Changes

April 6, 2015

TO MY MOST DEAREST FAMILY (and friends, but you technically are family in the long run.):

This week has been just a little titch of INSANE!! haha. This week was full of hikes, lessons, meetings, tracting, SMORES, new companions, general conference, Easter, and a little bit of overwhelming stressing news.  Let me cut to the chase (is that a phrase? idk) but anyways... I AM TRAINING. 1. what the heck is the mission president thinking? and more importantly 2. WHAT THE HECK IS THE LORD THINKING? Not that I am questioning His authority and knowledge or anything... but what...?! but let me back up to the beginning of the week. I am a little frazzle brained, but that has been my life the past week and a half. All frazzle, no dazzle.

On Monday we got to go for a hike and look at a lake and just hang out. It was a pretty good p-day. I mean, busy but fun. Sister Wilkins and Sister Kennedy are awesome.  We have so much fun together.  We mega-bedded it this week. Which means we pushed their two beds and my couch all together and it was a giant sleepover for a few days.  Missions are fun. I recommend them.

Tuesday: let me just say- s’mores. I got a most awesome package from the one and only amazing trainer Sister Wawro.  She is quite awesome and I love her. So there is her shout out. And then GUESS WHAT?! I totally got my first real life campfire s’more of the season!  God bless the members of Mount Vernon 1st Ward.  They took quite good care of me. But something a little more important is the lessons we had.  We got to teach C and M - two of our investigators.  They are doing awesome.  C is getting baptized on Wednesday - so in two days and it is crazy but amazing and M will get there in the near future.

Wednesday: uh, lessons with some of the other sister peeps and lots of finding.  Every day is a good day in the mission field but nothing overly excited to tell about.

Thursday: on Thursday I got to hang out with Sister Tennant and Sister Liffereth (we went to junior high together so it was like a junior high school reunion) and it was really fun.  We got to tract- a lot - and got to teach a few lessons. But then here comes the exciting news. All leadership positions are assigned the Thursday before transfers. So it is like 10:25 and we are about to get in bed and the phone rings. I see it’s the zone leaders and I am like what the heck. I answer it. then it clicks in my head. OH LEADERSHIP POSITION. Now, not once did it cross my mind that it could be for me.  I run into the bathroom where Sister Kennedy is brushing her teeth and tell her the phone is for her (because I can predict the future and I knew she was getting a leadership position). I put the phone on speaker and the zone leaders are like, "well Sister Wilkins is going home..." she rolls her eyes because we all knew that. Then we are laughing and stuff and all we hear is "... is going to train" we are like wait who?! and they "Sister Kennedy and Sister Rodda." and that's when I fainted and had to get stitches in my head. No, I am just kidding but mentally that's what it felt like. So yeah. I’m having a baby. It's a girl.

Friday: on Friday i had to switch all of our plans and go to new trainers training and that's when I got a package from the one and only DARRINGTONS. Love you all. xoxo. And that's where the panic really started to happen. President Bonham says, "you have a really big responsibility. I don't say this to scare you but the way you train is the way their mission is going to be. Their mission is going to reflect the way their life is going to be. Which is going to reflect their children and their families." so that's when I fainted and got stitches a second time. We had some lessons that day again and weekly planning. bleh.

Saturday: oh general conference. where do i begin. WASN'T IT JUST AMAZINGGGGG?! I don't think I have ever enjoyed it as much as I did this year. Every single talk was just so inspiring and uplifting.

Sunday: ditto to Saturday. We got to watch one of the sessions with C. She passed her baptismal interview and Wednesday is coming way too fast!!! Sister Wilkins left yesterday to go home and now I am with a spanish sister. Hermana Bagley. She is pretty cool. I am only with her until tomorrow at transfers when I pick up my baby. It didn't really feel like Easter. At all. But that's okay. We were able to focus on Christ and that is the whole purpose, right? I do miss all the traditions back home though!

I loved this week and I am happy to focus on Christ. Being a missionary is the most amazing thing in the world. It isn't as hard as everyone says if you can get used to change. lol. That is irony right there. I think some cool church person said that the only thing that is constant in the church is change. Yep. That about sums it up in 12 words. My favorite thing about general conference was the focus on families. It took me until my mission to realize how important families are to Heavenly Father and Satan. Satan has his hands on more families than you can imagine. So many broken families. But it is amazing to me that no matter what, Heavenly Father still loves all of his children. 

I hope you all have an AMAZINGLY AWESOME week. xoxo

sister rodda.