The Week of Humbling

September 1, 2014

Bah. This week was pretty rough on me. Dumb emotions. 

I knew that serving a mission would probably be the hardest thing I would ever have to do (at least I told everyone it would be). That is turning out to be true. Not in the way I thought it would be.....and I can't tell if it's better or worse this way. 

The Elders gave me a blessing and I was really hoping for some relief and comfort and what not, LIFT MY SPIRITS! I got very specific counsel but it wasn't quite what I was hoping for :) I was told that this was one of the toughest times I would face in my life and that it's hard. And it's going to be hard my whole dang mission. BUT my prayers of faith are the only way I can overcome these hardships and get through it. With all trials there is the relief that comes from the Lord.

We had exchanges with the Sister Training Leaders (STL's) and lost our car. (Side note: I honestly don't understand the point of STL's. They're supposed to be for our emotional benefit so we don't turn to the Elders, but they seem pretty useless to me so far. I love them. But they're useless.) While walking from Tuesday morning to Friday afternoon we saw MIRACLES! We were at the right places at the right times to see and meet people that were great miracles. Also the fact that weather was WONDERFUL from the second we dropped off our car to 10 minutes before we picked it up. Heavenly Father was just a little kind to us.

In the Radford ward there was 2 baptisms in the month of August. Both live in Pulaski. Pulaski is considered one of the toughest areas in the mission. BOOM BABY! When I first got here as Sisters we were teaching Elias, but Elder Lopez took over while he was here and then the Elders have seen miracles with him and his desire to change. We love this family so much! We drop in when we need to laugh and have our spirits lifted! And they have not just a car, but 2 cars! Do you know how rare that is here?!?!?!?! Super. It was an exciting day. I got to speak on the Holy Ghost.

In Sacrament the 5th Sunday is missionary Sunday! Elder Bingham spoke on faith, Sister Stone spoke on baptism, I covered the Holy Ghost (again), and Elder Kleiman finished with repentance and enduring to the end. We work really dang well together and have seen amazing things happen here. 

Members did so much for us this week as we worked around without a car. One of the biggest helps was Sister Morgan. The Morgan's are the BEST! The only reason you're getting an email today and not tomorrow is because Brother Morgan lets us use his Vet office for emailing every week. They feed us at LEAST once a week and we go over there more than that for water and toilet breaks as we're working in their area. They do EVERYTHING for us and they're awesome. They're also very silly and so much fun to be with them and their 5 kids. 

Juniper is doing great. They came to church again this week! We didn't even call them to remind them. The WHOLE family is coming. The WHOLE family is participating in lessons. And the WHOLE family seems excited to see us every time we teach. 

Scott is doing pretty good, but we don't see him enough to feel confident in his progress. We've had to step back a bit as he adjusts to a new job he hates, and the fact that his wife is probably going to pop out a baby any day now. So we're moving slowly but steadily and he has great support from people at church. 

Sandra has been taking lessons from the Elders since January but is living with her member boyfriend........ So they recently moved from Radford to Pulaski and we're confident that we're going to see her make changes. We committed her to finding a new place to live or figuring out marriage plans soon so she can be baptized. I was very bold. But I didn't do it on purpose. I just knew what I needed to say so I said it! She cried a bit and we talked about different things. She's ready. She just needs to be brave and trust the Lord will provide a way for this to happen......easier said than done with no job and living on disability. People here have rough lives.

The work is moving forward people! Are you helping it advance or hindering it. There is no middle ground!

-Sister Packard

Best:

1. Babies, marriages, and pregnancies. It's all I hear about from home and I'm freakishly excited and happy about all of it.

2. I held a Sugar Glider (weird animal).

3. I got to play with kids a LOT this week.

4. I'm still alive and kicking!

Worst:

1. The Sugar Glider peed on my arms.

2. It's going to be hot this week.

3. Sister Stone is sick.

4. I can't hold children.......

5. Being a missionary is HARD!