(Letter from September 22, 2014)
"If we are not humble then we will be compelled to be humble." <--- And THAT is the lesson that I have learned this week.
Week one of the transfer with Sister Miller has proven to be a very humbling experience. When I grow up, I want to be just like her. She is the purest definition of missionary: quiet, humble, kind, patient, loving, charitable, exactly obedient, and all around Christlike.
She came in to the area and she lovingly showed me that I've been doing things incorrectly... my entire mission. WHAT?! I was so devastated. I wasn't aware, but I had not been doing paperwork right or following all mission protocol exactly. I was CRUSHED! I had been disobedient!!!
"My companion is going to think I'm a complete idiot! She probably thinks I have no idea how to do missionary work! This is terrible! What have I been doing these past 8 months?!"
I seriously cried- for the first time in a long time. I felt like I had been slapped in the face and fed a HUGE slice of humble pie. (Which, looking back, that was a stupid reason to cry. But still.) I sat her down during companion study and explained my desire to be obedient and do everything exactly right- but that she'd need to help me do it. I hadn't been trained on these things! I just kind of... figured it out on my own. And Sister Miller, being the absolutely Christlike missionary that she is, consoled me and told me that she would teach me. *sigh* I love her. She is amazing. Here goes training!!! haha!
A member of the ward made us an African dish for dinner (something from his mission)- ugali and egg stew and spinach. Look it up, Google it. Haha. It was... definitely interesting. It just solidified my gratefulness for serving in the United States- that's for sure. That's, by far, the most foreign thing I've eaten on my mission. It totally passed up lamb and uncooked chicken. hahaha
We did a TON of service this week. How I love, love, love service! :) Here in Parma, we've been struggling to develop member/missionary relationships. So we decided that we were going to do service for each and every family in the ward. It'll take a long time- probably span over a couple transfers- but the missionaries in the future will benefit from it! We've already noticed a difference our associations with ward members, in meetings, getting referrals, etc.
During our service run, we helped Mariah and Dallas clean their trailer that they live in. (Pictures included.) This was the first time that I had ever been in their "house". And, oh my, it was interesting. Their kids are always getting sick and having to go to the hospital- and now I know why. We helped them clean for a total of 2 hours- and managed to make it so that half of their trailer was... sanitary. They both didn't grow up with parents that taught them how (and why it's important) to live clean lives and live in a clean home. We plan on going over there every couple of days to help them do a "quick pick up" and teach a lesson on cleanliness.
While cleaning, Dallas turned on some church music and after listening for a few minutes said, "I love this music! It makes me want to work!" And I responded with, "That's the Spirit, Dallas!" And then later in the cleaning session, near the end, Dallas said, "I've never lived in something so clean... I don't even know what to do with myself. It's so peaceful!" and again I said, "That's the Spirit, Dallas!" Mariah was THRILLED to live in a clean home (at least for that little while that we were there) and thrilled that she accepted help. We shared D&C 88:119 with them. It was one of the most evident changes in the Spirit that I have felt since being on my mission. As the 2 hours went on, it became stronger and stronger. It was wonderful.
We taught a missionary preparation class at mutual this week for the priests and laurels (as well as our ward missionaries). I LOVE the youth of the church! They're my favorite people. :) We taught them how to talk to their friends about gospel topics- teaching them to summarize their answers into 1-2 sentences when their friends ask about doctrine (they showed us what they learned by performing skits). We also showed a couple mormon messages about missionary work and then bore our testimonies. Overall, it was a good spiritual experience. I think that the youth took to it well and that they'll use what they learned when they're at school.
OH! I HAVE to tell you this! Elder and Sister Short (the senior missionaries that work in the office) have a son that lives in our ward boundaries that is inactive. They had told us about him, and we had been trying to find their son for 2 transfers! But he would either never be home, never answer the door, whatever the case was. I told Sister Miller about our predicament, and we created our transfer goal: "FIND RJ SHORT". Well, that night, we thought that we'd get a jump on it. So we drove to his house and knocked on the front door- and then HE WALKED AROUND THE SIDE OF THE HOUSE! YESSS! WE FOUND HIM! We talked to him for about 30 minutes- he showed us his farm and we invited him to come to church on Sunday. After 1 DAY- we reached our transfer goal. Haha. Looks like we'll need to make a new one. :) And we're so excited to tell Elder and Sister Short that we FINALLY met their son. :)
We had another lesson with the Stewart's. We watched "Finding Faith in Christ" and recommitted them for baptism on October 18th. _____________ is really struggling with quitting smoking- extra prayers would be wonderful. We know he can do it! With Christ, we can do anything!
We taught 22 total lessons this week! A new record for our area! YES!
But, again, I am loving my new companion and this new transfer! I'd love to get some letters/emails/pictures from friends at home. :)
Moroni 10:32
Sister Gubler
Sister Gubler
This is Patti- she is one of our ward missionaries. :) She likes to think of herself as our "missionary mom". She's seriously the funniest lady on the planet! I learn so much from her.
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