Week of October 26th to NOVEMBER (WHAT?!)
1st.
This has been quite the week... from 20th
birthday to stomach flu to a new investigator (details to come). But on the
bright side I am over my quarter-life crisis, I am no longer sick, and we still
have that investigator.
Monday:
Preparation Day. SEEMS LIKE AGES AGO. My first companion (actually my MTC
companion, Sister Mather, from New Zealand) used that phrase all the time and
ironically enough I hadn't heard that phrase in ages so I took it upon myself
to use it. Well anyway, on that day we emailed and got Mona's. I treated myself
to extra because it was my birthday the next day. Then we went shopping for a
bit. We made ourselves some delicious pasta for dinner. And then headed to our
first less active lesson of the week. It went well and we talked about
conversion. Oh by the way, parents, I couldn't wait until Tuesday to open my
presents so I kind of opened them on Monday. hehe. :/
Tuesday: Sister Bell and I made a great
breakfast. I don't know if it quite compared to the traditional crepes but it
was good enough. We made Lehi Roller Mill muffins and "Eggs ala Golden
Rodda." You can get the recipe from me later. It is our specialty. We did
a weed and feed in the afternoon. Basically we do gardening work and then eat
afterward. We did it for a less active member and it was fun. Surprisingly good
weather. We taught another less active that afternoon and then headed to
dinner. We went to our Ward Mission Leader’s house and he was preparing
burgers- they looked good. But then walked in our good ol' friend who specially
made MY Shepard's Pie. For those who don't know, I only get this meal once a
year because everyone else in my family hates it. I think that's why I like it
so much. Not only did this member make Shepard's Pie but she made like 10000
different s'mores desserts. It was heaven. And she even surprised me more by
giving me presents that Momma J and Poppa Husky sent me (EVERYONE, THEY WERE
TOMS!) We met with a few more people after dinner and then it was headed home.
Days go by so quickly as a missionary but by the next day things
SSSLLLOOWWEEDDDDDD DOWNN. |
| TOMS Rainboots!! |
Wednesday:
Sure enough I woke up in the middle of night because I felt sick. Before I knew
it I was throwing up. YAYAYAYAY- that's my favorite. JUST FOR THE RECORD IT WAS
NOT THE SHEPARD'S PIE. We had district meeting that morning and I did okay
through it. When we got back to the Island we did our studies and then it was
time for our FIRST dinner. We went to a semi-active couple’s home. After an
hour we traveled to our SECOND dinner. (Please remember I currently but
unknowingly have the stomach flu.) This was with a recent convert and his
nonmember brother and sister-in-law. The dinner was great. The brother and
sister-in-law had lots of great questions about missions but made it clear they
weren't interested. We were able to share a message and say a couple prayers so
I guess that is a success. By this time at night my stomach was KILLING ME, but
we headed straight to an appointment with our bishop.
Thursday: LEVEL C DAY #1 Thursday was a
crummy day. Because I was sick and didn't feel well, our mission doctor put me
on "level C" which means I needed to sleep in, have a long lunch (get
out in the afternoon if at all possible) and come in early at night. We didn't
get a lot done. We had to cancel one appointment. But we did go to dinner. At
first I was okay with it because we were going to a cafe where I could get soup
but it was closed so we ended up going to a Chinese restaurant. That was the
last thing my stomach needed. We had two other appointments that night that we
were able to go to. One to a less active couple and one to a recent convert
family. They went well. I have never been so grateful for a companion who took
control of the whole lesson. Sister Bell did AMAZING. She is a great teacher
and she testifies with power. In the mean time I was a little out of it and
just sat there and nodded my head. On the bright side, our Zone Leaders and our
District Leader and his companion all came into our area this day to help us.
They ended up teaching a guy and he is our new investigator! We haven't met him
yet but we have a lesson this upcoming Friday.
Friday: LEVEL C DAY #2- LAME. Slept in, did
studies, slept for a few hours, had a lesson with our returning less active,
went to an hour of the Halloween party, and went home. Being sick is the worst,
but being sick as a missionary is even worse. I felt so disobedient the whole
day while I was laying in bed. And on top of it we didn't get a lot done this
week because I was so sick.
Saturday: LEVEL C DAY #3. Saturday we were
able to get out a little bit more. We were able to figure out where a referral
lived, tried to contact another referral but he wasn't home, we taught a less
active couple, and had dinner. Then we headed home. BUT NOT BECAUSE I WAS SICK
THIS TIME! We had to be in at 5:00 on Halloween so that's when we did our
weekly planning and cleaned up a bit.
Sunday: Ward council, set up chairs, greeted
everyone, and started church. We had one of the best fast and testimony meetings.
The spirit was great. Sister Bell and I both shared our testimonies. After
sacrament meeting, we had the wonderful opportunity to teach Gospel Principles
on eternal marriage. I was especially grateful to give instruction on this
topic because we are professionals at this. There is a statistic that a
companionship of missionaries who are together for two transfers spend more
time together than a newlywed couple of two years. We have got this down.
BIG NEWS: I am getting transferred. I am
really sad to be leaving the Island but it is comforting to know that Heavenly
Father is over all and he knows exactly what is best. I am not sure where I
will be going or who I will be with until tomorrow. But interestingly enough I
know that South Whidbey will be in a three-pack (three sisters) which means
that Sister Bell will be taking over the area AND getting TWO new companions.
She will do great and it truly shows how much Heavenly Father trusts his
children! I am so excited for her! And I am excited to see where I am headed.
PONDERIZING: Hayden, I loved your choice of
Doctrine and Covenants 98:1. I felt like it was a great way to get us ready for
November. Counting our blessings and really giving thanks is an easy way to
find true and lasting happiness. It comforts our hearts to give thanks. Too
often we look over these small instances of blessings or answers to prayers and
fail to recognize them as miraculous miracles. The ponderizing scripture I
chose for week Nov 2- Nov 8 is Mosiah 3:19. "For the natural man is an
enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and
ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the
natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and
becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing
to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a
child doth submit to his father."
Today I feel as though I need to bear my
testimony on my Savior, Jesus Christ. This transfer Sister Bell and I had the
great opportunity to really focus on the Atonement. While the congregation was
singing in sacrament meeting yesterday these lyrics really stood out to me:
"Let me not forget, oh Savior, Thou didst bleed and die for me."
Because of this transfer I cannot forget the knowledge I have of Jesus Christ.
Our purpose as missionaries is to invite others to come unto Christ and this
transfer I truly believe that I invited myself to come unto Christ. He took
upon Himself our pains of sin, trials, weaknesses, struggles, and heartbreaks.
He willingly experienced those things because he didn't know what it was like
to go through them. He suffered so we don't have to suffer alone. I know these
things because I have diligently studied the scriptures, consistently pondered
them, and sincerely prayed to my Heavenly Father. He answered my prayer by
allowing the Holy Ghost to touch my heart and He helped me recognize the truth
I felt by enlightening my mind.
I love you all. THANK YOU FOR ALL THE
BIRTHDAY WISHES, PRAYERS, AND SUPPORT. They mean so much more than you
will ever know!
XOXO
Sister Rodda
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