Many Prayers Were Answered

Happy Monday!

 

Sister J. left last Tuesday, and it was really hard. We wrote in each others journals and we saw a lot of members before she left at 5pm. I was crying like a kid who had their toys taken away on Christmas morning and I had to go with the other sisters to their appointments. I haven't heard from her although she is an hour ahead of me in Brazil. Hopefully next week she'll email me back.

 

So, my new companion is Sister B., and she's from Washington, DC! She's been out for 15 months and only has two transfers left. She has been praying her entire mission that she would be able to serve in Atlanta, and the Lord has finally delivered! I thought I was a hard worker when it came to missionary work, but she takes it to the next level. I am so drained by the end of the day, I don't even have time to think. I'm the new designated driver, and I haven't driven in almost 5 months. I was pretty anxious the first day considering we do live in the city, but I haven't managed to kill anyone yet, miracles!

 

Missionary work is exhausting but this past week it's moved to a new level. 

 

During transfers, it's tradition that whoever is going home that transfer gets to speak. President Harding asked, "Did we miss anyone? Unless anyone else wants to go home you can get up here." I faked getting up and there was a few laughs as I sat back down. I'm not going anywhere!

 

C. our recent convert is doing great, and he loves going out with the missionaries. He wants to come out with all of us 2-3 times a week, and he also has a calling! He is being welcomed into the ward and doesn't even sit with us anymore. Which is great, because we want him to get attached to the ward, not us! He texted me last night saying that he was so grateful for Sister J. and I teaching him. We and the church have been a great and positive influence on his life, and he prays that I will have joy and happiness throughout my live. Those texts from recent converts make hard missionary work so worth it!

 

Since we haven't had anyone to teach, Sister B. and I have literally been out all Thursday, Friday, and most of Saturday trying to find people, and Heavenly Father answered our prayers! Thank you for your prayers on our behalf, also.  We've given out all of our Books of Mormon except 2, gave out all of our Restoration pamphlets except 3, and we have two investigators on date, and 14 new investigators. Our numbers have shot up like crazy. My best part of the week was the day we got the best numbers ever and the assistants to the president texted us saying that we're not allowed to use steroids on the mission, haha!

 

As we were tracting (yes, tracting. Something now I actually don't completely HATE doing,) a lady asked us if we're Jehovah's Witness. We said no, and she asked if we were Mormons. We said yes and she scoffed and said, "CULT!" and drove away in her car. We actually went up to her house but didn't leave a card. Sister B. and I tried to explain that we aren't a cult since she believes our God and Jesus Christ differ from hers. She even shared this pamphlet about 'Christianity and Cults" and we were on there. They quoted 2 Nephi 2:25 correctly, so I guess she doesn't want her/our God to have joy? We knew we weren't going to get anywhere, so we just walked away from her accusations. I found it entertaining.

 

K.'s Mom isn't doing well (he’s the one that takes care of his ill parents, daughter, and grandchildren) and she's been going through dialysis, so we haven't been able to teach him. It seems like the adversary is working hard on him, so I know that we need to try even harder to teach him! We'll be teaching his daughter Ch., and she said that she would start reading the Book of Mormon although she has difficulty reading it.

 

We were able to go to the Women's Broadcast and I thought it was awesome. One of my favorite lines from the meeting about our inner beauty was, "You're royalty, so act like it." We are literally descended from our Heavenly Father who is King. The same applies to "You're Christian/disciples of Christ, so act like it." So as we go throughout our week, we should always remember to act like royalty. Except for the fact we shouldn't be prissy like some royalty. 

 

I'm worried for R. (another recent convert) since he hasn't been able to come to church. He calls us occasionally to explain himself because he feels misunderstood. He told me how much he's going to miss me and how much he misses Sister J. now that she's in Brazil. He probably gave me one of the greatest compliments I've ever received in my life. He said that if anyone should gain their full potential from God, he prays that it's me because he knows that I have and will do great things for God as a missionary and throughout my life. I'm so privileged to be a missionary to have the opportunity to influence others for good and change their lives for the better.

 

B. and N. two of our long time investigators dropped us, and that wasn't such a shock. I'll continue to pray for them that their hearts will be softened, and I know that's all I can do.

 

It's been a great week overall, and I was so excited to hear that Jennifer had her baby yesterday! She's going to be named Marie, after my middle name right? ;) I hope that we always endure to the end, because there are so many blessings in store for us as we endure our trials well. Always remember that Christ has felt what we have gone through, and we can always turn to him for support.

 

Have a great week, and always read your scriptures!

 

-Sister Sudweeks

P.S.   Sorry I don't have a picture of my new companion, I'll get that to you next week!.