Here you go:
Psalms 27:14
Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.
Psalms 71:7
I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my strong refuge.
Proverbs 3:15
She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.
Proverbs 3:17-18
Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.
Proverbs 4:23
Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
Proverbs 8:34-35
Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord.
Proverbs 16:3
Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.
Proverbs 16:9
A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.
I especially like the verses about wisdom that sound like they're just talking about a woman and I can make them about me :) Cuz I'm a dork like that. Anyways! This week was crazy. But awesome.
We've been having great lessons with Dennis and Pam and they're ready to have their interviews this weekend and then get baptized next week! They were both self-sufficient in getting themselves to church this week and loved it as ever.
Sis is being a bum and honestly just doesn't want to change..........so we might have to stop seeing her for a bit. But her neighbors have really opened up.
Like Grumpy. (yes the Sisters always call her Grumpy). She's normally very grumpy :) We were talking about some things in a group setting with neighbors and she told us we should come by some time and talk. She doesn't think she can ever change...... We'll see :) That was something we never expected to happen.
We had an awesome lesson with Danette this week. She's gone through several sets of missionaries but has been stuck the whole time. But this week she very humbly asked us, "How can I know I'm good in God's eyes? I've been praying so much for forgiveness and I still feel like something is missing...."
Can I just say, this is a missionary's most exciting moment of the day. We got to testify about baptism for the remission of sins and being a member in Christ's one and only Church on the earth. She came to Church and hopefully got the answers she was looking for.
On Friday I got to go on exchanges and party in Charleston for a full 24 hours! It was fun to be next to the mission office and in such a big apartment. It's HUGE! And brand new for them.
It's interesting how a mission brings up a LOT of things from the past you never would have remembered otherwise. I feel like all these memories keep coming up of things that are making me face and deal with my problems. Like the root of my problems. Gross. It's good, because to truly heal I believe you must know what it is that caused the pain.
But it's also frustrating because I'd like to be able to focus on.....not those things right now. But I know they're coming up for a reason and I just have to face each one head on. I'm just grateful that, for the most part, they've come one at a time.
But, some missionaries seem to float through their missions and nothing phases them. I feel like each week I've been beaten black and blue by something! But it's hard. It's supposed to be hard. It's been hard the whole time. And it will be hard the whole time. It will be the hardest thing I've ever done the whole time. And it makes me want to go home a lot. And I whine a lot.
Yesterday I hit a point where I felt like I couldn't do it anymore. I had no desire to go out, I felt like I couldn't face the world, and I just wanted to curl up in bed and cry. So I did for a good bit. Luckily my companion is very understanding and took the time to re-decorate our front room. Anyways, crying, a 10 minute crash from exhaustion, reading Proverbs and Psalms til I laughed, then a prayer. It seems to be my pattern.
But the important thing is moving on. Enduring. Don't give up. NEVER give up. I always remember Phil saying, "Once you get to the MTC you're there. And don't you DARE come home early."
Meh. No sympathy. But at this point of my mission it's much easier to deal with things than it was at the beginning. So, PROGRESS! Maybe it is really adding to something :)
Last night we needed to find one more investigator for the week and it was starting to get dark. Sister Campbell was praying and I thought of our investigator's daughter! Chrissy, we've heard a lot about her but never met her. So I pretended to listen to the rest of her prayer but I was just so excited to go see Chrissy I couldn't pay attention............ :)
She let us right in and sat us down. The house was teeming with screaming kids. The T.V. was blaring. But the Spirit was still there (one of my favorite things I feel like I'm learning is how to control what I can control even if I can't control the "big things").
First we shared about Family History. She has a great desire to learn more about her Grandfather and his family (his Mom was a member of the Church). Then we talked about how the Book of Mormon can answer any question we have. I thought she was going to cry. She shared how she's always been told you never ask God, "Why?" But just keep pushing through.
We shared Nephi's story of asking, "Why? Why do I have to go camping for 8 years? Why am I leaving all my friends, my house, food, money, and comfort?" And look what happened to him!
Heavenly Father wants to answer all of our questions. He wants us to understand. Needless to say, we found our new investigator. And we're excited to go back :) I KNOW the ancestors on the other side are involved with Chrissy and her Mom Pam. Watch out for miracles next week.
May you all see the wonders and miracles that are around you all day every day. No matter how bleak. And if nothing else, pray to know what you can have control of.
-Sister Packard
Best:
1. Walmart has a gas station!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It' so cool. Not really, we haven't used it. I just get excited about stupid things.
2. Sister Campbell is starting six months to sexy, so I'll get like.... eight months to exponentially good looking?
3. When your companion trusts you.
4. Discussing Atlantis and black holes in a Gospel setting. So much fun.
Worst:
1. It's getting hot, and our air conditioning doesn't work.
2. No pictures this week. I didn't bring the right technology......
3. I groggily crashed into the bathroom yesterday morning and reached for my toothbrush. Instead I grabbed a spider which ran FAST and I couldn't see anything cuz I wasn't wearing my glasses and I just screamed and freaked out til Sister Campbell found it and flushed it. Not my favorite way to wake up in the morning.
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