Welcome, welcome Monday morning!
This has been quite the week. Well, it's been more like two and boy, does it feel like it! My compañera and I received the wonderful blessing of getting what you would call "the common cold" this week as we brought it to a close feeling rather ironically like Job. We lost six investigators, found no one new, taught two lessons, and lost our health. What a time. However, this has been a great opportunity for me to once again reflect on why I'm here and what I'm doing. We came around to Friday as our hundredth lesson was canceled and we sat reading through preach my gospel, chapter nine, for any ideas we could implement again to try and find people to teach.
Upon getting home you could say I was more than a little frustrated. Not discouraged, but frustrated. I've learned that with everything that comes you actively have to choose whether or not you have faith that this was/is in God's plan or not. Do I believe there are people ready and prepared to receive us? Do I believe that even though I haven't seen any fruits that I am doing His will? This has been the hard one for me. Recognizing that just because things don't work out doesn't mean we did something wrong or didn't follow the Spirit. It's having a little faith in yourself and your ability to do the will of the Lord while realizing that sometimes His will does not always lead to instant harvesting. "I'm responsible for the efforts; the Lord is responsible for the results" (credit: grandpa).
I wasn't happy this week. I was very much not happy actually. But then I realized I was choosing to not be happy because of this this or this and that, if I had a little faith, I could move on and choose joy. So that's where the new goal comes in: show our faith through our positivity. Throwback to when me and Hermana Ashford were first companions and I said to myself, "Wow, she is so happy. You better step it up on the happiness or this is going to be a rough journey down a long road." Haha! She taught me how to be happy! And we really were so happy. I let some of that joy slip a little. Now why would I do that?? That's dumb, it's "the only intelligent thing to do" (in the words of the author of The Fourth Missionary) to choose joy cause otherwise I don't think any of us will ever make it out of here as who we are supposed to become! My invitation for you is to reevaluate. Look at where you are and decide if you are choosing to have as much joy in this time and this life as you can. Are you choosing to live being a little happy when the Lord would have us live every day joyfully? Why wait til heaven for happiness when you can have it now? :)
One of the things that brought us joy this week was when we went and heart attacked one of our most awesome member families! The awkward part was when we were about to leave and they caught us! They ended up inviting us in and giving us pizza and cake while we sang happy birthday to their son and heard about their conversion story. They're awesome. The not-so-fun part was walking the *cue Sister Platt* "TWO miles!" home because there were no buses for 30-40 minutes at that time. But hey, at least we got a good speed walking workout in ;)
We also got a new ward mission leader! Hermano Montoya! We are so excited to get the member missionary work rolling. Speaking of member missionary work, we took Hermana Herrera out with us to a lesson we had set. Fell through. She insisted on getting us lunch where we got to hear about her family and converting to the church. After lunch we tried to find another one of our less actives. That too fell through. When we left, Hermana Herrera said, "as long as you have tried you have not failed...President Hinckley said that." It was such a little blessing for me at that moment for her to say in effect, "even though none of your plans worked out, I know you're doing all you can" and it was comforting to know she didn't think we were failures because our lessons fell through and we once again found ourselves on plan F.
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This week also included zone training meeting and stake conference. At stake conference two of the return missionaries in our ward also spoke and talked about member missionary work a bit so that was great. Get everyone on board with that one!! And zone training... I love our zone. We got some great instruction at zone training and I felt the Spirit a lot. It was one of the better days of the week (other than that was the day I got sick too, haha). It was great to get to see the other missionaries...also at stake conference, I got to see all the other missionaries I love who are serving in Brooklyn so that was great too! President and Sister Reynolds were there and they spoke as well. Never passing up an opportunity to hear from them. They are just darling. I want to be like them :) We got to say hi and talk for a quick second before and after the meeting, but will see them this week for mega zone conference and again next week for interviews! Busy time!
Other than all that, I'm not sure I have much more... hopefully this week can be really good. We've got a lot planned and hopefully will be able to make everything align with what the Lord would have us do. We also have exchanges coming up this week, almost forgot about that. That should be fun :)
I hope all is well, I will end with one of my favorite scriptures (I say as I have literally hundreds labeled as 'favorite') in Isaiah chapter 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. 4 Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength:
I love you! Hope you have a great week :)
Muchísimo amor,
Hermana Karra Gourley
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| When your lesson falls through so you eat the donuts you had bought for them while you plan... |
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