Hey all!
I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day, full of either spoiling or being spoiled. It was really nice to be able to talk with Mom and Dad yesterday. Haha definitely not nearly as emotional as last Mother's Day, and not nearly as distracting as Christmas. In fact, afterwards, I was way pumped as we went out to do some work. We weren't able to do much work, because it was at the end of the day, but people weren't nearly as cranky to have us knock on their door on Mother's Day as we were expecting!
This week has been a pretty good week! The Lord is blessing us with new investigators to teach, and we are SO grateful! We still often to struggle to find things to do, so we often will just get out of the car and just walk around. We had a pretty neat experience doing that, the other day. It was 8:30 (and it's getting to the point where it's not completely dark at 8:30 anymore) and we literally had no where to go, and with all these exchanges that we have to do, our miles are pretty tight. So, I was kind of fed up and was like, "well, let's just get out and walk around! We have no one to visit this late, anyway, so if there's someone Heavenly Father wants us to talk to, we're not going to find them sitting in the car!" So, we park the car, and start walking around. And, of course, no one is out. But, we end up running into this man, and we start talking to him. Turns out he's from Germany and is just visiting. He wasn't fluent in English, so he didn't understand much, but we gave him a Mormon.org card, and told him they had it in German, and he seemed pretty excited about that. He was the only person we talked to, but we both felt like that was ok. Heavenly Father does His work in His own way, and all we have to do is get out and work. Whether or not he actually looks further into, we still were able to extend that invitation, and we were where we needed to be, when we needed to be there. Remember that! To have missionary experiences, you don't need to see the fruits of your labors! You just have to follow the spirit and be where you need to be, when you need to be there, and, as the spirit directs, open your mouth and testify and invite. I know it sounds scary, but, trust me, once you actually do it...it's not so bad! Because it's God working through you!
Anyways, one of our new investigators is Karin (not like Karen, but like car-in. As in the car that you drive.) and she's way awesome. We found her earlier this week while knocking and set up an appointment for Thursday. I ended up not being there, because we were on exchanges, but Sister Bayles called me that night and was way stoked because the lesson was so amazing! We're meeting with her again tomorrow, and I'm way excited for it! She's definitely elect and prepared by God.
A couple of other investigators who seemed promising we haven't been able to get in contact with, for awhile. I'm a little bit worried about one, Kathleen, but I'm trying to stay optimistic. The other ones have either been sick or WAY busy, so I'm not too worried. We just need to work at getting to talk with them again. Things are beginning to happen, here in Lacey 5th. I'm excited!
The exchange that we did this week was amazing. I went with Sister Graves to the Lacey 3rd area, and Sister Palmer came here with Sister Bayles. Sister Graves and Sister Palmer have been having some...personality conflicts, as well as Sister Palmer seems to be quite passive and timid by nature, and Sister Graves is not. This sometimes isn't an issue in a companionship, because the one who isn't timid is okay with just taking the lead. Sister Graves doesn't like that. She wants to be working in tandem and in unison. The only problem was that she's been letting irritations and frustrations get in the way of her helping Sister Palmer, instead of just focusing on her weaknesses. I knew Sister Graves when she first came out; we were in the same zone in her first transfer. We became kinda buddies, so Sister Graves was able to open up to me during the exchange. We had several good, long, heart-to-heart conversations, and it was very good for the both of us. It was SO neat to see Sister Graves change over the past 9 months! she is a wonderful example of a missionary who strives to change and to do the work. I tried to show her that and turn her efforts to not only helping herself and her investigators grow, but also her companion. It was so neat to just talk with her, and to fully recognize that the words I was say were NOT mine. I literally had no clue what to say, but as I listened and then opened my mouth, words came out. I'm very optimistic about how this transfer is going to turn out for Sister Graves and Sister Palmer. I think it will be one of great growth for the both of them.
Welp. It's been a great week! I'm excited for what this one will bring! I love you all, and I'm so grateful for all that you guys do for me, so support me and keep me out here. I really can't express the gratitude. I love you!
Sister Beth Ann Root!
PS my birthday. May 28th. The best birthday gift you could give me? Go and pray for a missionary experience, diligently seek one out, and then tell me about it. It doesn't have to be some grand thing like inviting someone to be baptized! That's the missionaries job! :) It can be as simple as giving someone a Mormon.org card, just as we did that one night. Or giving someone a Book of Mormon, or inviting someone to church, or ANYTHING! just helping. Bearing your testimony of a gospel truth. you will be so blessed for doing it. There is a spirit, a peace, and an excitement that comes from having these experiences. and you will never regret asking for one and having one.
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