September 03, 2013

General letter to share:

Last week was very hard. My companion fell very ill. Things got really bad and all I could do was worry and help take care of her an any way possible, which I felt like wasn't much. The last time I e-mailed (two Mondays ago), I received help from Rese and Sister Hoffman, some amazing women from my ward. They helped me get my trainer to the ER. She flew home last Thursday. I hope she will recover. I worry about her. She is very strong and I know she will fight through whatever it is that is making her so sick. My new companion came on Friday. Her name is Sister Roos and she has been out for 6 months. She found a ton of mold in the apartment. That may have added to Sister Braten's sickness. She attacked it with lots of bleach. It didn't stand a chance, but we found more... It will all be okay. In all honesty, I didn't know it was mold. I hadn't seen that kind before. I simply thought it was a stain! With how busy my first week was, lacking cleaning supplies the second week, and and going to the ER and trying to figure things out on the third week, I didn't get the chance to clean and to discover it was mold. It was even behind the toliet, but of course I didn't notice that one. There really were no cleaning supplies. The day we were going to go the store was the day we went to the emergency room. Bad timing is what this was.

God has really been looking out for me, and I admit, in ways I feel like such a faliure. I guess I am expecting myself to be the perfect missionary, but this is my first month of even being here. I still have 17 more to improve. I am so grateful for the Spirit. God watched over me and helped me out with that week, and he has guided me in what to teach. I have felt disorganized and have gone into a couple of appointments no really knowing what I will teach. God has taken the reins at these points. Because I have a new trainer and have the chance to study and practice, I should be good to go in the lessons. I love watching how God guides each lesson and helps us missionaries know what to say to help the investigator. I just love it!   

P.S: I love to receive letters throughout the week. It helps me feel better after going through so much stress. :D

Another thing to add onto the general letter:

Within the time I have been here, I have been told I look like I'm 14. I counted the number of people who told me that my first week here. 5 people told me that. I even had a lady stop me in the store and ask my age. My first Sunday here, I was welcomed to the young women's. Everyone was rather surprised to discover I was not 14 years old, but 20, and I was a missionary. Some people looked at me funny, and a couple asked me my age. Do I really look so young?