Rakkaat ystävät,
That's right, it's finally here! And is it a winter
wonderland in Kuopio yet? Well, actually...no. BUT we did get a little snow
yesterday and the skies are actually clear today (for the first time in a
month) so it might finally be getting colder. Pray for it.
Some big news items:
-U, the nice older woman, dropped us. She gave us a call
Monday afternoon tellign us that she wasn't really feeling it right now, and
that, perhaps because she didn't understand all the passages in the Book of
Mormon that she had read, she just didn't feel like learning any more at the
moment. It makes me really sad that her reason for not meeting was lack of
jaksaa (she just doesn't feel like it, which is in fact a perfectly valid
excuse in Finland, no matter what the situation, believe it or not), because I
know for a fact that this gospel is EXACTLY what she needs right now (not to
mention forever), and she just can't see it the way I do. Booo,
sadness.
-In a happier category, our lovely young M decided on a
baptismal date! She picked January 24, which, granted, is a little far in the
future, but right now we are giving the choice to her. Originally we had
presented an earlier date in December and she had kind of balked at the
idea, so we don't want to push her right now to move it up. The important point
here, though, is that she actually picked her own date. She wasn't one of
those "I don't know, some time in the future maybe" people. She said
she'd be ready in January and picked her own date, and by golly she will be
ready in January. Can I just tell you again how cool she is? She keeps her
commitments, she prays (with us and without us) and she feels good about
everything she's learning, not to mention she is already gaining a
testimony that Joseph Smith was a prophet, and the first thing that seemed
cool to her about the Plan of Salvation was that we are Resurrected because
Jesus Christ was resurrected. So she is pretty awesome.
-We had a lovely Thanksgiving. Our BML, who is an American,
provided a real American Thanksgiving dinner, complete with turkey (which, mind
you, costs like 40€ in Finland, if not more) and lots and lots of pie. I made
stuffing and rolls. The stuffing turned out really well, but the rolls were
kind of a flop. But you take what you can get when you live on a missionary
schedule and don't have time to experiment.
-We performed our musical number, Savior Redeemer of My
Soul, in Sacrament meeting on Sunday, and the branch really loved it. They all
seem to be musically inclined in some way (tons of violinists, pianists,
vocalists, a cellist, so on and so forth), so they really appreciate a good
musical number. I mean appreciate in the sense that they have a "special
musical number" every. Single. Sunday.
I've sung this song quite a few times, but this time I
really thought about the meaning more than ever. Throughout my mission I've
worried that I'm not changing enough, that I'm not trusting enough, that I'm
not working hard enough, that I'm not feeling the Savior walking with me
enough. But I think we sometimes get caught in the trap of comparing our
current self with our future self, rather than with our past self. We only
notice the progress we still need to make and not the progress we already have
made. I realized that it was like looking at photographs of myself from 10
years ago. When I was growing up, I didn't notice the differences and changes
day to day; but looking back over a longer period of time, I really see how
much I have changed: I'm taller (well, not that much taller), I have better
teeth, I've lost my baby fat, I look more mature. My mission has been like
that. I haven't noticed the changes along the way, but looking back from where
I am right now, I recognize how different I am, and for the better. I cannot at
all imagine who I would be right now had I not chosen to serve a mission. The
Lord has been guiding me the whole time, and I've been shaped and chastened and
refined. And I'm not even done yet. Long story short, it was a really powerful
experience for me as I sang those words on Sunday to realize that they were in
fact pertinent to me, and that I am in fact on my way to aligning my will with
the Lord's and to being more in harmony with Him.
-Sunday afternoon was the most relaxing Sunday afternoon
I've had in almost a year (aka since before my mission). Sisar Bunting got
sick, so after church we came home and didn't leave the apartment for the rest
of the night. It was kind of bizarre just sitting at home, but I got to finish
a couple projects I've been needing to finish for weeks now. And we blew through
a couple movies too, namely The Testaments (in Finnish for out language study),
Legacy, and one of the District DVDs. Our libraby is pretty limited as
missionaries. Let's just say that I can pretty much quote Legacy word for word.
Don't judge.
But I guess I really must be a missionary, because the whole
evening, I felt kinda fidgety and ineffective. It took me a while to figure out
why, but soon realized that it was because we hadn't been outside and hadn't
really done anything. At home I love just sitting around for a day doing my own
projects and watching movies, but as a missioanry it's kind of freaky to feel
like you haven't accomplished anything that day. So that's a mentality I just
realized I actually have.
Well friends, welcome to December, the season of snow
(sometimes), lots of baked things (at the right times), and remembering the
birth of our Savior Jesus Christ (all the time). Don't forget to serve others,
to love everyone, and to give your best gifts to Christ.
Also check out christmas.mormon.org and consider sharing it with friends.
It's a really easy way to do missionary work over the holiday season. After
all, He is the reason.
Have a lovely week and stay shiny!
Rakkaudella,
Sisar Hillebrant
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