Best Week Ever!

December 7, 2015

Week of November 30- DECEMBER 6! I would be lying if I said this wasn't the best week of my whole mission. It was pretty high up there on the chart of "great weeks as a missionary." I think this might be a long email so I will keep the "not-so-important" things short. ;)

Monday: P-day and an amazing lesson with our investigator M! It was filled with the Spirit and we were able to feel just a fraction of the love Heavenly Father has for each of his children. When people make choices that seem insurmountable and difficult to the world to put their loving Heavenly Father first is an indescribable feeling and brings the greatest and most spiritual joy. One that is hard to describe but easy to recognize.

Tuesday: Today was literally one of the best days I have had in the mission field. It was busy but yet it was full of reflection on the improvement and the progress I have made in the last year. It is hard as a missionary (or as human) to see the long term changes that take part in our lives. We started the day by doing service for a cute less active family in the ward. Then we had a lesson with a less active member. We had the relief society president come with us and it was a great lesson. We were able to testify of the Atonement and how Christ has us "written upon the palms of his hands." Then we had Mormon.org time. I love the new Christmas Initiative "A Savior is Born" I think I watched it 50 times in that hour. Afterwards we went to Activity Days and taught the cute girls about how service as a missionary has blessed us and those we have served. We were supposed to help them sew some things but really they just taught me and I pretended I knew what I was doing. We had dinner with a less active member and then we went to mutual. We had a question/answer session with the priests and they could ask whatever the heck they wanted. It was really fun and I learned so much about how missions change you, affect you, and strengthen you. One of the most profound things I learned or was taught (by one of the Young Men Advisors) is that missionaries spend so much time thinking and wishing and praying for their families. They spend so much time focused on the things back home, then they finish their full-time mission, see their family for 5 minutes, and then they stop missing them. At that moment they realize that they don't have that mission ever again and they can't go back. It is okay to miss your family because that means you love them, but you should strive to "forget yourself and go to work" because you will have eternity to spend with them. Don't worry family, I still miss you. We also had a meeting with the Bishop and our Ward Mission Leader that night to discuss... stuff.

Wednesday: We had district meeting and it was great! I love all the missionaries in our district, I think it's the biggest district in the mission too. Afterwards we had a lesson with a less active who is dealing with a tragedy that took place the day before Thanksgiving. It was great to bear testimony of the Plan of Salvation and the knowledge and comfort it brings.

Thursday: We did  most of our weekly planning this day and spent the day contacting potentials and formers. We had a lesson with Maria, Adolfo, Reymundo, and Jacob (our investigator  family- expect Rey  is a recent convert). We brought two young men with  us to the lesson and they were great fellowship. Maria decided she wanted a blessing so we called two other men (ward mission leader and a member of the bishopric) and they came and gave her the sweetest blessing. It was a very powerful testimony. I am so grateful for the Holy Ghost.

Friday: We had a multi-zone conference with Elder Johnson of the 70 majority of the day. I had to say the opening prayer, I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous to pray in front of a member of the 70, half the mission, and our mission presidency. He shared lots of amazing insights about the nature of the Godhead. The most significant reason the first vision was needed was to prove that Heavenly Father has a body of flesh and bone that is tangible. He isn't just some big mass of goodness (which was being taught by all the religions during this time period), he has a perfected, glorified body. He told us that majority of us testify of this from a borrowed testimony and invited us to ask Heavenly Father five questions so we know for ourselves:

1. Do you exist? (Are you really there? Are you listening?)

2. Do you have a body of flesh and bones?

3. Do you know me? (Do you know I am serving a mission? Did you know I am struggling with this difficult situation?)

4. Am I really your daughter? (Are you really my father?)

5. Heavenly Father, do you love me? (even with all my imperfections? and weaknesses?)

As I prayed I was overwhelmed with the spirit and received my answers in the most simple but profound way. I can testify that Heavenly Father truly does have body, parts, and passions. HE LOVES EACH OF HIS CHILDREN IMMENSELY.

Saturday: We spend the day contacting. We love the people here in Everett and Mukilteo. We truly are so blessed. We also did service and helped put up and decorate a Christmas tree with HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS of ornaments. It really felt like Christmas to me. Oh and when we left dinner (in a nearby apartment complex) we realized our car had been hit. The person left nothing but blue paint and scratches on our car. I still love that son or daughter of God wherever they may be and I would love to tell them that the Atonement allows us to repent and be forgiven our mistakes.  It's not like it was the first accident that was caused from parking, hehehe...hehe...he.

Sunday: SO MANY MIRACLES. We had meetings in the morning and then church. I love fast Sunday and even though it is still really hard for me to fast (because my blood gets really low) I am grateful for the ability to fast and have a greater spiritual sensitivity. We had a less active come to church with an arranged ride. As well as the less active family who recently lost their daughter. We had a man come to church- long story but we tracted into this family and they were a new move in of members. The wife was nice but doesn't want anything to do with the church but the husband came!  We also had a nonmember (not quite an investigator) come to church! After church we had more meetings, studies, and then we watched the Christmas Devotional. That was such a miracle because we could only watch it with an investigator, less active, or recent covert. We had planned to watch it with an investigator but she cancelled at 3:30 and it was broadcast at 5 here in WA. So we texted a whole bunch of people and an investigator that we had never met said we could come so we were able to watch it with her!

One of the greatest realizations I had this week is that Jesus Christ is our friend. Our ponderizing scripture "Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me" had a footnote that takes us to Zechariah 13:6. "And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends." We all know that Jesus Christ is our brother. We know this because each of us are children of God. However, Jesus Christ our Savior, our Redeemer, our Exemplar CHOOSES to be our friend. Me and Hayden are siblings inevitably, but me and Hayden are friends intentionally. The same goes for each of us and our relationship with Christ. I love the comfort it brings to know that Christ is my brother. I love even more that he is my friend, and your friend. But it brings the most comfort to know that he CHOSE to be our friend with all of our imperfections and weaknesses.

I am grateful for the Christmas season and the joy it brings into the lives of God's children. To me it is wonderful that so many people, worldwide, desire to celebrate the birth of our Savior. He is our greatest example, our brother, and our friend. I know that as we turn to our Lord we can become happy, we can be forgiven, and we can have our burdens made light.

I love you all!

Sister Rodda

Weird Thanksgiving Week

November 30, 2015

The week of 9/23/15-9/29/15 in Sister Rodda's eyes.

Let's just say it was a weirdddd week. Because of the Holiday we had a lot of days and schedules switched around. The fact that Monday wasn't a preparation day just made the week weird.

Monday: Monday we had our studies and then we were able to email for one hour. That one hour was like a mad rush everyone was silent and just typing as fast as they could. We were able to email on Monday (even though it wasn't our preparation day) because we had to email President Bonham and he told us we had to at least email our families so they wouldn't worry... I don't get it. ;) So that's exactly what I did. After that we tried to go out and work. I say tried because the whole day just felt "off." Everywhere we went we just got bad feelings so we followed the spirit, everything fell through, it was a Monday and we were out contacting people... The only way to describe it is: it was weird. By the way I have been using the word weird a lot so I thought I would give you the definition.

Weird: ADJ. 1. of or about ghosts, etc; mysterious, eerie, etc. 

Yeah I don't know where Webster's New World Dictionary got that definition because the only ghost I know is the Holy Ghost and I wouldn't use "weird" to describe the third member of the Godhead. 

I am going to go with the second definition in the dictionary. 

Weird: ADJ. 2. strange; bizarre

That sums it up.

Tuesday: It was a typical missionary day. The best days! The best day is when you have literally nothing. You have a whole full day to plan for. Nine full hours of contacting. I love those days. We didn't see a lot of outward miracles but we know that there were a lot of tender mercies "behind the scenes".

Wednesday: We had district meeting in the morning! Sister Johnson and I had to give instruction on "setting realistic goals" it turned out great and the South Whidbey sisters gave instruction right after on "Accounting." Sister Bell did a great job. I love her! We also taught a less active we found. She is a convert of 15 years and has a lot of health issues that restrict her from going anywhere. We read in the Book of Mormon with her and we are excited to see her progress. We have a lesson with her on Tuesday and the relief society president is coming with us! We also had a lesson with Maria, Reymundo, Adolfo, and Jacob our cute little investigator family- except Reymundo is a recent convert now! They are doing great. We talked about service and we shared my favorite parable in Matthew 25 of the sheep and the goats. It is the same concept of Mosiah 2:17 "When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God."

Thursday: THANKSGIVING! It is funny because holidays in the mission field don't really feel like holidays. They just feel like really good days! A lot of the typical traditions we do with our families back home don't happen so it doesn't feel the same. It was a great day though. We were able to email for a little bit in the morning. Then we went and played soccer at a nearby park with a few sets of elders. It was so much fun! We used my ball and the field was so muddy. You would try to turn or stop running or even kick a ball and all the sudden you were on the ground. One of the elders crossed the ball in and I tried to run onto it but before I knew it I was on my stomach like I was sliding into home. I wish Hayden would have been there. He would have called me "SAFE!" Another time I tried to take a shot from almost half and the next thing I knew I was on my back. I didn't miss the ball though. I just kicked and kept going. Sister Johnson said she saw my head bounce on the ground. It was fun and most of the time we couldn't stop laughing. We went to a members house for dinner afterward. The turkey was great and it was just a good day! We had to be in by six to avoid the drunks and to do weekly planning. We were so stuffed so we took the pie to go. But by the time we started weekly planning I had eaten all the apples out of the apple pie. Typical, I know.

Friday: In the morning we finished weekly planning and then had a meeting with our ward mission leader. We were trying to come up with a new ward mission plan. We brainstormed some ideas and came up with a rough draft. When we presented it in ward council they all LOVED it! So that is a good. :) We just went out and worked the rest of the day. OH MY GOODNESS MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT EVER. We were at a member’s home for dinner. Actually the same members who fed us thanksgiving. We were eating on their couches (because a lot of people do that here) and it is just the wife, Sister Johnson, and me. She told us her husband was sick and was in bed sleeping. Then all the sudden the husband throws something and literally scares me half to death. The plate that was sitting on my lap was now face down on their very light colored rug. It was beautiful. Luckily the cranberry sauce stuff landed right next to the ONLY red flower on the rug. That was at least a positive. Nothing like mashed potatoes mashed in the rug.

Saturday: Once again I was sick. I had been feeling kinda crummy a few days before. I called our mission doctor and he told me to stay in most of the day. It was like a cold but all in my chest and lungs not in my head. I still have a cough and a sore throat but nearly as bad!

Sunday: Well we got to speak in sacrament meeting. YAY. They gave us two topics earlier this week and let us pray and choose who did what. Then we got a text from a member of the bishopric asking which one of us was the senior companion. Whoever was senior had to be the closing speaker. That was me. We both gave 20 minute talks and shoot, it is so stressful thinking about how you can add or take away from a talk you've written depending on the time. It turned out great though. Sister Johnson spoke on how to overcome the fear of member missionary work and I talked on how to gain a testimony. In my talk I used Alma chapter 32 when Alma compares the word unto a seed. I compared gaining and strengthening a testimony unto a seed. I shared how I gained my testimony and how I decided to serve a mission. I will send home my talk mom so you can read it. ;) I don't know what to do with a talk after you give it. I feel too bad just throwing it away after spending so much time on it. After we gave our talks the member of the bishopric that assigned it to us said, "You know, I prayed and prayed and prayed about who should talk on these subjects and you two did it perfectly as to what Heavenly Father wanted to be conveyed." We finished the rest of our meetings on Sunday, did our studies, had dinner, and then visited more people!

There is a great thing that started yesterday and that is the new Christmas initiative! Some of greatest experiences I have had on my mission include the Christmas and Easter initiatives. Where someone can watch a truly powerful video and then you can simply testify. This year it is called, "A Savior is Born." And you can find the 2 minute video at christmas.mormon.org or use #ASaviorisBorn. It is a great way to quickly invite the spirit and to remember the true meaning of Christmas!  

Ponderizing: The scripture I chose this week is 1 Nephi 21:16

I am so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ. There have been many tragedies of people I served and people I know back home and it is comforting to know that Heavenly Father has a plan for each of his children. I know that Jesus Christ suffered so we don't have to. I know that he truly broke the bands of death and that we can live with our families forever. As a missionary you have the greatest privilege of all and that is being able to testify of the truths of the Gospel. You can bring the spirit into someone's home who is grieving and just watch as they are slowly comforted. We truly have a front row seat of the greatest miracle of all: the effect of Christ's Atonement on people.

I love you all and I am so grateful for the example I have in my life. I am excited for this Christmas season! It will be a white Christmas in the Pacific Northwest, I am sure of it!

Love,

Sister Rodda 

Baptisms!

November 23, 2015

November 16- November 22

Monday: Monday was the best day ever. Actually I don't know about the best day ever but it was great because I got to play sports for the first time in 4+ months. Took second place in a game of lightening or whatever that basketball game is called and my team won in a real (half court- no score keeping) game. Don't ask how I know we won. BUT GUESS WHAT?! I HIT 2 HALF COURT SHOTS IN A ROW. MY BACK WAS A LITTLE SORE THE NEXT DAY BUT IT SERIOUSLY HAPPENED IN REAL LIFE. Then we came home to a nice surprise and I won't be saying what that is but I do have quite a story to tell in 6 months. That night we taught our cute little family and it went really well. We read in Jacob which Jacob- the boy we are teaching- found quite amusing because they have the same name. Whatever connects you to the scriptures is good I guess. We had an appointment with another investigator, J, and no she didn't "cancel" we just "rescheduled", But that was a real bummer.

Tuesday: Craziest day ever. Literally. We had studies and mormon.org time in the morning and then we went to interviews. Every other transfer we have interviews with our mission president FYI. So we show up at 11:45 and at noon the power goes out. It was pouring rain (not the normal, constant Washington sprinkle) and SUPER windy. All the power was out, traffic lights, church lights- including the emergency lights- all the stores, apartments, houses. It was scary. I thought it was the second coming... but it was just a false alarm. It got me to repent though so it was worth it. We ended up staying at the church from 12-6 and had our instruction and individual interviews in rooms lit by flash lights. Dad, those head lamps really did come in handy! People weren't making fun of me at this time. Be prepared, people, it's the scouts motto. On the bright side (no pun intended) we did get out of our instruction. Because the lack of time management of some elders (I personally think it was a strength this time) we weren't able to give our 15 minutes of instruction on "Using Preach My Gospel Effectively in Personal Study." Unfortunately we got a call tonight from our district leader asking us to give FIVE TO TEN (woo-woo) minutes of instruction in our meeting on Wednesday. This time it's about setting goals. We had an appointment set up with our investigator, Reymundo, and our zone leaders for a baptismal interview at 7. Well 7:30 came and went and they weren't there. I was freaking out of course because our day was weird in the first place and that's just my internal composition. If he didn't get interviewed that day he couldn't have gotten baptized on Saturday because they were going out of town until Friday. Anyway, all four of us (me- I said it, Sister Johnson, and the zone leaders) prayed. I prayed that if anything they would look at their phone to get our missed calls. Well guess what they answered our next call and they rushed down to the church, had the interview, PASSED, and it was so cute... our zone leader said that Reymundo in his closing prayer thanked Heavenly Father that he heard the phone ringing and that he answered it so he could get to his interview. He also prayed for the Seahawks but we won't mention that one. I know that God really does here and answer our prayers. He truly is a God of miracles.

Wednesday: On Wednesday we were able to do service for a family in our ward! They take care of us and we love them. We helped dig out all the Christmas decorations. I LOVE CHRISTMAS. But don't worry I am not celebrating until after Thanksgiving, I think. The rest of the day we just visited people. Active, less active, potentials, former investigators, random people, etc. We also had dinner with the relief society. They gave us SO many left overs. We are still trying to eat all of it.

Thursday: Thursday we were on exchanges. I actually got to go Spanish again for a day and it was really great. Nothing went as planned but if there is something I have learned on my mission it is this: If your schedule goes as planned, you are doing something wrong. It was great though because we were able to do service at a food bank and a local church. We moved a bunch of food. Anyway, we had dinner that night... it was all in Spanish... except the food... we had chicken nuggets. It has been awhile since I have had chicken nuggets. I missed them. My "companion" Hermana Fifita taught me how to bear my testimony in Spanish so I contributed a little bit at the end of our message.

Friday: Typical day. Weekly Planning and visiting people. We did talk to some great people though. I love Mukilteo... especially those on Casino Road.

Saturday: REY GOT BAPTIZED!!!!! It was so great and Reymundo was glowing. :) His whole family (who are investigators) came and supported him, as well as his not-interested soon-to-be step-dad and his son. It was a great turn out and it was spiritual and uplifting. I am so proud of him for making this decision but I know that Heavenly Father is even more proud because it is one step closer to Him. After the baptism we taught a recent convert/less active family. They are going through a really difficult time because their baby was born 6 months early and weighed 1.3 pounds. It has been 3 months now but the baby hasn't been home and they haven't been able to hold her. It is so sad but God has a plan for everyone and that's why it is critical that we are converted... so we don't have to question, we just put our faith in God. We also taught another less active couple... he actually used to be the ward mission leader last year. They are hilarious though. I never fail to cry from laughter while I am there.

Sunday: We had meetings. Ward council, church, missionary correlation, and studies. Usually all of that fills up our day. We did get to go to a "Come See for Yourself" fireside with Reymundo and his family. We can only go to these meetings if we have an investigator and a ride. It was great though. They are so spiritually uplifting. Recent converts speak and they show video clips, and there are musical numbers. We only had to sing once, thank heavens. Oh and yes, we are speaking in church next Sunday if that wasn't a surprise to anyone! My topic is "gaining a testimony." Oh my goodness how could I forget... Reymundo was confirmed! We love him.

Today: Not much to say about today other than the fact that somehow bleach got all over a load of laundry I did... it's great. Practicing positive thoughts: At least it wasn't my shoes. Oh and today we only have a 2 hour P-day. Thursday is our real Preparation Day... but no emailing. It's confusing.

Ponderizing: Hayden I loved this scripture this week and I loved studying and sharing it with Reymundo. Thank you so much for choosing that scripture. I love and miss you!

I spaced sharing a miracle a few weeks ago with all of you! While I was in Burlington with Sister Wawro we tracted into a lady named A. We talked on her front porch for a few minutes and then she invited us in. We were going through the pamphlet and got to the first page about God is our Heavenly Father and she just started to cry and cry and cry. She had never thought of God as a father figure and she never really knew her dad and her daughters don't really have a dad either. Well we started to teach her and then she introduced us to her youngest daughter, M. You have probably heard about M but I spent 7 1/2 months teaching M while I was there. I love her so much and I would say she is one of my greatest friends. She struggled with a lot of things but we knew we needed to keep teaching her. Remember, that while I was there I had 8 companions. She had a lot of missionaries in her home. While teaching M we met her older sister Z. Z had an anti-mormon boyfriend and he wasn't very nice. He even tried to give us $100 to say a bad word. lol. Anyway, Z was always standoffish but towards the end of my time there we started talking to her more, she started sitting in our lessons with M, and she even addressed her concerns. She wanted to feel worthy to pray, worthy for heaven, she wanted to understand more about Joseph Smith and she decided she wanted to learn more. Well she turned 18 and graduated from High School while I was serving there so we passed her off to the YSA elders. I found out 2 weeks ago that Z was baptized. This whole time we thought we were going there for M (which we were-and we still have hope for her) but truly Z was the one prepared to receive the restored gospel. And I don't know for sure but rumor has it that she is engaged to the ward mission leader in the YSA ward. AHHHHHHHHH. Hope it's a nice ring. ;)

Well, folks, that's a wrap. I love you all and I am so grateful for each of you. I truly know that God hears and answers our prayers. I know that there are prepared people out there that only YOU can help. I know that pleading with the Lord allows you to be more aware of those opportunities and he is going to help you when you are in the great situation to bear your testimony. I know that God is our LOVING Heavenly Father. I know that the gospel truly does bless families.

Love,

Sister Rodda

Rainy Days

November 16, 2015

Well I don't think it ever stopped raining this week. EVER. It just went on and on and on. Thank goodness for hats, gloves, scarves, coats, rain boots, wool socks, fleece tights, waterproof mascara, random people who give us their umbrellas, and a companion you can have hilarious conversations with. There are a few benefits to this like the lack of effort you have to put into your hairdo and the greater number of pockets to carry snacks in. There is only one potential downfall though: people who spray us by driving in puddles. However, they don't seem to understand that we can't get any more wet than we already are. When you walk for hours in the rain you come to a point where there is no more water you can store. I am not a camel, people! 

Reymundo is getting baptized on Saturday! He is 12 years old and is SO great! He is more golden than... gold. I think one of the greatest opportunities we have as missionaries is to see these commitment keeping investigators radiate with the Light of Christ. It is the greatest experience to see them light up when they get a new insight or understand something they didn't before. His mom is GREAT. She would get baptized tomorrow but she has to get married and the boyfriend is taking his sweet time to commit. You can't take a joy ride on the repentance pathway. 

David: We stopped by a members home this week to meet them personally and they just so happened to have their nonmember neighbor over for games. You can't tell me that wasn't inspired. His name is David and he is from England. Basically he is bound to become a member he just needs a faith in God first. We invited him to church for the primary program but his reply was (remember the accent), "I have to do a scientific study on the inside of my eyelids." DAVID, THIS IS AMERICA. WE CALL IT SLEEPING AND BEING LAZY SO GET TO CHURCH. He chose to do the experiment instead. This week we are going to stop by and help him have a desire to come.

I really do love being a missionary. I love this part of the vineyard Heavenly Father has trusted Sister Johnson and I with. There are so many great people.  Just a little example: There are a few nonmembers that pay tithing every time they receive income LIKE WHAT?! I truly am grateful that I have been assigned here. I am not going to go through my whole week because it consisted of visiting members and tracting and street contacting and rain.

I love you all,

xoxo

Sister Rodda

Welcome to Mukilteo!

November 9, 2015

Wowzers what a week. LONGEST WEEK IN THE HISTORY OF EVER. This one has got a journal entry and all which is saying a lot. Stay tuned for it.

Monday: Preparation Day- Basically Packingation Day. I had to pack all day and we had to three-pack(ify) our apartment. It was a little hectic but we got it all taken care of. Enough of the boring P-day wait until you hear the rest of the week.

Tuesday: MY BABY IS ALL GROWN UP! Don’t worry everyone I didn’t actually have a baby, that’s just the term you use when you train a new missionary. BUT TUESDAY WAS SISTER BELL’S VERY LAST DAY OF TRAINING! She is so ready for this new transfer and she is going to do great taking over the area! So transfers happened. First of all my new companion is from Magna, UT and her name is Sister Johnson! She is so sweet and has a great testimony. This is going to be an interesting transfer but I have never been so ready for a challenge! We actually white washed into the area which means that two previous elders were taken out and Sister Johnson and I were put in. We are the first sisters to live in this apartment EVER. You can tell it has been lived in by boys since 1992 (that’s the last date we have record of). It looks a lot better now, so does all of the records. It has been CRAZZZYYYY. Just imagine for a second the most rural place you can think of. Houses every mile or two, long dirt driveways, lots of land, horses, trees… yes that was South Whidbey. Now picture the typical city. HUNDREDS of apartment complexes with THOUSANDS of occupied apartments, traffic, honking horns, people walking on the sidewalks, people crossing the road in the busy traffic… that’s where we are. It is quite a different dynamic. Everyone wants to go to a foreign country on their mission but shoot, we have 60 different countries within our small area. We have met people from all over the world: Cambodia, Fiji, Egypt, Russia, and all over the place. I think we have more copies of the Book of Mormon in languages other than English.

Wednesday: This morning we woke up and did our studies. It was weird to do all of our studies in the morning before district meeting. On the Island we always had to catch the ferry so our studies were pushed back. Anyway, we did studies and then went to district meeting. WE HAVE A HUGE DISTRICT. 7 sisters (including my baby Sister Bell!), and 4 elders. It is great to hear so many different perspectives and ideas. We went grocery shopping after district meeting- got some food and hangers because I didn’t have enough in my new apartment. Then we came home and called all the auxiliary leaders to set up appointments. We wanted to meet with each of them to see how we could help and take a load off of their shoulders. Then we went and visited some members, had dinner, and then saw more members.  We got a referral out of it so it had to have been worth it! We also had a meeting with our Ward Mission Leader. He is great and we are so excited to work with him!

Thursday: Today felt like a total of 824 hours. LONGEST DAY EVER. We had a meeting with our relief society president right after our studies and it was wonderful! She gave us a whole list of sisters to visit in the ward. We spent the whole day trying to contact members. We don’t know who is active, less active, semi active, anything. It’s fun. It’s like a game of Guess Who! We had a lesson with an investigator family planned but they canceled. The son was supposed to get baptized this Saturday. AHHHH. STRESS. But he didn’t show up to church so we are going to postpone it a little bit. We actually have an appointment with them tonight. But overall it has been a good few days. Not sure if I will ever get used to the apartment complexes though. I don’t like when the visitor parking is filled. OR that we have to look up names in a directory at the complex just to call them so they can unlock the door. It is hard to explain. OH AND LOTS AND LOTS OF STAIRS.

Friday: WEEKLY PLANNING TO THE MAX. It took up most of our day. It is hard to plan for an area that neither of you know. We had to reorganize some things but we feel so much better about the area and we are ready to work, work, and work this week.

Saturday; Saturday went by pretty quickly. We spent most of the day at a Roots Tech Family History Thingy (the thingy isn’t actually part of the name I just can’t remember what the rest of the title is). We just helped people get to the correct classes and answered some questions, we got free cookies too. We stayed in most of the night to read through the former investigators in our area book. We actually have a whole separate binder for them because there are so many. We found some great people that we are excited to meet!

Sunday: Well we had ward council early in the AM. It was wonderful to already report on some of the names Sister Jensen (Relief Society President) had given us. We are off to a good start in the ward, folks. We were also asked to say the prayers in sacrament meeting. So when sacrament meeting came, that’s what we did. Then we went to Gospel Principles class where our Ward Mission Leader taught. There was only a few in there. We are teaching next week though so more people better come! ;) During relief society we introduced ourselves and made an announcement. This is critical. We as missionaries come to members’ homes for dinner to strengthen their faith and help them with their missionary efforts. It is ONE HOUR of coordinating efforts and suggesting and receiving new ideas. IT IS NOT ABOUT THE FOOD. Missionaries are not starving to death. We have food in the apartment and we have a specific amount of money to spend each month. We eat at members’ homes to hasten the work of salvation. And to reiterate… ONE HOUR. Half way through the meeting we went into Primary to talk to the 10 year olds about how the Gospel is in all the world. We shared about all the languages the Book of Mormon is translated into and where all of our friends, relatives, neighbors, cousins, are serving. WE KNOW PEOPLE EVERYWHERE! After the block we had a meeting with our Ward Mission Leader. Then a meeting with our Bishop. Then a meeting with Sister Carter the Young Women’s President. We are going to talk to the laurels next Sunday to get them out working with us. We had dinner at the Bishop’s house and then had our studies! Loving it here in the Pacific Northwest! It has been rainy but it hasn’t struck us with lightning, it isn’t slowing us down.

I was telling Sister Johnson yesterday how weird I feel this week. I have so many things to be stressed about or so many reasons to be frustrated for whatever it may be but I AM JUST SO HAPPY. It’s weird. I am just so excited this transfer. I told President Bonham and the Lord (of course) that I am ready to work harder than ever this transfer. Just “trying a little harder to be a little better.” Everyone says the last 6 months of your mission are the prime time. Although, I still feel brand new I feel like I finally know what to do and HOW to do it. I am ready to put it into effect. Because of the disobedience of some previous missionaries, we are really striving to gain the trust of the members. Having exactly 1 hour dinners, returning and reporting on the assignments they give us, and going the extra mile. The work of members and missionaries should not be parallel but should intertwine. They are both good efforts separately but together they are exceptionally great--- invincible.

There are so many people out here in the world that NEED the Gospel. We do not know who is prepared and who isn’t. We don’t know who is behind the door that we are about to knock on but Heavenly Father does. Those are His children. OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS. Open your mouths and share what you know. The success comes in the invite. Give them the opportunity to accept or reject because they have agency. Don’t just pray for opportunities but PLEAD for opportunities. Plead for the ability to recognize those opportunities. Heavenly Father will give them to you. Once you have a missionary experience, share it with others. It gets them excited and they will do the same… it is contagious because it is the greatest work on the earth.

I love you all, xo

Sister Rodda