This week I am reminded of one of my favorite Hymns, "I'll Go Where You Want Me To Go." Part of it says,
"
But if, by a still, small voice he calls
To paths that I do not know,
I'll answer, dear Lord, with my hand in thine:
I'll go where you want me to go."
Heavenly Father has spoken through that still, small voice to my Mission President, and has called me, indeed, "to paths that I do not know." So, basically, if you haven't gathered what I'm trying to hint at yet, I'm getting transferred.......... :( But, It's partially a :( and partially a :) because I know that now my job here in Spokane has been finished and that I am supposed to go somewhere else now. I am needed elsewhere, and am excited to try and figure out why. So.. I'm getting transferred from Spokane to Bonners Ferry, Idaho. If you don't know where that is, it's a town at the very tippy-top of the panhandle of Idaho right by Montana and Canada.. so yeah. Should prove to be an interesting change in scenery. Everyone keeps telling me that it's prettier than here, but I'm not sure about that! Spokane has stolen my heart. :)
Well, anyway, that's the new adventure I will be starting on tomorrow. I'll let you know more next week. My new companion is Sister Rogers, and from what I've heard, she is wonderful. I'm super sad to be leaving Sister Schmidt and all of the amazing people that I have grown to love so dearly here in Spokane, but I know that I'm leaving for a reason, so I'll just have to trust that.
So, this week was wonderful!!! :) On Monday we went to Riverfront Park and took some pictures in the Big Red Wagon and went to the mall as a District. It was snowing a ton, but it was a lot of fun, none-the-less. I will attach a picture or two so you can all see it. So happy! :) Then, on Monday night, we were stopping by one of the sisters' homes to grab something from them, and we parked at the end of their driveway so that our car wouldn't get stuck, and then we came back, got in the car, started to try and drive, and the nose of our car went hardcore into a ditch.. so much for not getting stuck.. SO... to make a long story a little bit longer, we tried to get unstuck to no avail, and so we decided to say a prayer together, out loud, and then this kind random good Samaritan came out, backed down his driveway, and pulled us out with his truck. It was seriously such an amazing direct answer to prayer! I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who cares about His children so much that He answers our prayers - even the ones that seem so insignificant to Him, He is so grateful for and eager to answer. Of that I am certain. What a blessing! :)
Then, we went to contact a Former Investigator, Jeannie. She is a Messianic Jew. She says, "From all that I've read (the Bible and everything), everything points to the fact that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." I LOVED THAT! Even coming from someone that doesn't believe in Jesus Christ at all, if they search out the evidences and ask in sincere prayer, Heavenly Father will surely let us each know that Jesus Christ really is His son. :) She says, to everything that we teach, "I think that's true.. OH! I know that's true." It's spectacular. I'm excited to hear how much she begins to progress in the months to come. :)
Haha, I also learned something awesome this week! :) Do you all know what the day before Christmas Eve is!?!?! Christmas Adam!!! Isn't that funny!? Get it?? Because Adam came before Eve! :) I love it! Anyway.. so, on Christmas Adam we went and helped out at a food bank in Cheney, so that was really fun. Then, we were all guessing what would happen to everyone with transfer calls, and our District leader guessed that I would get transferred to Sandpoint. Well, that's funny, because Sandpoint is really close to Bonners Ferry, so He was pretty much right!
On Christmas Eve we ate at a member's home, Sister Cavanaugh. This woman is amazing! She has 17 children - 67 grandchildren - and 126 great-grandchildren.. HOW AMAZING IS THAT!? .. and I thought being the youngest of 10 was intense. I love big families.. so happy! It just warmed my heart to hear this sweet, old lady tell us about her life, about her family that she loves so much, and about how she joined the Church... and we went caroling, so that was super happy!
On Christmas we went to our Stake President's house for Christmas breakfast and their family put together a little skit for all of us missionaries (20 of us total) where they chose a character from the Nativity and then talked about their role in Christ's birth and how that Character related to missionary work. I would invite you all to do that.. It's amazing how much we can learn from the scriptures if we will just apply them to our lives. They truly are for our day, and we are so lucky to have them so easily available to us. What a marvelous blessing! Then, afterward, we got to Skype our families and that was absolutely my favorite experience.. SO FUN! It was the best Christmas gift I could ever ask for. Just being able to see my parents' and a few siblings (missed a lot of you- know that I love you though!) was a dream come true! We also went caroling again on Christmas night, so much fun! :)
Then, on Saturday, we were contacting a man who had, at one time, said that he was interested in learning more about the church, and he just bashed us the whole time. It makes me sad when people try and say what Latter-day Saints believe without actually having taken time to read The Book of Mormon or listen to the Missionaries at all. How can you know if you haven't put in the effort? That principle is so true over so many phases of our lives - if we want to actually learn something, we need to put in the effort to the proper place to find out - we can't just ask any random person and expect the information will be correct - we need to ask someone that we trust. Who should that person be? Our Heavenly Father. He knows all and will not lie to you. Ask Him in sincere prayer and He will tell you everything you need to know. When you ask with a sincere heart and with real intent (which means you are willing to act on the answer that you receive), He will place into your heart through feelings, to your mind through thoughts, or by some other way, an answer. It may be small - but act on it and He will continue to bless you with more answers. :)
Well, I have truly adored being able to serve in Spokane for the last 4.5 months. I am so sad to be leaving, but, like that wonderful song, "I'll Go where you want me to go, dear Lord, over mountain, or plain, or sea.. or to the top of the panhandle of Idaho.." :) I have loved being able to get to learn to love the people here and have cherished being able to feel of Heavenly Father's love for them.
My new address in Bonners Ferry will be:
6526 Monroe St
Bonners Ferry, ID 83805
Love you all! I know this Church is true. That our Heavenly Father sent His perfect Son, Jesus Christ, to the earth to live a perfect life and to show us the way that we can be happiest if we turn to Him. I hope that you have the best week and the Happiest New Year and make S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-specific) goals to make 2016 the best one yet!
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