Hello, happy Monday, I hope everyone is doing well! Here is how my week went down (I’d love to hear about yours!).
We had a super fun P-day last week. This indoor soccer stadium let us in to play for free if we washed their windows, and I got to spend a bunch of time playing ultimate frisbee!
We also had a GREAT time that night, because we had a Family Home Evening with a 12-year-old that we’re teaching, and two of her fellowshipper families. We watched Meet the Mormons (which I had actually never seen) and had a really good time showing her what FHE is like.
We also had a good lesson with a recent convert this week, and we reviewed the Restoration with her using Enos 1, which actually worked super well. I have had a goal for a long time to use the scriptures in my teaching more, and I can testify that reading from and pulling apart the scriptures is one of the best ways to invite the Spirit into any lesson!
Another cool thing about this week is that we had dinner with a fun family with a bunch of little boys (If you know my family, you know that’s different for me!). But the best part was that the mom served her mission in Columbus, and even served a transfer or two in Powell! And, the family is thinking about moving to PR later in the year, so we had lots of cool connections to talk about!
Anyway, we did have one day this week that honestly was just super depressing and difficult. For some reason, our zone conference was the opposite of uplifting. I think it was mostly just because we are having a hard time finding lots of people to teach in this area, and so many of the messages we heard just felt difficult to swallow because we felt that we weren’t doing enough in our area. I know it was just Satan getting us down, but it was pretty rough because zone conference lasts nearly the entire day. It was all okay in the end, though. We got some suggestions of things we can try and are going to keep working hard this week.
Also, on that day, I hit my 6-month mark! Holy cow, I can’t believe I’ve already been out for so long! I’m a third of the way done with my mission! Some days that seems like not enough, and other days I freak out because I don’t want to be that far into my mission! No matter how hard things get, I truly do love this experience and the way I am changing because of it. I’ll never truly know how much of an impact I’m having on my mission, but I CAN see how much I have changed and grown, and that is so important to me. I still have a long ways to go, but I’m glad I have seen positive changes in myself as I’ve tried to follow my Savior’s example.
Anyway, here’s a funny little story for you…
We were trying to knock on the door of a potential on like Friday, but no one answered. I felt like trying the next door over, so we knock, and…one of our members opens the door! He just nodded at us and was like, “Hey, what’s up Sisters?” We died laughing and felt so embarrassed (Sister Hansen has even been to their house before!), but luckily they thought it was pretty funny as well. It made for a good topic of conversation when we had dinner at their house yesterday!
Sorry, I know this email is long, but I just have a little bit more!
We had a miracle this week! A bunch of members of our district and zone came to help us blitz our area, and now we have two new investigators!!!
I love this work and the privilege I have to be here. Even though I’m not where I expected to serve, and even though pretty much nothing has worked out the way I expected it do, I don’t regret coming out here and I know I will always be grateful for the experiences I’m having. Nothing is more rewarding than serving the Lord! Be happy, be grateful, and constantly be asking what you can do next! I promise that will bring you blessings and incredible experiences!
Love,
Hermana O’Barr
