SO... I'm officially in Bonners Ferry! This week has gone by so quickly, I can't even believe it! I am so grateful to have gotten here safely, and to be living this wonderful life. It is such an immense blessing, and I am excited to start soaking up all that this new area is. It's going to be an interesting transition, for sure.. Not being in Spokane anymore and not knowing really anyone at all here, but I know that the Lord has called me another way for a reason, and will qualify me to do this work. :)
Bonners Ferry is wonderful! It is seriously SOOOO beautiful up here, and the people that I have met so far have all been really kind and welcoming... there are a few that live this far north because they don't want to be found.. those are the ones with the "no tresspassing" signs like EVERYWHERE on their property.. so we don't go there. Also, it's been interesting trying to find where people live out in the boonies because a lot of the houses don't have house numbers on them.. haha.. I guess they figure that either everyone knows where everyone else lives, or they just don't want people to come to their house.. or maybe a little bit of both. Either way, new challenges are somewhat amusing. It makes me chuckle that I really am not in Spokane anymore.. and that only 2 hours north is so dirastically different! :) It's really hard adjusting to a new area, but like I said before, I know that I am supposed to be here and am going to work my hardest to forget myself and go to work. It finally really clicked this week (Unfortunately, it took me this long to figure it out) that this really isn't about me at all. I have been focusing a lot, I realized, on how my mission should be changing me and how I need to go home better than I came, but that's not the right idea at all. I really felt strongly this week, that as I begin to focus on others and devote all my time and energy to them and what they need, and give my whole heart to the Lord and His work, I will be changing - when we lose ourselves, we find ourselves. What a tender mercy to FINALLY be able to have that really stick in my brain this week. The way that the Spirit teaches us is such a blessing!
So, I don't have a lot of time to write.. only like 10 minutes, so I will try to see what I can type out in that time... Anyway.. On Tuesday, we had transfers and all of the missionaries met in East Spokane, picked up their new companions and got luggage and bikes where they needed to be (in members' vans and stuff) and then drove to our new areas. It took an hour and a half to get here from East Spokane, which means my new area is about two hours away from my old one.. quite a leap up the river. :) As I drove in, it was late and dark, but I could totally tell how much this place, this little small town, looks like it came straight out of a Hallmark Movie... it. is. MAJESTIC! Seriously.. it has such a little small town feel, and the people are so sweet and the spirit is so strong. It is such a happy place... and it reminds me of being home in Colorado because there are some nice rolling hills here (not sure if I would call them mountains, but beautiful none-the-less). Bonners Ferry only has a population of 2,515 or something like that, so.. it's such a happy place!
On Wednesday we went tracting in these apartments and we had looked at a list of people who may be interested in learning about the church (the apartments here are indoor... so cool! You walk into a building and all of the doors are inside.. so neat! That way we don't freeze when we knock doors.. so neat!) and we go inside and there is this lady and two kids sitting at a table doing a puzzle. To make a long story short, Heavenly Father literally placed these people in our path and we talked to them about the Restoration and asked if they wanted to learn more and they were SOOO excited, it was so surreal... and AWESOME! :) .. then, come to find out that the older lady who was with the two kids was one of the people on our list that we had come to see anyway.. isn't that so cool!? Obviously we were meant to meet her one way or another! :)
I know that the Lord is so aware of all of us and that He will provide a way for His work to move forward. Being a small town, a lot of people have already heard of the church and developed an opinion of some sort and a lot of the houses in town have already been tracted so many times that it's hard to find new people to teach, but this week I really developed a stronger testimony of how members really can make the work progress so much quicker! Our ward here is so missionary minded and they care about really loving everyone, and that has been such a blessing! I know that we each are called to be missionaries in this life - not just those of us that wear a fancy nametag ;)- and that if we put our trust in Heaven, our Father and our Savior will make up all the difference and provide a way for us to bless the lives of others. :)
Sorry this is so choppy, hopefully it's at least somewhat coherent though! :)
Anyway... This week was really spiritual and I have felt the Spirit a lot just testifying to me of the truthfullness of the work and of the fact that everything in life will work out if we just put our trust in Him who makes all things possible. I know that there is nothing that we can't overcome (even feeling like a BRAND new missionary in a new area and knowing no one with lots of snow and chilly weather) if we look beyond ourselves and just focus on others.
I hope that you all had a glorious New Year and are sticking to those new years resolutions. I am personally SO excited for a WHOLE ENTIRE YEAR of missionary work. This is going to be the best one yet, I just know it! Sorry this was so short.. I'll try and do better next week. Have a great one! :)
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