Experiencing Trials

I've been going through a rough time. However, I can't complain much, because I have seen some blessings this week.

So...on Monday we got haircuts. I needed to trim my hair. On Tuesday, we visited a lady named Gina. She seems very lost. She lost her son in a car accident. She feels that her faith has been shaken. We've been trying to comfort her in the best way we can.  Wednesday was slow, but on Thursday we got to see a young girl who's turning 8 soon. On Friday, we had a good weekly planning session, and we did service for the cutest little old lady I've ever met! She makes wonderful cookies I've been told. It's sad that I can't try them. But she makes us lunch every time we go over to help her. On Saturday, we had exchanges with the Sister Training Leaders. Sister Harvey and I did service at a house and we talked for a while. It felt good to talk about how I was feeling about being in a slower area. It's been a hard adjustment going from having lessons every day to having almost none. We've been driving around Livermore trying to meet people, and get investigators.

Sister Harvey told me that I have a great desire, and that I should just do my best and not be hard on myself. She told me her story, and that she used to be too hard on herself too. President Mella had an interview with her and told her not to be too hard on herself and not to apologize so much. She decided not to set her expectations for herself so high, and think about what Heavenly Father expected of her.

It was nice to bring that back to my memory. On Sunday, we were able to go on splits with a member. I went with Sister Bohn to contact a referral we received from the Elders. The referral wasn't home, but on the way to her home, we ran into a young girl named Kristi who immediately recognized my name tag. She knew I was a Sister Missionary. She had been investigating the church. I left her to read Alma 32. The chapter about Faith.  So that was a miracle.

It's been up and down, and this transfer has been rough. I know I said that last week, but seriously... I think I've hit that weird mission block of trials. The part where it's really hard and it kind of sucks. But I've heard missionary stories about that, and after those blocks, the mission gets better. So I know I just need to be patient. From trials come blessings. It sucks, but it's worth it. Just trust in Heavenly Father and it's worth it. I've also been learning some Spanish. Heavenly Father is Padre Celestial and Jesus Christ is Jesucristo. I love learning new languages.

Well, that was my week. Not much to report on.

- Always, Sister Brown