I can't believe July has come and gone! Time is picking up speed real quickly!
This
week was a good one! Nothing too exciting to report on, but we did get a
few new investigators that we are super excited to work with, and we
also met some really awesome people. I went on my first exchange this
week as a Sister Training Leader (STL) and boy. I don't feel cut out for
this calling! I have been a stress case all week! I thought p-day was
never going to get here. haha but thank heavens for my student gov
training with stress. ;)
TCC is great! super small, but it's fun because you get to know EVERYONE on campus! so that's pretty awesome!
Sister
Wood and I are TERRIBLE at asking for referrals, so we came up with a
reward system to help us remember. We decided that if we asked for two
referrals everyday, one in a lesson and one in a contact, for five days
in a row, we would go to this place called Crepe Vine, and guess what.
We did it! We are SO excited! That's our dinner for tonight. :)
This
email is super lame.. BUT I'm doing good, and still L O V I N G it out
here. It is hotter than hot, and the humidity is a killer, but I
wouldn't trade it for the world. I have been super blessed with amazing
companions and great areas, and I still am loving every bit of it.
Also,
I had another "lexa" moment this week. I learned that all the months
have the same amount of days every year. Who knew! hahaha I am such an
idiot sometimes! My sweet companion sure got a kick out of that one!
I'll
leave you with a story that Sister Wood shared with me this morning.
It's from the talk Come and See by Elder Bednar given in the October
General Conference of last year, and I absolutely love it.
"One
evening Susan and I stood near a window in our home and watched two of
our little boys playing outside. During the course of their adventures,
the younger of the two boys was injured slightly in a small accident. We
quickly recognized that he was not seriously hurt, and we decided not
to provide immediate assistance. We wanted to observe and see if any of
our family discussions about brotherly kindness had sunk in. What
happened next was both interesting and instructive.
The
older brother consoled and carefully helped the younger brother back
into the house. Susan and I had positioned ourselves near the kitchen so
we could see what next took place, and we were prepared to intervene
immediately if additional bodily harm seemed likely or a serious
accident was imminent.
The older brother
dragged a chair to the kitchen sink. He climbed up on the chair,
assisted his brother onto the chair, turned on the water, and proceeded
to pour a large quantity of dishwashing soap onto the scratched arm of
his little brother. He did his best to gently wash away the dirt. The
reaction of the little brother to this procedure can only be described
accurately using language from the holy scriptures: “And they shall have
cause to howl, and weep, and wail, and gnash their teeth” (Mosiah
16:2). And did that little boy howl!
After the
scrubbing was finished, the arm was carefully dried with a towel.
Eventually the screaming stopped. The older brother next climbed up onto
the kitchen counter, opened a cabinet, and found a new tube of
medicated ointment. Though the scratches on his little brother were not
large or extensive, the older brother applied almost all of the ointment
in the tube to the entire injured arm. The screaming did not resume, as
the little brother clearly liked the soothing effect of the ointment
much more than he appreciated the cleansing effect of the dishwashing
soap.
The older brother returned again to the
cabinet in which he had found the ointment and located a new box of
sterile bandages. He then unwrapped and put bandages all up and down his
brother’s arm—from the wrist to the elbow. With the emergency resolved,
and with soap bubbles, ointment, and wrappers all over the kitchen, the
two little boys hopped down from the chair with bright smiles and happy
faces.
What happened next is most important.
The injured brother gathered up the remaining bandages and the almost
empty tube of ointment, and he went back outside. He quickly sought out
his friends and began to put ointment and bandages on their arms. Susan
and I both were struck by the sincerity, enthusiasm, and rapidity of his
response.
Why did that little boy do what he
did? Please note that he immediately and intuitively wanted to give to
his friends the very thing that had helped him when he was hurt."
Every
member is a missionary. Are we doing those things to keep us
spiritually strong? Are we reading our scriptures everyday, more
importantly studying them? Are we sincerely praying to our Heavenly
Father always? Are we attending ALL of our church meetings regularly?
Are we spiritually prepared to share the things we know and love with
those who don't know about it? Are we gaining the trust of Heavenly
Father for those people to be placed in OUR path? I hope and pray that
we each gain the pure desire that this little boy had. I hope we are
strengthening our testimonies so that we too can run to all those around
us and share the gospel that we love so dearly.
I
am eternally grateful for the opportunity I have been given to serve my
Heavenly Father, to represent my Savior, Jesus Christ, and to run to
those around me to shed the light of the gospel into their lives. I am
forever grateful for the things I continue to learn about not only
strengthening my self, but strengthening others through the enabling
power of the atonement.
I challenge you to
pray for a missionary opportunity and take advantage of the one Heavenly
Father places in your path. No greater joy comes than when you share
the gospel.
I love each and every one of you!!!
Have a blessed day! (I hate that farewell, but I'm in the south, so I'm going to use it anyway.)
Sister Holmes :)
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