This week was straight-up boot-camp for understanding the Lord's timeline, and trusting in every step of the way.
I wait to tell you all about our investies because I fall in LOVE with these people, and then they work a part-time, and a full-time, and go to school, and get antie-d and I'm like, "FRODO NOOOOO DON'T GIVE IN." But really. However, I have the total comfort and assurance that as I do well the things in my control, the Lord does the rest.
ExAMPles:
A and his family. A is a man I contacted on his way to take out the trash. I kept thinking about A, but also, I was pretty sure he gave us a fake number. Never got one bit of an answer. Well, months went by, and I wanted to stop by the address he gave us. He wasn't home, so we prayed with his kids in the doorway, and asked when we could come back to see him.
He called us, and was so excited that we had tried to invite his children closer to Christ simply by praying with them. We set up a return appointment and Sister C went and taught him while I was exchanging in Andover. She raved about him - saying he was completely prepared. He came to church that Sunday despite having gotten home from working at the hospital at 7 a.m. (Our church is at 9. I know, right. You're telling ME.) In that month where we couldn't get a hold of him, his confusion with the different churches around him had built and built. He said he kept praying for direction and revelation, and then he'd always see us walk by. (He points at me at this part, his dark face full of light.) "And they always walk by. Rain or shine. Preaching the gospel. Always so happy. And I think, maybe they are my answer." GET OUT OF TOWN. Upon hearing about Joseph Smith, he felt a strong confirmation that this was the right place. This is a place where we believe that the individual matters to God. That we are entitled to communication with him, not through a pastor, but through the very real spirit that lives in each of us.
His wife, E, used to be super religious. With her work schedule the past few years, she has been out of church, and now, with a baby due any day - she is looking for a church in which she can raise her family and strengthen her children of all ages. Their daughter T - a sassy 15-year-old - has never wanted to be baptized. A and E have left it up to her, but have been praying and praying for the time to be right. When we taught her about Joseph Smith, she agreed to January 4th like nobody's business. :)))))))))))))))))))) I KNOW.
And their two other sons are totally on board. Even the six-year-old, who is pretty outraged about the whole age of accountability thing. His two most used sentences in lesson are, "Can I be baptized sooner?" and "Pizza." (He always wants me to draw him pictures of pizza. It's super weird and I love it. Hahahah. PEPPERONI PIIIIZZZAAAAAPILLAROFLIGHT. I'll work it in the lessons. It's fine.) And the 9-year-old has glasses and a heart-of-gold. I am so in love with this family. Please, please keep them in your prayers. They are all set for January 4th, but setting the date is when it begins. :) PRAY HARD. Aaaaaalllllso. Their home is clean and totally looks like a Mormon home.
Which is exactly what I was thinking when I went in their bathroom and was PEEPED on by a life-size portrait of a deceased rapper. Entire wall, status. It was huge. And it said in capitol letters underneath, "ONLY CAN CAN JUDGE ME." Touche, Tupac. Touche.
What ellllllse? I want to tell you about our friend C, but I am out of time... so next week? She fed us fish and bought us groceries and we had a lesson with her every day this week. Miracles, people. Miraclllllles. The timing was perfect. She is a potential investigator's girlfriend, and we stopped by only to find that she had recently welcomed a new baby girl, and that the Lord has prepared her perfectly for this message at this time. She wasn't ready when we met them 2 months ago. Now, she is. I love it. Also, when she fed us, it was fish that still had scales and eyes. Hahahahhaahhaha OH MY GASH. I feel like I don't really notice those things after China, but Sister T. It was the cutest.
I've been dubbed District Mom because I brought snacks to last district meeting and talks for people's investigators and was the first one there with FIRST AID after one of the elders had a bike crash. SORRY GUYS. Sorry I'm not at all sorry. They're 18 out here! Someone's gotta. We're taking a District Christmas card this week, and the Zone Leaders have me in charge of the zone gift from President and Sister Clements. You can just call me Martha Stewart over here. Not. Bless these elders. I blew their minds with frozen grapes and brownies from a mix. Hahaha. GUYS. You just need water and a freezer.
Sister A, my old lady we read with? Said the following this week:
"Ohhhh, you know. It doesn't matter if your husband is talented or wealthy or even if he's good at making love." (I make my Jim Halpert face.) (She worries I don't understand.) "You know. Good in bed." Hahahahahhahaa NO NO NOPE. That's not a thing. NOooooooot a thing you can say to a missionary. I loved it. Sister T was PURPLE. She's the cutest.
Annnnnd in closing, we went to visit a less-active who is completely incapacitated with our Relief Society President this week. She has a live-in nurse, and a tube to breathe, but she is this incredible African lady who used to be a kick-butt progressive social worker. Loved hearing about it from our RS Pres. So, usually, we sing I'm A Child of God when we go a-visiting. This time, I knew we needed to sing "I Need Thee Every Hour." Which was kind of random. But. We were prompted. So we did. Even though she doesn't have use of any limbs or anything, she pulled her neck up a little straighter - and this woman who goes months without saying a sentence - sang every word of every verse. I asked her after if she liked it. She said, "It's. My. Favorite."
The Lord knows us. He knows the timing we need to be ready for the lessons we have to learn. He knows our favorite songs. He knows what needs to happen individually to bring everyone together as a whole. He lives. He loves us. I know that's true, and I trust that. This is so random. Having ONE HOUR TO WRITE GIVES ME PANIC HANDS.
I love, love, love you. :) Keep being the wonderful people that you are, and keep trusting in the timing. It may not be what we want or expect, but it is always, always right. I LOVE THIS MISSION!
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