old and we were excited at getting a couple of new investigators. By the time we got home, though, we had a message from his mother saying that there's no reason for us to come back and she doesn't want us in her house. Hmm. Brett wants to call us in a few weeks and Betty said her husband doesn't like us coming over. I want the next six weeks to be verrrrrry busy, so we'll keep up the search.
Monday I went to work with Sister Zhang in the Dandenong area for a day. Sister Zhang is a convert of just over a year with an amazing story. She's from China, Szechuan province. She's 27 or something. A former missionary visited China with his family and, trying to keep the law that doesn't allow proselying, said something as simple as "the gospel blesses families" and she was hooked. She flew to Hong Kong, learned all the lessons, and was baptised--all in one day. Her mother then was baptised. Her father died probably 10 years ago. She arrived in Australia a few months ago not really speaking English and now she is very understandable, though she doesn't always catch what people are saying and is far from picking up nuances. We had a great day together. In the morning, we did their usual service, helping at a farm where they teach disabled kids to ride horses. I had to hold a kid's foot in place the whole time while he walked his horse around the arena. It was really rewarding actually.
Hmm... if I had to say what it is I've been thinking about, it would be how amazingly difficult this work is, speaking from a global perspective. Helping people of every nation, kindred, and tongue come to a unity of the faith is a perplexing endeavor. Somehow, as it says in the Book of Mormon, the "Lord... is able to do [his] own work." The work is done through the weak things of the world. That's me. The work must be real, because I've felt both deep love and deep sorrow for people I've only just met, and people I only barely know.
So it's time to go. If you who read this intend to send a letter during the rest of my mission, you have about a month to send it with guaranteed arrival...
Dear family...and friends... I love you, and sorry I can't write back personally to everyone who sends a message, but I do hugely appreciate hearing from you and think of you often.
Yours,
Sister Nilsen
Sister Erickson and I found a new finding approach: reverse tracting! Ha, we've gotten a kick out of telling people about this. We ordered a pizza for lunch. Sister Erickson got a Book of Mormon and a pamphlet ready and made sure she looked especially missionary-like for Jason the pizza guy to arrive. After we opened the door and he asked for a pen so Sister E could sign the receipt, I took an extra long time finding a pen while she taught a short lesson and gave him the Book of Mormon. He said he was agnostic, open minded, and took the books. He probably went to work and talked about what happened. Something will come of it, someday. We figure if it's successful, we can get a lot more money in our allotments so we can do it every day! (that was a joke.)
During fast and testimony meeting on Sunday, a woman our age said she wasn't sure that she wanted to be in our ward and didn't understand why her family had to be moved there, but then she met Sister Erickson and me and knew she had a purpose here. It was so sweet. They're a Spanish-speaking family from El Salvador. The Spanish ward was just disbanded so all the families had to relocate to English wards. Last week in someone's closing prayer, the brother expressed thanks for the fine sister missionaries in the ward and for the sweet spirit they bring. He was talking about us! It was pretty special to hear those words of appreciation.
The Romero family is doing fine. They're reading the Book of Mormon. John came to church alone on Sunday. We're going to teach them tonight. When we taught them last week, John said that he felt starting to pray is a huge change for him. They're still progressing slowly. The key will be helping Maria feel the embrace of other sisters in the Relief Society. When we've got Maria convinced, we've got the whole family.
The Area Presidency here is doing an initiative for the Easter season. They're doing a kind of media blitz (everyone's seen the ads), but at the grassroots level we're giving out Finding Faith in Christ pass-along cards to members to give to their friends. It's a unique phone number, so when someone calls to order the DVD, the Church will know that they got the card from a member friend. We exchange a card for a name that they give us so we can help them by following up to see if they've given it out.
And now my most exciting news: Elder David A. Bednar, who was called as an apostle just a few years ago, is visiting our mission next week! President Lindley promised us that if we prepare ourselves well, it will be a life-changing experience. This visit is a surprise and I'm thankful I'll get to meet an apostle while on my mission. I was thinking it wasn't going to happen! We've been reading all of his General Conference talks and thinking about his calling as an apostle of the Lord. The preparation President Lindley spoke of is having effective morning study and having a more focused missionary effort throughout the day. I really want to be ready. I can already feel how important it's going to be.
A few of our investigators have dropped us this week. We found Geoff yesterday tracting. He's around 20 years old and we were excited at getting a couple of new investigators. By the time we got home, though, we had a message from his mother saying that there's no reason for us to come back and she doesn't want us in her house. Hmm. Brett wants to call us in a few weeks and Betty said her husband doesn't like us coming over. I want the next six weeks to be verrrrrry busy, so we'll keep up the search.
Monday I went to work with Sister Zhang in the Dandenong area for a day. Sister Zhang is a convert of just over a year with an amazing story. She's from China, Szechuan province. She's 27 or something. A former missionary visited China with his family and, trying to keep the law that doesn't allow proselying, said something as simple as "the gospel blesses families" and she was hooked. She flew to Hong Kong, learned all the lessons, and was baptised--all in one day. Her mother then was baptised. Her father died probably 10 years ago. She arrived in Australia a few months ago not really speaking English and now she is very understandable, though she doesn't always catch what people are saying and is far from picking up nuances. We had a great day together. In the morning, we did their usual service, helping at a farm where they teach disabled kids to ride horses. I had to hold a kid's foot in place the whole time while he walked his horse around the arena. It was really rewarding actually.
Hmm... if I had to say what it is I've been thinking about, it would be how amazingly difficult this work is, speaking from a global perspective. Helping people of every nation, kindred, and tongue come to a unity of the faith is a perplexing endeavor. Somehow, as it says in the Book of Mormon, the "Lord... is able to do [his] own work." The work is done through the weak things of the world. That's me. The work must be real, because I've felt both deep love and deep sorrow for people I've only just met, and people I only barely know.
So it's time to go. If you who read this intend to send a letter during the rest of my mission, you have about a month to send it with guaranteed arrival...
Dear family...and friends... I love you, and sorry I can't write back personally to everyone who sends a message, but I do hugely appreciate hearing from you and think of you often.
Yours,
Sister Nilsen
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
my mission in Pangea
Sister Erickson and I have been teaching a lot lately. It's so fun. I'm having the time of my life.
Greetings from "Victoria's largest and most vibrant municipality."
I've decided lately to come to a renewed sense of commitment and in return I think I've received a gift of eagerness. Along with a lot of gifts of many people to teach. I'll explain a few.
But first, two funny stories.
At dinner, a family asked me if we have any pets, and I began to tell the many sad tales of tragic animal deaths in the family. They were nearly on the floor laughing about, for example, how Alise decided to give Crystal's Christmas hamster a bath in a cup of Sprite on the day she got it. It didn't survive.
Next, (allow me a moment or two of immaturity) we had an appointment with a lady who has missed her last few appointments. We could hear someone home and impatiently waited for them to come to the door. I said playfully "let us in by the hair of your chinny-chin-chin" and Sister Erickson replied "I don't want to be the big bad wolf!" That must have led me to huff and puff and get ready to blow their house down. At the moment I'd taken in this huge breath, the guy answered the door and I was left to awkwardly exhale while Sister Erickson, surprised, tried to make conversation. It was near the end of a very long, strange day when none of our appointments actuated in a lesson, so we needed a good laugh.
Brett is a guy we met outside near a less-active member's house. We went and told him about the Book of Mormon and he was so excited to read it. He said he would read it in a week. We shouldn't have expressed our doubts, but we told him it might take him a little longer than that--two weeks. He has read some of it and he wants to attend church. It's just so fun when we find people who are willing to just try it out and see for themselves. I really think that anyone who reads the entire Book of Mormon, having an honest heart, will be certain of its truth by the time they reach the promise at the end.
The Romero family, the friends of the Gallardos, came to church again, but this time without their children. We taught them last week and invited them to prepare for baptism. They said they'd discuss it as a family. They must have liked the idea, because they're still into learning. They're coming to the stake swimming competition in Frankston on Saturday, which means we get to go and cheer for (or, in Aussie, barrack for) our ward team!
We went to visit a teenage girl with less-active parents, Nakita, on Monday. She had two friends over--one named Sesame, pronounced seSAHme, Jamaican/South African, and one named Pritika, Indian. After a little while of just chatting, they started asking questions about how our church is different from, say, the seventh-day adventists. We taught them the first lesson about the Restoration of the gospel right there. The girls were so enthusiastic and curious about learning, and both of them took a copy of the Book of Mormon that Nakita gave them. This encounter led me to recognize that so many more friends of members than we realize are curious and willing to learn.
On Sunday, at the request of the sister teaching Relief Society, we did a presentation on Preach My Gospel. One of the young single adult girls, Charlene, was listening intently, which confused me because I thought she wouldn't have cared too much. After, she told us the person she's currently staying with (she's in between homes) is interested in the Church. His name's Harley. We went to teach him last night. He has so little knowledge about Christianity, but he's in the process of changing his life. His ex-girlfriend (I think) just had their baby daughter a few days ago and he wants to be better and be able to be there for her.
The other day we visited a potential investigator, an old Croatian Catholic, who was drinking wine out of a huge liquid measuring cup. He offered us some and said "you won't go to heaven if you don't have any of this wine." So funny.
During study on Sunday morning, I was thinking about that echidna I saw last week. It was confidently crossing the road, but when I approached, it changed directions and hid its head in a pile of leaves, curled up pretending to be dead. If another echidna approached it, it probably wouldn't have done that. I learned from this local Australian species that the other local Australians--the humans--have a similar tendency. They curl up and defend themselves from invasion when the missionaries walk up. For some special people, we can do what we do on our own, but for most Aussies, they don't like confrontation. I desperately wanted the members here to realize that they are our most powerful source for finding people to teach. They are already in the hearts of their friends. I made a mental list of things I wish members knew about missionary work (including myself in this category; I'll be a civilian soon enough), which led to an unfolding of ideas. We're making a member missionary packet called "becoming a Preach My Gospel member." President Lindley keeps talking about all the things that need to happen if we're to see the work really progress here: we need Preach My Gospel missionaries; we need Preach My Gospel church leaders; we need Preach My Gospel members. So we're going to help the ward members here become Preach My Gospel members. I wrote a personalised letter to them, and we collected some relevant articles, and made a "what do I do now?" list. It sounds simple, but I think it will be powerful to anyone willing to apply what apostles have said and what missionaries have learned by experience.
And in the spirit of a side note, I love our German bishop and his family.
That's all for now! Love you! Thanks for reading!
Savanna
Greetings from "Victoria's largest and most vibrant municipality."
I've decided lately to come to a renewed sense of commitment and in return I think I've received a gift of eagerness. Along with a lot of gifts of many people to teach. I'll explain a few.
But first, two funny stories.
At dinner, a family asked me if we have any pets, and I began to tell the many sad tales of tragic animal deaths in the family. They were nearly on the floor laughing about, for example, how Alise decided to give Crystal's Christmas hamster a bath in a cup of Sprite on the day she got it. It didn't survive.
Next, (allow me a moment or two of immaturity) we had an appointment with a lady who has missed her last few appointments. We could hear someone home and impatiently waited for them to come to the door. I said playfully "let us in by the hair of your chinny-chin-chin" and Sister Erickson replied "I don't want to be the big bad wolf!" That must have led me to huff and puff and get ready to blow their house down. At the moment I'd taken in this huge breath, the guy answered the door and I was left to awkwardly exhale while Sister Erickson, surprised, tried to make conversation. It was near the end of a very long, strange day when none of our appointments actuated in a lesson, so we needed a good laugh.
Brett is a guy we met outside near a less-active member's house. We went and told him about the Book of Mormon and he was so excited to read it. He said he would read it in a week. We shouldn't have expressed our doubts, but we told him it might take him a little longer than that--two weeks. He has read some of it and he wants to attend church. It's just so fun when we find people who are willing to just try it out and see for themselves. I really think that anyone who reads the entire Book of Mormon, having an honest heart, will be certain of its truth by the time they reach the promise at the end.
The Romero family, the friends of the Gallardos, came to church again, but this time without their children. We taught them last week and invited them to prepare for baptism. They said they'd discuss it as a family. They must have liked the idea, because they're still into learning. They're coming to the stake swimming competition in Frankston on Saturday, which means we get to go and cheer for (or, in Aussie, barrack for) our ward team!
We went to visit a teenage girl with less-active parents, Nakita, on Monday. She had two friends over--one named Sesame, pronounced seSAHme, Jamaican/South African, and one named Pritika, Indian. After a little while of just chatting, they started asking questions about how our church is different from, say, the seventh-day adventists. We taught them the first lesson about the Restoration of the gospel right there. The girls were so enthusiastic and curious about learning, and both of them took a copy of the Book of Mormon that Nakita gave them. This encounter led me to recognize that so many more friends of members than we realize are curious and willing to learn.
On Sunday, at the request of the sister teaching Relief Society, we did a presentation on Preach My Gospel. One of the young single adult girls, Charlene, was listening intently, which confused me because I thought she wouldn't have cared too much. After, she told us the person she's currently staying with (she's in between homes) is interested in the Church. His name's Harley. We went to teach him last night. He has so little knowledge about Christianity, but he's in the process of changing his life. His ex-girlfriend (I think) just had their baby daughter a few days ago and he wants to be better and be able to be there for her.
The other day we visited a potential investigator, an old Croatian Catholic, who was drinking wine out of a huge liquid measuring cup. He offered us some and said "you won't go to heaven if you don't have any of this wine." So funny.
During study on Sunday morning, I was thinking about that echidna I saw last week. It was confidently crossing the road, but when I approached, it changed directions and hid its head in a pile of leaves, curled up pretending to be dead. If another echidna approached it, it probably wouldn't have done that. I learned from this local Australian species that the other local Australians--the humans--have a similar tendency. They curl up and defend themselves from invasion when the missionaries walk up. For some special people, we can do what we do on our own, but for most Aussies, they don't like confrontation. I desperately wanted the members here to realize that they are our most powerful source for finding people to teach. They are already in the hearts of their friends. I made a mental list of things I wish members knew about missionary work (including myself in this category; I'll be a civilian soon enough), which led to an unfolding of ideas. We're making a member missionary packet called "becoming a Preach My Gospel member." President Lindley keeps talking about all the things that need to happen if we're to see the work really progress here: we need Preach My Gospel missionaries; we need Preach My Gospel church leaders; we need Preach My Gospel members. So we're going to help the ward members here become Preach My Gospel members. I wrote a personalised letter to them, and we collected some relevant articles, and made a "what do I do now?" list. It sounds simple, but I think it will be powerful to anyone willing to apply what apostles have said and what missionaries have learned by experience.
And in the spirit of a side note, I love our German bishop and his family.
That's all for now! Love you! Thanks for reading!
Savanna
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
i am so happy.
This week has been so beautiful, one of the best of my mission. Oh and thank you for the package. I got it today. Sister Erickson is turning mental wheels trying to find a way to get to the Olympics in Beijing. We'll see how that goes.
Remember Ebony, the 7-year-old little friend of Kaila? We finally got to meeting Natalie, her mother. Natalie asked us what we teach and we got to introduce her to the message of the Restoration. She was a little suspicious at first but we showed her how it's what was taught from the beginning of time, but that it's been fragmented and lost, but restored now, and now Ebony tells us that her mom likes it and wants to come to church. Ebony said the sweet sweet sweestest prayer, thanking God that her mom could learn about Jesus Christ and asking that she could learn more and come to church and have fun and see that church is a fun place to learn.
Also, Brother Gallardo in our ward brought a new family to church--this was the second Sunday in a row. The father of this family, John, grew up with Brother Gallardo (Luis). They're both Chilean. John had the discussions about six years ago kind of as a favor to Luis but wasn't interested really. This time John called Luis and asked him if he could come and they've been talking a lot. Luis told John he's going to have to turn the matter over to us. Sister Erickson and I taught the Sunday School lesson on Sunday (the lesson was the Fall of Adam--kind of an intense topic if it gets out of hand, but it didn't, and we centered it on how through Christ's Atonement we can be redeemed from the effects of the Fall). When we asked if anyone has any questions, John said, "I don't have any questions. I just want to know more." I told him he's in luck because he was talking to the Church's professional teachers of nonmembers :) John has a wife, Maria, and four children. It's just perfect. This is the way it's supposed to happen. We're SO excited to teach them tomorrow evening. We think about them all the time.
Early this week we also taught Betty. She's 74. When she opened the door to our knock, she looked at Sister Erickson and announced that they already knew each other. (They didn't.) I've been learning (as we all are throughout our lives) how to recognize direction from the Spirit. One of the ways it works with me is I see myself doing something. I hadn't done it for a while, but I recited "I saw a pillar of light..." and I felt it, and I'm pretty sure she did. That was the first time we met her. This week we came in and taught her the plan of salvation. We got only as far as the pre-earth life and that we all lived with God before we came here and she said whenever she talks about these things she feels an energy going through her. It was such an awesome lesson. And true to the commitments we made to President Lindley at zone conference (I'll explain in a minute), we used the word "baptism" and rather than saying she didn't want to, or she already has, or another common thing that disappoints us, she said she's not ready. That's fine, we can help her get ready. Betty is so wonderful; she's 74 years old but doesn't share the common assumption many of her age have that she's too old to change, too old to learn. She recognizes that her life isn't over yet and has recently decided to take back the control of her life that she has often allowed others to have. I love that, we'll help her regain freedom.
Oh. We had another couple of super hot, super humid days. I'm in the mode of rediscovering the joys of summer.
One of the elders gave us a CD that has only one song on it that we think is acceptable for missionaries to listen to. It's called "Healing Waters." We put it in on Saturday and I put it on repeat because we didn't want to listen to the others. I wondered, just for fun, whether we could stand listening to it all day long. We did, and we listened to the same song through Sunday and Monday until district meeting Tuesday morning. It helped me get really excited about baptisms.
We saw an echidna while driving the other day. We pulled over and took photos of it. They're so cute and poky. Ha... but it curls up as soon as you approach it. I can't see that being much of a defense, except that it looks really spiny.
Zone conference happened on Wednesday last week, which is why I was on the email a day early. We made the following commitments to President Lindley and to Elder Catton, one of the assistants to the president.
1. Use in our teaching the DVDs that President Sybrowsky gave us. It has four talks from the October 2007 conference--Elder Ballard's "Facts, faith, family, fruits" about members' responsibility to define ourselves and to prevent misunderstandings; Elder Nelson's "Scriptural witnesses" about the purpose of the Book of Mormon"; Elder Holland's MASTERPIECE about the Godhead "The only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou has sent"; President Hinckley's last General Conference address "The stone cut out of the mountain" http://lds.org/conference/sessions/display/0,5239,23-1-775,00.html
2. Assign investigators 15 chapters from the Book of Mormon to read in one week in a power reading challenge, after which they need to pray to know that the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ
3. Read the Book of Mormon daily
4. Use at least the word "baptism" in every lesson [We've been doing this, and it actually makes the work a lot more fun, engaging, and effective]
5. If we're not good at anything else, become really good at inviting people to be baptised. Practice by role plays and study about the blessings of baptism during companion study
6. Plan lessons for every dinner appointment we have with members, and come with an objective, something to accomplish
Also at zone conference President Lindley played "If I were a rich man" from Fiddler on the Roof just for this one line about if he were rich, Tevyeh could sit in the synagogue and read scriptures for seven hours a day. He gave us this quote from Elder Holland about becoming God's investigator. It's really helped my study.
I have officially memorized both The Living Christ and The Family: A Proclamation to the World. I got a sticker for it from my companion. :)
Today for p-day we went to the temple. Sister Lindley organized for all of us to go to her Chinese investigator's milk bar (convenience store) and show the DVD with President Hinckley. Sister Zhang, from mainland China, shared her testimony and conversion story. The investigator, George, told her he knows it's true. He has a baptism goal date for next Friday. After that we all went to the mission home and made lunch and played games. I'm really impressed by several of the elders. I wonder how I can have children like them someday......... agh!!!!!!!!!!
Speaking of someday, I need to find a job and a future. Any ideas?
Thanks for your readership, O little audience!
:)
Love you heaps ;)
Sister Savanna
Remember Ebony, the 7-year-old little friend of Kaila? We finally got to meeting Natalie, her mother. Natalie asked us what we teach and we got to introduce her to the message of the Restoration. She was a little suspicious at first but we showed her how it's what was taught from the beginning of time, but that it's been fragmented and lost, but restored now, and now Ebony tells us that her mom likes it and wants to come to church. Ebony said the sweet sweet sweestest prayer, thanking God that her mom could learn about Jesus Christ and asking that she could learn more and come to church and have fun and see that church is a fun place to learn.
Also, Brother Gallardo in our ward brought a new family to church--this was the second Sunday in a row. The father of this family, John, grew up with Brother Gallardo (Luis). They're both Chilean. John had the discussions about six years ago kind of as a favor to Luis but wasn't interested really. This time John called Luis and asked him if he could come and they've been talking a lot. Luis told John he's going to have to turn the matter over to us. Sister Erickson and I taught the Sunday School lesson on Sunday (the lesson was the Fall of Adam--kind of an intense topic if it gets out of hand, but it didn't, and we centered it on how through Christ's Atonement we can be redeemed from the effects of the Fall). When we asked if anyone has any questions, John said, "I don't have any questions. I just want to know more." I told him he's in luck because he was talking to the Church's professional teachers of nonmembers :) John has a wife, Maria, and four children. It's just perfect. This is the way it's supposed to happen. We're SO excited to teach them tomorrow evening. We think about them all the time.
Early this week we also taught Betty. She's 74. When she opened the door to our knock, she looked at Sister Erickson and announced that they already knew each other. (They didn't.) I've been learning (as we all are throughout our lives) how to recognize direction from the Spirit. One of the ways it works with me is I see myself doing something. I hadn't done it for a while, but I recited "I saw a pillar of light..." and I felt it, and I'm pretty sure she did. That was the first time we met her. This week we came in and taught her the plan of salvation. We got only as far as the pre-earth life and that we all lived with God before we came here and she said whenever she talks about these things she feels an energy going through her. It was such an awesome lesson. And true to the commitments we made to President Lindley at zone conference (I'll explain in a minute), we used the word "baptism" and rather than saying she didn't want to, or she already has, or another common thing that disappoints us, she said she's not ready. That's fine, we can help her get ready. Betty is so wonderful; she's 74 years old but doesn't share the common assumption many of her age have that she's too old to change, too old to learn. She recognizes that her life isn't over yet and has recently decided to take back the control of her life that she has often allowed others to have. I love that, we'll help her regain freedom.
Oh. We had another couple of super hot, super humid days. I'm in the mode of rediscovering the joys of summer.
One of the elders gave us a CD that has only one song on it that we think is acceptable for missionaries to listen to. It's called "Healing Waters." We put it in on Saturday and I put it on repeat because we didn't want to listen to the others. I wondered, just for fun, whether we could stand listening to it all day long. We did, and we listened to the same song through Sunday and Monday until district meeting Tuesday morning. It helped me get really excited about baptisms.
We saw an echidna while driving the other day. We pulled over and took photos of it. They're so cute and poky. Ha... but it curls up as soon as you approach it. I can't see that being much of a defense, except that it looks really spiny.
Zone conference happened on Wednesday last week, which is why I was on the email a day early. We made the following commitments to President Lindley and to Elder Catton, one of the assistants to the president.
1. Use in our teaching the DVDs that President Sybrowsky gave us. It has four talks from the October 2007 conference--Elder Ballard's "Facts, faith, family, fruits" about members' responsibility to define ourselves and to prevent misunderstandings; Elder Nelson's "Scriptural witnesses" about the purpose of the Book of Mormon"; Elder Holland's MASTERPIECE about the Godhead "The only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou has sent"; President Hinckley's last General Conference address "The stone cut out of the mountain" http://lds.org/conference/
2. Assign investigators 15 chapters from the Book of Mormon to read in one week in a power reading challenge, after which they need to pray to know that the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ
3. Read the Book of Mormon daily
4. Use at least the word "baptism" in every lesson [We've been doing this, and it actually makes the work a lot more fun, engaging, and effective]
5. If we're not good at anything else, become really good at inviting people to be baptised. Practice by role plays and study about the blessings of baptism during companion study
6. Plan lessons for every dinner appointment we have with members, and come with an objective, something to accomplish
Also at zone conference President Lindley played "If I were a rich man" from Fiddler on the Roof just for this one line about if he were rich, Tevyeh could sit in the synagogue and read scriptures for seven hours a day. He gave us this quote from Elder Holland about becoming God's investigator. It's really helped my study.
I have officially memorized both The Living Christ and The Family: A Proclamation to the World. I got a sticker for it from my companion. :)
Today for p-day we went to the temple. Sister Lindley organized for all of us to go to her Chinese investigator's milk bar (convenience store) and show the DVD with President Hinckley. Sister Zhang, from mainland China, shared her testimony and conversion story. The investigator, George, told her he knows it's true. He has a baptism goal date for next Friday. After that we all went to the mission home and made lunch and played games. I'm really impressed by several of the elders. I wonder how I can have children like them someday......... agh!!!!!!!!!!
Speaking of someday, I need to find a job and a future. Any ideas?
Thanks for your readership, O little audience!
:)
Love you heaps ;)
Sister Savanna
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
news from the ends of the earth
G'day. I'll just jump into it. The past week has seen a verrrry cool change, including occasional rain. I think of it as a divine gift just for me to help me survive and do my work.
On Sunday we went to some members' house for the family-and-friends potluck dinner following their baby's blessing. It was fast Sunday, and I didn't think it was going to be too hard this time, but it didn't go too well. My brain decided to slow down while tracting that morning and it was all I could do to try and think about something other than bed all through church in the afternoon. At the dinner I just felt sicker and sicker and all these moms started fussing over me, and after eating I felt even worse. The mother of the new baby reacts similarly to low blood sugar and described it as feeling like she's about to go into a coma. :) Anyway, I'm telling this story because just before we left to go to a teaching appointment I got a blessing from a patriarch and a member of the temple presidency--a Polynesian named White and a white Aussie named Brown. Brother White made the joke that President Brown got his name. Heh. I feel silly for expecting something different to happen when I don't eat other than what happens every time.
That evening at home I couldn't do anything--I just lied down on the floor and listened to a BYU devotional on CD. It was Mark Peterson's talk. I realized that there's almost nothing more comforting when you're feeling miserable than hearing the voice of someone you love. So thanks Mark, and I'm doing reasonably well at blossoming where I'm planted. :)
Sister Erickson talked yesterday while searching for new investigators about how thankful we are to be in this ward. I've never felt more comfortable in any other ward on my mission. Everyone is so accepting, warm, supportive. They treat us like we're members that are permanently part of their ward. I can't consistently say that about everywhere I've been. It's such a nice place to finish a mission.
We saw Ebony and Kaila yesterday. Kaila has turned into a little Primary teacher. She reads the children's Book of Mormon stories to her friend, and has taught her the plan of salvation, and they say prayers together. I tried to explain to them how Asael Smith (who was on the first page of the Relief Society/Priesthood lesson this week) is Joseph Smith's grandfather, and he's also my great-great-great-great grandfather, so I'm related to the prophet, but Kaila just wouldn't have it. Ebony kept saying "Kaila, they don't tell lies." I thought that was so sweet, because we try not to! Kids these days, they're too young to be sceptics, but they are.
Also yesterday we went to drop off our jackets to be dry cleaned in preparation for our meeting this week, and Veronica, the shop owner, initiated a conversation with us about how she's lost trust in God, but not in Christ, and how she wants her faith back. We asked if we could teach her but she thinks we're already going to her house because an older couple comes around and brings her books like the Watchtower. Nooooooooooo!!!!!!!!! That's the third time this week we've met someone who thinks WE are already teaching them, and we're not! We're going to pick up our clothes today so we will come prepared with something for her to read--one of my favourite articles by Elder Holland about how in everything that Christ did, he was trying to teach us about the character of God. It's called "The Grandeur of God" from the November 2003 Ensign. In fact, here's the link. http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=93d174536cf0c010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1
That was a long link. I LOVE when people start talking to US, especially in businesses.
More spiders: on Thursday evening there was a huntsman spider the size of a cereal bowl, and maybe bigger, in the gym at church.
I'm getting nervous about coming home someday. This time I say that because we went to an indoor sand volleyball court last p-day with the elders in our district. The radio is on and I found myself silently hoping/praying that they would just play some fun, innocent songs because there was a sequence of several obscene songs that came on. But it's normal music, meaning songs you'd hear any day. Some did come on eventually. Sometimes missionaries find rules hard--like not listening to just any music--but I think it's nice to live as purely as possible for a little while. I think I'll always be sensitive to it though.
All of the missionaries went to the worldwide leadership training session this past Saturday. It was strange to see
Thomas S. Monson
President
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
written on the screen while President Monson spoke. I miss President Hinckley. But it was powerful to see that he really is the new prophet.
We met a lady sometime this week, the elegant and beautiful Sara, while tracting. We asked her if we could teach her and her reply was perplexing: No thanks--my husband and I are searching for a religion. The logical thing to say would have been "yes, please! my husband and I are searching for a religion."
Yesterday a member in our ward, the stake Relief Society president, took Sister Erickson and me out to lunch at a very expensive little cafe. I felt a little uncomfortable, but the food wasn't boring, so it was nice.
I want to write about Jeff and Rostel Ward a little. Jeff is this amazing cook who can eat anything at a restaurant and then recreate it at home. We had this Thai-inspired dish at their house Friday and it was the most delicious thing I'd ever had. He's SO excited about the gospel, and he's so excited that he knows our investigator Garren. His wife is a Filipina who joined the church after their marriage. I've been wondering through my whole mission how to get ahold of these several speeches that I remember as the highlights of my BYU devotional education, and we got to his house and he was talking about how all he ever listens to are BYU devotionals, and he was quite happy to find those talks and make a few CDs for me. It's really unfortunate how much I haved missed BYU over the past year and a half, and how I miss it still, and I'm disappointed that I've already graduated.
Oh, the sisters in Dandenong are teaching a lady who moved from Iran with the intention of seeking asylum and becoming a Christian. She has to keep her conversion a secret from the people she lives around. We are not supposed to work closely with anyone whose life would be endangered by becoming Christian, but she is working on it with a lawyer and seeking asylum and a visa. Sounds familiar? Maybe we could connect her with someone who has had a similar experience?
This is nearly over. Sister Erickson and I have been battling lately to get new investigators--it's been a few weeks now with not that much success. I feel like we've been working harder lately. I don't want to lose it at the end. It's hard but it's not that bad, and this is the happiest lifestyle I think a young person could lead at this time in life. That is a strange statement, and seems contradictory, but it's not because happiness doesn't directly correlate with situations--it comes from being aligned with what's right. Anyone can have access to that! Amazing!
Okay, the end. Please write!
Sister Nilsen
PS I had a dream last night that I approached the mailbox and I had several packages waiting for me. :)
On Sunday we went to some members' house for the family-and-friends potluck dinner following their baby's blessing. It was fast Sunday, and I didn't think it was going to be too hard this time, but it didn't go too well. My brain decided to slow down while tracting that morning and it was all I could do to try and think about something other than bed all through church in the afternoon. At the dinner I just felt sicker and sicker and all these moms started fussing over me, and after eating I felt even worse. The mother of the new baby reacts similarly to low blood sugar and described it as feeling like she's about to go into a coma. :) Anyway, I'm telling this story because just before we left to go to a teaching appointment I got a blessing from a patriarch and a member of the temple presidency--a Polynesian named White and a white Aussie named Brown. Brother White made the joke that President Brown got his name. Heh. I feel silly for expecting something different to happen when I don't eat other than what happens every time.
That evening at home I couldn't do anything--I just lied down on the floor and listened to a BYU devotional on CD. It was Mark Peterson's talk. I realized that there's almost nothing more comforting when you're feeling miserable than hearing the voice of someone you love. So thanks Mark, and I'm doing reasonably well at blossoming where I'm planted. :)
Sister Erickson talked yesterday while searching for new investigators about how thankful we are to be in this ward. I've never felt more comfortable in any other ward on my mission. Everyone is so accepting, warm, supportive. They treat us like we're members that are permanently part of their ward. I can't consistently say that about everywhere I've been. It's such a nice place to finish a mission.
We saw Ebony and Kaila yesterday. Kaila has turned into a little Primary teacher. She reads the children's Book of Mormon stories to her friend, and has taught her the plan of salvation, and they say prayers together. I tried to explain to them how Asael Smith (who was on the first page of the Relief Society/Priesthood lesson this week) is Joseph Smith's grandfather, and he's also my great-great-great-great grandfather, so I'm related to the prophet, but Kaila just wouldn't have it. Ebony kept saying "Kaila, they don't tell lies." I thought that was so sweet, because we try not to! Kids these days, they're too young to be sceptics, but they are.
Also yesterday we went to drop off our jackets to be dry cleaned in preparation for our meeting this week, and Veronica, the shop owner, initiated a conversation with us about how she's lost trust in God, but not in Christ, and how she wants her faith back. We asked if we could teach her but she thinks we're already going to her house because an older couple comes around and brings her books like the Watchtower. Nooooooooooo!!!!!!!!! That's the third time this week we've met someone who thinks WE are already teaching them, and we're not! We're going to pick up our clothes today so we will come prepared with something for her to read--one of my favourite articles by Elder Holland about how in everything that Christ did, he was trying to teach us about the character of God. It's called "The Grandeur of God" from the November 2003 Ensign. In fact, here's the link. http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/
That was a long link. I LOVE when people start talking to US, especially in businesses.
More spiders: on Thursday evening there was a huntsman spider the size of a cereal bowl, and maybe bigger, in the gym at church.
I'm getting nervous about coming home someday. This time I say that because we went to an indoor sand volleyball court last p-day with the elders in our district. The radio is on and I found myself silently hoping/praying that they would just play some fun, innocent songs because there was a sequence of several obscene songs that came on. But it's normal music, meaning songs you'd hear any day. Some did come on eventually. Sometimes missionaries find rules hard--like not listening to just any music--but I think it's nice to live as purely as possible for a little while. I think I'll always be sensitive to it though.
All of the missionaries went to the worldwide leadership training session this past Saturday. It was strange to see
Thomas S. Monson
President
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
written on the screen while President Monson spoke. I miss President Hinckley. But it was powerful to see that he really is the new prophet.
We met a lady sometime this week, the elegant and beautiful Sara, while tracting. We asked her if we could teach her and her reply was perplexing: No thanks--my husband and I are searching for a religion. The logical thing to say would have been "yes, please! my husband and I are searching for a religion."
Yesterday a member in our ward, the stake Relief Society president, took Sister Erickson and me out to lunch at a very expensive little cafe. I felt a little uncomfortable, but the food wasn't boring, so it was nice.
I want to write about Jeff and Rostel Ward a little. Jeff is this amazing cook who can eat anything at a restaurant and then recreate it at home. We had this Thai-inspired dish at their house Friday and it was the most delicious thing I'd ever had. He's SO excited about the gospel, and he's so excited that he knows our investigator Garren. His wife is a Filipina who joined the church after their marriage. I've been wondering through my whole mission how to get ahold of these several speeches that I remember as the highlights of my BYU devotional education, and we got to his house and he was talking about how all he ever listens to are BYU devotionals, and he was quite happy to find those talks and make a few CDs for me. It's really unfortunate how much I haved missed BYU over the past year and a half, and how I miss it still, and I'm disappointed that I've already graduated.
Oh, the sisters in Dandenong are teaching a lady who moved from Iran with the intention of seeking asylum and becoming a Christian. She has to keep her conversion a secret from the people she lives around. We are not supposed to work closely with anyone whose life would be endangered by becoming Christian, but she is working on it with a lawyer and seeking asylum and a visa. Sounds familiar? Maybe we could connect her with someone who has had a similar experience?
This is nearly over. Sister Erickson and I have been battling lately to get new investigators--it's been a few weeks now with not that much success. I feel like we've been working harder lately. I don't want to lose it at the end. It's hard but it's not that bad, and this is the happiest lifestyle I think a young person could lead at this time in life. That is a strange statement, and seems contradictory, but it's not because happiness doesn't directly correlate with situations--it comes from being aligned with what's right. Anyone can have access to that! Amazing!
Okay, the end. Please write!
Sister Nilsen
PS I had a dream last night that I approached the mailbox and I had several packages waiting for me. :)
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
i want it to rain all day for a week. it's been so hot.
#1 favourite moment: a while ago Sister E suggested Jeff Ward, a member here, as fellowship for when Garren came to church. Garren hasn't come yet, but we talked to him last week and he was talking about a project he's working on. We recognized it as a project that Jeff Ward is working on. Turns out they're collaborating in a self-help builders' group to build their new houses--they're building the same plan in the same neighborhood. They already know each other and will for years to come. Another miracle! We told Jeff last night and he's so excited. It was a divine assurance to me that though little may happen with Garren while I'm here, still he'll be under the radar of Church members and he will make progress.
Another favourite moment this week was when we met a family from Mauritius while walking to an appointment. The grandchildren spoke English just fine, but the grandmother didn't at all, so I commenced a short conversation with her in French. It was nearly all the French I could produce at that moment, but Sister Erickson didn't know I even knew any, and in the middle of the conversation I looked at my companion to see her astonished. It was so fun.
Sunday morning we had an interim zone meeting at 7:45 am before stake conference. I thought we were going to be scolded, but it was actually a fun meeting. We were discussing how best to work with members. President Lindley brought up the talk from the last General Conference called "Facts, Faith, Family, Fruits" (or something) and I mentioned that I'd been wanting to use that talk to help families prepare that card with quick facts on it so they can share when asked just "a little" about the Church. President Lindley asked if members would be more likely to listen if Elder Ballard was actually there (of course he would) so I was led to figure out how to bring Elder Ballard to members' houses. I said...hmm... I would watch the conference DVD with them. President asked where I would get it. I replied from the bishop or library. He and the zone leaders acted sceptical. I said, okay I guess I'll have to buy my own copy? Right then Elder Levin pulled out a DVD of four highlighted talks from Oct 2007 General Conference and handed it to me. Long story, but yet another of my favourite moments this week.
We met a guy from Zimbabwe while visiting Rachel and John from Congo (Kinshasa) called Shepherd who already seems like a member and says he's searching for truth. If he's searching, he'll find it.
I want to write about the funeral but I have no time! It was so powerful and inspired me to be a dedicated Church servant, loving and dedicated, throughout my life. I've resolved to have these last 3 months be the most selfless of my mission/ life so far. It'll be hard!
Gotta go!
Love you!
Another favourite moment this week was when we met a family from Mauritius while walking to an appointment. The grandchildren spoke English just fine, but the grandmother didn't at all, so I commenced a short conversation with her in French. It was nearly all the French I could produce at that moment, but Sister Erickson didn't know I even knew any, and in the middle of the conversation I looked at my companion to see her astonished. It was so fun.
Sunday morning we had an interim zone meeting at 7:45 am before stake conference. I thought we were going to be scolded, but it was actually a fun meeting. We were discussing how best to work with members. President Lindley brought up the talk from the last General Conference called "Facts, Faith, Family, Fruits" (or something) and I mentioned that I'd been wanting to use that talk to help families prepare that card with quick facts on it so they can share when asked just "a little" about the Church. President Lindley asked if members would be more likely to listen if Elder Ballard was actually there (of course he would) so I was led to figure out how to bring Elder Ballard to members' houses. I said...hmm... I would watch the conference DVD with them. President asked where I would get it. I replied from the bishop or library. He and the zone leaders acted sceptical. I said, okay I guess I'll have to buy my own copy? Right then Elder Levin pulled out a DVD of four highlighted talks from Oct 2007 General Conference and handed it to me. Long story, but yet another of my favourite moments this week.
We met a guy from Zimbabwe while visiting Rachel and John from Congo (Kinshasa) called Shepherd who already seems like a member and says he's searching for truth. If he's searching, he'll find it.
I want to write about the funeral but I have no time! It was so powerful and inspired me to be a dedicated Church servant, loving and dedicated, throughout my life. I've resolved to have these last 3 months be the most selfless of my mission/ life so far. It'll be hard!
Gotta go!
Love you!
photos
a "sign" that i'm in the right area
our young sudanese muslim friends
kaila's baptism: sister erickson, brother phillips, michelle, kaila in white, ebony, me--perhaps not in that order
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Staying in Berwick
Hi--Sister Erickson and I are going to Tecoma to see the elders there because they're moving and they're our current favourite friends and we'll probably never see them again. So not much writing time.
We found out about President Hinckley's death a few hours after it happened from some members here, right after returning from our Australia Day picnic. We had a few moments of holy mourning. I'd looked at his picture that morning in a conference Ensign and wondered whether he'd be around for the next one. He's the prophet I've grown up with, and the only one most of us missionaries can remember. Poor Kaila, the 9-year-old who was baptised on Sunday. We told her the news last night and she looked as if she would cry--she had, after all, only just learned his name. I told her "remember Henry Gordon Lee Bankley...?" (Last week when we were teaching her, we taught her the living prophet's name--Gordon B. Hinckley--and asked her the name and she confidently stated "Henry Gordon Lee Bankley.") But then we told her a new one would be called in a few days and she was relieved.
We'd had a couple of events I was really looking forward to that are now canceled in consequence: a mission conference combined with the Melbourne West Mission, meaning we'd get to leave our mission boundaries for the first time and go to a chapel by Melbourne City, as well as see the 100 missionaries. Sister Erickson and I were going to sing Praise to the Man in a small group. Plus we have stake conference this weekend, where Elder Tingey and Elder Sybrowsky were supposed to speak, as well as host a dinner for all of 2007's converts. Elder Tingey had to go home with Elder Cook, who was in New Zealand, but I think President Sybrowsky is coming still (he's the area president).
Another funny thing Kaila said: we taught her about obedience and she said "I thought obedience was when something was wrong with your liver...no, that's obious! no, that's obese!"
We took that new family we're teaching to LDS Social Services Addiction Recovery. It was a great class. We learned how to meditate. I don't think the method was so effective for me but Sister Erickson loved it. Especially the lady of the pair is such a lovely person. I have a lot of hope for her and what we can do for them.
On Australia day Sister Erickson and I had our first try at playing cricket. I wasn't that fabulous. They had me "bowl" which means pitch, which is a really awkward movement because you throw the ball but it's more like launching it because you can't bend your arm. My arm's not so good at being a catapult.
We received a call from a member the other day who'd been shopping at Smiggle (a trendy stationery shop owned by a member in the Moorabbin ward) and pointed out to the manager at the cash register that the models in the advertisements go to our church. The lady, Naomi, had been searching for a church to attend with her husband, but the member didn't think to invite her to come to ours. So she told us about her and we went to Smiggle on Saturday. We weren't sure what to do because there were lots of customers but we waited for the activity to die down and we finally got to talk to her. It went lots better than we'd expected. They really have been searching for churches to attend, and I think they'd kind of disqualified ours and wouldn't have thought of it unless someone talked to them. So I told her about the Book of Mormon and why it's necessary and doesn't compete with the Bible and about its historical context. She has a Pentecostal/kind of born-again background so she had some hard questions, but was actually interested in the answers and was sincere about wanting to check it out. When I was talking to her I felt a little like I was looking at myself because she was only a little taller than me, a 21-year-old university student with long blond hair, and we were both wearing headbands. She lives in Frankston, though, so we won't get to teach her. I think Sister Kumar, who's now in Frankston, will be great for her.
Well, that's all I have for today. A few of our investigators have broken up with us recently, so we'll be doing a lot of finding in the upcoming weeks. I'm okay with that!
Keep filling me in on the results of the primaries!
Was President Hinckley's death on the front page of any national newspapers? We found a small article on page 26 of the Victorian paper. It was next to an unsavoury advertisement. Hmph.
Bye!
Savanna
We found out about President Hinckley's death a few hours after it happened from some members here, right after returning from our Australia Day picnic. We had a few moments of holy mourning. I'd looked at his picture that morning in a conference Ensign and wondered whether he'd be around for the next one. He's the prophet I've grown up with, and the only one most of us missionaries can remember. Poor Kaila, the 9-year-old who was baptised on Sunday. We told her the news last night and she looked as if she would cry--she had, after all, only just learned his name. I told her "remember Henry Gordon Lee Bankley...?" (Last week when we were teaching her, we taught her the living prophet's name--Gordon B. Hinckley--and asked her the name and she confidently stated "Henry Gordon Lee Bankley.") But then we told her a new one would be called in a few days and she was relieved.
We'd had a couple of events I was really looking forward to that are now canceled in consequence: a mission conference combined with the Melbourne West Mission, meaning we'd get to leave our mission boundaries for the first time and go to a chapel by Melbourne City, as well as see the 100 missionaries. Sister Erickson and I were going to sing Praise to the Man in a small group. Plus we have stake conference this weekend, where Elder Tingey and Elder Sybrowsky were supposed to speak, as well as host a dinner for all of 2007's converts. Elder Tingey had to go home with Elder Cook, who was in New Zealand, but I think President Sybrowsky is coming still (he's the area president).
Another funny thing Kaila said: we taught her about obedience and she said "I thought obedience was when something was wrong with your liver...no, that's obious! no, that's obese!"
We took that new family we're teaching to LDS Social Services Addiction Recovery. It was a great class. We learned how to meditate. I don't think the method was so effective for me but Sister Erickson loved it. Especially the lady of the pair is such a lovely person. I have a lot of hope for her and what we can do for them.
On Australia day Sister Erickson and I had our first try at playing cricket. I wasn't that fabulous. They had me "bowl" which means pitch, which is a really awkward movement because you throw the ball but it's more like launching it because you can't bend your arm. My arm's not so good at being a catapult.
We received a call from a member the other day who'd been shopping at Smiggle (a trendy stationery shop owned by a member in the Moorabbin ward) and pointed out to the manager at the cash register that the models in the advertisements go to our church. The lady, Naomi, had been searching for a church to attend with her husband, but the member didn't think to invite her to come to ours. So she told us about her and we went to Smiggle on Saturday. We weren't sure what to do because there were lots of customers but we waited for the activity to die down and we finally got to talk to her. It went lots better than we'd expected. They really have been searching for churches to attend, and I think they'd kind of disqualified ours and wouldn't have thought of it unless someone talked to them. So I told her about the Book of Mormon and why it's necessary and doesn't compete with the Bible and about its historical context. She has a Pentecostal/kind of born-again background so she had some hard questions, but was actually interested in the answers and was sincere about wanting to check it out. When I was talking to her I felt a little like I was looking at myself because she was only a little taller than me, a 21-year-old university student with long blond hair, and we were both wearing headbands. She lives in Frankston, though, so we won't get to teach her. I think Sister Kumar, who's now in Frankston, will be great for her.
Well, that's all I have for today. A few of our investigators have broken up with us recently, so we'll be doing a lot of finding in the upcoming weeks. I'm okay with that!
Keep filling me in on the results of the primaries!
Was President Hinckley's death on the front page of any national newspapers? We found a small article on page 26 of the Victorian paper. It was next to an unsavoury advertisement. Hmph.
Bye!
Savanna
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
I have a nice life.
Missionary life is really nice. I'm happy.
It will be worth your time to read the entire email this week. :)
Interviews with President Lindley were last week. I'm feeling embarrassed about it. It was basically him asking me about my plans are for when I get home (I'm still very vague on what to do for the first year) and then saying "you know what your next great important work is, right?" If you haven't guessed, the important work I have to do next was marriage. The conversation was uncomfortable. Ha. Besides that, we made some goals for the end of my mission and he promised that I'd have wonderful experiences if I do these three things consistently: exercise in the morning for 30 minutes, search for the promises in Preach My Gospel, and outline at least one lesson every day with my companion during companion study. To Sister Erickson he gave specific study plans, including to memorize The Living Christ, so we pretty much had it memorized by the end of the next day. I love having projects to accomplish. We're still working on refining it, but we have it done.
We had a good day yesterday. It was for no specific reason, but we rode bikes (it hurt; it was hot) and talked to everyone we ran into, and found some potential investigators. Some guy was walking eating a sandwich from KFC and I really felt like scolding him because he thinks everything he has he got himself, and that he doesn't need anyone. I asked him where he got his sandwich, and how he got to work, and how he breathes, and how he was born. He does need people. He does need God. We also visited the mother of a less-active family (she told us some updates on the Australian Open. By the way, I'm pretty sure I saw Roger Federer play in Athens 2004. He was on one of the small courts. I was a few feet away from him. :) ) Anyway, we visited her and she hadn't had missionaries over for a few years. It's a really sad story--some of her children made some bad choices and some people reacted in a way that really disappointed them, so they chose not to come back for a while, but she still has such a pure testimony and the family lives all of the commandments that they can. I think we can help them, if they don't want to come to a church building yet, to reestablish gospel habits so they can be a stronger family and feel the influence of the Spirit.
We also saw Garren yesterday. (The one Sister Wakeley and I were teaching last year in Moorabbin, and he recognized us when we found him tracting here in Berwick...don't deny that that's a miracle!) I feel like he's MY investigator. He doesn't keep commitments too often, so it would be easy to just give up on him, but he loves our visits and I'm starting to see that what we're teaching him is becoming more a part of his life. We read the Living Christ with him because we suspected that next we need to find out if he has faith in Christ and we needed to help him get some. Tomorrow we're going to bring him a book, like a journal, where he can write about instances he has that help him understand that God really is there and really does help him, something as simple as seeing something beautiful or having an easy drive to work, or someone being helpful to him. Garren really responds to principles that help him understand his potential, both where he came from before he was born and what he can expect to become after. He said it's changing his perspective. It's just so nice to see him retain and ponder what we've taught. I love listening to him talk and hearing his ideas on life.
Oh yeah! News on Kaila! On Saturday we took her to a child-of-record baptism and afterwards our ward mission leader invited her to be baptised, that he'd love to baptise her because he'd baptised her mum, and Kaila accepted. She seems so happy now. She made invitations for her friends and family (including me--it was so cute). It's happening Sunday after church.
Kyle and Jenn--THANK YOU... that was the most amazing gift. I didn't have any idea that such footage even existed. I have shown my baptism DVD to Kaila and Jessica, two of my investigators, as well as the elders at district meeting. You were right--it is helping with the Lord's work. I was such an awkward kid (according to my perspective), but I knew what I was doing.
Sister Wakeley and I got to work together again on Monday. I went to her area for exchanges. I've always loved working in Dandenong. It's got to be the most multicultural area in the mission. We taught several families from Sudan, one guy from China who'd been in Australia for three days, some Croatians, a few Aussies, some Cambodians, the inevitable Indian. We found one new investigator, an old German man named Bill who really wanted to come to church. As we were about to leave, he said "you made my day" and I felt really humble and guilty for not always loving tracting. Selfish!
I really loved church on Sunday. I just sat in sacrament meeting and thought about how I appreciated all the members there. They're such strong examples. I called the Bishop that evening to find some information on the ward mission plan and was unprepared for all the jokes he made... on the list of plans is to help four families join the church, which he said was anywhere from 8 to 100,000 people. He wants us to find a family of 400 with 4 generations living under one roof. I said we'd have to find a Japanese family. So now he says he's expecting us to find the 4 Japanese families with 400 members each, hiding somewhere in the rural suburbs of Pakenham. He's a German guy whose parents live in my first area. They were the first members I met in Australia. The grandmother told me that evening I look like a stranger, then about a month later she said "you look no more stranger." I still felt a little stranger.
Here's Savanna's favourite missionary joke of the week:
(I'm sorry; not everyone will get it.)
I'll present it as a dialogue. The characters are me and my new zone leader, Elder Levin. He's from Provo. We were talking about patriarchal blessings.
Elder Levin: "I'm from the tribe of Judah."
Me, pointing, urgently: "Gather him!"
Elder Levin: "But I'm already gathered!"
And my favourite Australian joke of the week:
Sister Erickson and I, for some reason, were reading the dictionary.
"Be careful not to confuse FLOOR with FLAW"
In America the pronunciation isn't even close but I guess in Australia you have to be careful not to tell someone to wash the FLAW.
The end! Transfer news come in a week. I suspect Sister Erickson will be moved, but she thinks she's staying.
I'll be home in precisely three months from today.
Love you!
Savanna
It will be worth your time to read the entire email this week. :)
Interviews with President Lindley were last week. I'm feeling embarrassed about it. It was basically him asking me about my plans are for when I get home (I'm still very vague on what to do for the first year) and then saying "you know what your next great important work is, right?" If you haven't guessed, the important work I have to do next was marriage. The conversation was uncomfortable. Ha. Besides that, we made some goals for the end of my mission and he promised that I'd have wonderful experiences if I do these three things consistently: exercise in the morning for 30 minutes, search for the promises in Preach My Gospel, and outline at least one lesson every day with my companion during companion study. To Sister Erickson he gave specific study plans, including to memorize The Living Christ, so we pretty much had it memorized by the end of the next day. I love having projects to accomplish. We're still working on refining it, but we have it done.
We had a good day yesterday. It was for no specific reason, but we rode bikes (it hurt; it was hot) and talked to everyone we ran into, and found some potential investigators. Some guy was walking eating a sandwich from KFC and I really felt like scolding him because he thinks everything he has he got himself, and that he doesn't need anyone. I asked him where he got his sandwich, and how he got to work, and how he breathes, and how he was born. He does need people. He does need God. We also visited the mother of a less-active family (she told us some updates on the Australian Open. By the way, I'm pretty sure I saw Roger Federer play in Athens 2004. He was on one of the small courts. I was a few feet away from him. :) ) Anyway, we visited her and she hadn't had missionaries over for a few years. It's a really sad story--some of her children made some bad choices and some people reacted in a way that really disappointed them, so they chose not to come back for a while, but she still has such a pure testimony and the family lives all of the commandments that they can. I think we can help them, if they don't want to come to a church building yet, to reestablish gospel habits so they can be a stronger family and feel the influence of the Spirit.
We also saw Garren yesterday. (The one Sister Wakeley and I were teaching last year in Moorabbin, and he recognized us when we found him tracting here in Berwick...don't deny that that's a miracle!) I feel like he's MY investigator. He doesn't keep commitments too often, so it would be easy to just give up on him, but he loves our visits and I'm starting to see that what we're teaching him is becoming more a part of his life. We read the Living Christ with him because we suspected that next we need to find out if he has faith in Christ and we needed to help him get some. Tomorrow we're going to bring him a book, like a journal, where he can write about instances he has that help him understand that God really is there and really does help him, something as simple as seeing something beautiful or having an easy drive to work, or someone being helpful to him. Garren really responds to principles that help him understand his potential, both where he came from before he was born and what he can expect to become after. He said it's changing his perspective. It's just so nice to see him retain and ponder what we've taught. I love listening to him talk and hearing his ideas on life.
Oh yeah! News on Kaila! On Saturday we took her to a child-of-record baptism and afterwards our ward mission leader invited her to be baptised, that he'd love to baptise her because he'd baptised her mum, and Kaila accepted. She seems so happy now. She made invitations for her friends and family (including me--it was so cute). It's happening Sunday after church.
Kyle and Jenn--THANK YOU... that was the most amazing gift. I didn't have any idea that such footage even existed. I have shown my baptism DVD to Kaila and Jessica, two of my investigators, as well as the elders at district meeting. You were right--it is helping with the Lord's work. I was such an awkward kid (according to my perspective), but I knew what I was doing.
Sister Wakeley and I got to work together again on Monday. I went to her area for exchanges. I've always loved working in Dandenong. It's got to be the most multicultural area in the mission. We taught several families from Sudan, one guy from China who'd been in Australia for three days, some Croatians, a few Aussies, some Cambodians, the inevitable Indian. We found one new investigator, an old German man named Bill who really wanted to come to church. As we were about to leave, he said "you made my day" and I felt really humble and guilty for not always loving tracting. Selfish!
I really loved church on Sunday. I just sat in sacrament meeting and thought about how I appreciated all the members there. They're such strong examples. I called the Bishop that evening to find some information on the ward mission plan and was unprepared for all the jokes he made... on the list of plans is to help four families join the church, which he said was anywhere from 8 to 100,000 people. He wants us to find a family of 400 with 4 generations living under one roof. I said we'd have to find a Japanese family. So now he says he's expecting us to find the 4 Japanese families with 400 members each, hiding somewhere in the rural suburbs of Pakenham. He's a German guy whose parents live in my first area. They were the first members I met in Australia. The grandmother told me that evening I look like a stranger, then about a month later she said "you look no more stranger." I still felt a little stranger.
Here's Savanna's favourite missionary joke of the week:
(I'm sorry; not everyone will get it.)
I'll present it as a dialogue. The characters are me and my new zone leader, Elder Levin. He's from Provo. We were talking about patriarchal blessings.
Elder Levin: "I'm from the tribe of Judah."
Me, pointing, urgently: "Gather him!"
Elder Levin: "But I'm already gathered!"
And my favourite Australian joke of the week:
Sister Erickson and I, for some reason, were reading the dictionary.
"Be careful not to confuse FLOOR with FLAW"
In America the pronunciation isn't even close but I guess in Australia you have to be careful not to tell someone to wash the FLAW.
The end! Transfer news come in a week. I suspect Sister Erickson will be moved, but she thinks she's staying.
I'll be home in precisely three months from today.
Love you!
Savanna
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
only 6 more weeks of summer left
Hi! This email will have to be written super fast.
We went tracting on Savanna Court last week and got a new investigator. We'd just had training on talking to everyone about their lives, not just about our message (that sounds funny) so it was a particularly enjoyable time. Christine Court was right next to it, and that's Sister Erickson's middle name. A strange coincidence?
On Sunday Sister Erickson and I went to a barbecue a Sudanese family invited us to. We're teaching them English, but not the gospel. Sister Erickson teaches the mother, Zahra, English while the kids teach me about the Qu'ran. It's been interesting. We got to the barbecue and they were ALL from Sudan (tall, really dark Africans), wearing colorful religious/cultural clothes, about 15-20 women and the same number of men, plus a couple of children for each couple. The men were outside and the women inside. The children came up to us and lined up in a row and asked us questions, and the young ones (6 years old) came and asked if we're Christians. We were quite the spectacle.
We had an amazing but sad experience last night. A member who hadn't been to church for 15 years came on Sunday with his sister. He and his fiancee are struggling to overcome drug addiction. They're such lovely people and have had such hard lives. I wanted to write more about this but the person who brought us just now told us we have to leave right now so I don't have time, but I've never felt more powerfully the strength and value that comes from bringing up a family in righteousness. I feel so safe. I guess I can write more about them later.
Please write!
Savanna
We went tracting on Savanna Court last week and got a new investigator. We'd just had training on talking to everyone about their lives, not just about our message (that sounds funny) so it was a particularly enjoyable time. Christine Court was right next to it, and that's Sister Erickson's middle name. A strange coincidence?
On Sunday Sister Erickson and I went to a barbecue a Sudanese family invited us to. We're teaching them English, but not the gospel. Sister Erickson teaches the mother, Zahra, English while the kids teach me about the Qu'ran. It's been interesting. We got to the barbecue and they were ALL from Sudan (tall, really dark Africans), wearing colorful religious/cultural clothes, about 15-20 women and the same number of men, plus a couple of children for each couple. The men were outside and the women inside. The children came up to us and lined up in a row and asked us questions, and the young ones (6 years old) came and asked if we're Christians. We were quite the spectacle.
We had an amazing but sad experience last night. A member who hadn't been to church for 15 years came on Sunday with his sister. He and his fiancee are struggling to overcome drug addiction. They're such lovely people and have had such hard lives. I wanted to write more about this but the person who brought us just now told us we have to leave right now so I don't have time, but I've never felt more powerfully the strength and value that comes from bringing up a family in righteousness. I feel so safe. I guess I can write more about them later.
Please write!
Savanna
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)