about week #9
May 12 at 12:55 PM
Well,
I don't really know what all I can tell you this time! I feel like I
told you the most exciting stuff on Sunday. You are all looking great.
You should send me video messages or something more often. It was fun to
see you all.
So I guess the
exciting news of the week. Yesterday, we had what are called MTEs.
Missionary Training Experiences. I packed my bag Sunday night and then
in the morning, after a training meeting, which was super awesome and
made me super pumped to be a missionary, I hopped in a car with two
other sisters and headed up north to Brawley, California. Literally, not
that far away, but the climate is still a little different. El Centro
is all supply yards and dirt and fields, and Brawley is more houses and
suburb type streets. It's pretty there, but it was super hot. It really
didn't get theometerly hot, but it sure felt like the sun was beating
down! But it was a good experience. Since what I have is the gift of
interpretation of tongues, and not the gift of tongues, I had the good
experience of sitting and watching the other Hermanas teach. It was
really cool. I was a little sad I couldn't participate, because I
couldn't speak,not because they wouldn't let me.When I did get to speak
in English though, they said I knocked it out of the park. Haha, it was
almost like they were surprised that I had it in me ;) Their names were
Hermana Jones and Hermana Benevidas. It was Hna Benevida's area, and Hna
Jones was the sister training leader. I love both of them. They are
great friends and great missionaries! It was fun to get out of my area
for a bit and see how other missionaries do things. It made me really
grateful for what I have, for my little casita next to the bishops house
and the fact it is clean and not roach infested, and that the members
here feed us. So if I learned anything, it was learning to be grateful.
Obviously, I learned a lot more lessons, but hey, it was cool.
I had an epiphany the other day, during one of our other training meetings. It was about pass-a-long-cards.
I
was sitting in a meeting listen to our stake president talk about these
cards, and I was grumbling a little inside my head, feeling like, I've
given a lot of these cards away, and I know that they just end up in the
trash or on the ground the minute we turn our backs. What good can that
little card do in their lives? It's just a piece of paper. (I don't
feel too guilty here. I know I'm not the only one who has had that
thought before, so keep reading...)
The
thoughts that came to my mind next were really cool. "They were just
stones." Think about it. The Brother of Jared went before the Lord with
just stones. But instead of just skipping them across the water and
hoping for a ripple, The Brother of Jared prayed over those stones. He's
like, "God, these are just stones. But I believe that they have the
power to light up the inside of these barges. I believe that if you
touch them, you will give these stones power to illuminate."
They
were just stones. But with God's light, they were able to illuminate
the dark barges. These pass-a-long cards are just paper. But with God's
power and direction, they have the power to illuminate the lives of
those whom they touch. We, you and I, just need to have the faith that
they are more than just stones, that they are more than just paper. That
they are an instrument in God's hands to bless his people in a darkened
world, amid the torments of tumultuous sea. So for me, I will hand
those cards out with purpose. With faith. TO believe and to know that
God now has the power to show His finger in the lives of those people.
So yeah... That was cool. A big Light Bulb (or stone, if we are continuing the analogy...) moment!
Pues, Con Amor!
Hermanita Howell
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