May 20, 2015
Another transfer has come and
gone! Sister Campbell and I are both staying here in the GREAT Teays Valley.
This is going to be a big transfer! I'll have my mission birthday. I totally
missed my "click day" in May. Just flew right past my eyes without
even realizing it. But this transfer I'm a missionary for a whole year. And
then I even turn 22 and have my real birthday. YIKES!
This past week has been
really.......impressionable? on me. I feel like EVERYTHING about me is
changing. And not in a bad way, definitely for the better. But I feel like
there's so much more to do! For the first time on my mission I desperately
wanted to come home, but not because I was tired and burnt out. There's so much
work to do at home! And (ya'll won't even know who's talking anymore) I just
want to start working on it!
Who has time for a career? There's much more
important work to be done. I also realized how very much I don't want to live
in Utah. Not because I have anything against Utah, I have so many happy and
awesome memories there, but because I want to be somewhere that I can always be
working with the missionaries. I want them in my home ALL the time! I want to
actually DO something with my life. I feel like there's a much bigger sphere of
influence I can have than what I've ever realized before. I don't know what it
is I'm supposed to do, or how, but I feel like there's something for me to do!
Gosh I'm such a dork. I want to make a difference!
It's been awesome to see that
we're all very different for very important reasons. We go through personal
experiences because they make us who we are, and people LOVE us for that! (side
note: People don't always love you for that, sometimes they even hate you. Not
your problem. You still do you.)
I wish people would stop being so ashamed of
things from the past.
"Yes the past can hurt. But the way I see it, you
can either run from it! Or you can learn from it!" -Rafiki
How great is that? I love
being able to listen to people talk about their problems and be able to say and
feel, "I know EXACTLY how you feel." Well, it's one thing to just say
it. It's one thing for someone to start spouting advice and saying, "You
need to do this and this". Problems do not have quick fixes. But how much
more important is it to you when someone can sit you down and share something
from their own life that they struggled with, and how they coped and even over
came it! Or how they're still working through it. I'm stubborn and a bum. You
can tell me all the "solutions" in the world. But if you've never
gone through it I don't care for any of your solutions! How do you know they
work?
I loved watching the
"Face to Face" event with Elder and Sister Bednar. Find it here I love listening
to the leaders share their testimonies about principles that work. I love
hearing about their struggles and how they dealt with challenges. The same
applies to my family members. I want to know the things you struggle with and
have had to work through. One reason is because I'm straight up nosy. I like to
know things! Another is because I want to understand why you are the way you
are. And how I can deal with my problems! Don't hide your problems. Don't air
out your dirty laundry, but don't be afraid to share. No one thinks you're
perfect, so don't pretend to be. That's just annoying.
I'm done with my soap box now.
It's been an interesting week.
The people we've been teaching are actively avoiding us now. It's quite awkward
and annoying. How hard is it to tell the missionaries you're not interested?
Please, if there is anyone reading this who doesn't know how to
tell ANYONE you're not interested, try this and see how it works.
"Look, I'm just not interested and you're wasting your time." Voila!
I bet you they'll stop bugging you. Then you can stop hiding in your bathroom
til they leave, after you awkwardly turned off your t.v. (or whatever it was
that made it blatantly obvious that you were home).
We've been working with Dennis
to get to the temple. I LOVE the temple. I miss the temple. He loves the Book
of Mormon. He re-reads chapters til he can teach it to someone. He always jokes
about being adopted into our families when we see him after this life. He's
excited to receive a Patriarchal Blessing (http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/patriarchal-blessings) and keep studying the Gospel.
We helped Pam set her eyes on
the temple as well. She'll be getting confirmed this week! It's so important to
always keep your sight on the temple. You don't want there to be anything
keeping you out of the temple. So you do your best to always be living your
life in such a way that you could go! Growing up I never had my life in order
like that. But now I do and I wouldn't trade it for anything!
Logan (baptized the week
before I got here) has been requiring FAR TOO MUCH of my patience lately.
And
I've told him.......I think he does it on purpose and enjoys
it.....................
UGH! Boys are stupid.
But he asked some questions that
have been bothering him. Someone who he reveres as a spiritual knowledgeable
person told him the Book of Mormon wasn't true and gave several reasons for it.
It really shook him. We talked about not taking anybody's word for things like
that. Not even ours telling him she was wrong. But he believes it's true
because he received an answer to his prayers, from God, that it's true. What
other proof do you need?
I think the arguments or "anti" about the
Church, and the Book of Mormon in particular, is quite entertaining at times.
For every argument you can come up with, the resounding question returns to the
fact that everything they say applies the exact same to the Bible, and in some
way, the religion they believe. So how do you know anything? Even if
there's no physical proof, how can you know? Well, one cool thing is that the
Book of Mormon is physical proof that the Bible is true!
And the other, is prayer.
If you want to know if something comes from God you might try asking him!
Whod've thunk it?!?!?!
Tammy the 2nd (the A.P.s
found her for us) went to a different church on Mother's day and liked it
so much she took her kids back this week. She still hasn't "ruled us
out". But she's definitely leaning that way. We've been praying hard for
her to know where God wants her to be. Because that's truly what it's all
about. And if she receives an answer that that's where she needs to be, who am
I to tell her she's wrong? So, many times all we can do is pray that he'll make
it clear and powerful.
Did any of this make sense
this week? It's really hard to get a week's worth of pondering and experiences
in a small letter. Especially since I never remember half the things I wanted
to share.
-Sister Packard
Best:
1. Buttercups
everywhere!!!!!!!!!!!!
They grow wild, because they are actually a weed :)
That's
my favorite flower :)
2. Personal REVELATION! It's
the best.
Worst:
1. I somehow deleted all my pictures from this
week............................
I'm
so frustrated.
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