At a recent all-sisters training the President's wife was trying to show us a slide-show. She is a very intelligent lady and worked in the law-field. She is expert with technology and a clicker for a projector is the last of her concerns. Or so you'd think. She tried. A sister missionary tried. Another sister missionary tried. All 67 of us watched and offered our own 2 cents on what she should do "Did you plug in the adapter?" "Is the battery dead?" "Did you use the right button?" and my favorite, "Is it on?" Hard as we tried there was no success in getting the clicker to work. So one of the sisters sent for an elder. He walks in, picks it up, and I kid you not her clicked and it worked. Right away. He didn't look at anything, change anything, or do anything AT ALL. He just clicked, and the clicker worked! And that, ladies and gentleman, is why we need men. And don't you men get all cocky. You need us, if not more than we need you. Ok it's equal. But just remember that.
PRAYER
of a true missionary.
Something that made me laugh at how funny it was and then ponder for about a week at how true it is. When praying as a young missionary, President Packard said, "Help me to be the missionary that my mom thinks I am." TRUTH
Well folks, that's all I wrote down as far as "email notes" go. During the week I keep track of all the things I want to share come Monday, then Monday comes and I throw it all out like word vomit all over the keyboard. Turns out I didn't take very many notes this week....
I could tell you a story
KEILA
is a woman that the elders met one day on the bus. They went to her home and gave her a Book of Mormon. She and her little family of 3 came to church and had a wonderful time! They met the members and they felt the spirit and their little boy absolutely loved the other kids! We were absolutely stoked out of our minds to meet her! We finally met her. Right away she told us "I have bad news". Keep in mind that as soon as good things start to happen, Satan gets upset. It's kinda like when a bigger and younger brother are playing soccer together and after about 10 goals on the part of the older brother, with nothing to show for the younger, the younger brother starts throwing fists and angry words, grabs at his head and grunts and kicks and eventually throws a fit. Well, Keila LOVED church. She LOVES the Book of Mormon. She knows that it is true and she is the most converted person I have met on my mission. Her husband will have no part of it. He took her books from her and when we came over he called to make sure she remembered to return them to us. He won't let her go to church. Any piece of LDS talk or material is not allowed in their home. As she stacked up the material and gave it one last glance I could feel her sadness. She said "It will be really hard to learn without this Book [of Mormon]." But in those same sad eyes I could see so much HOPE! Those books will sit on our table just waiting to be returned to her. We will not give them to someone else, we told her, we'll hold onto them until she can have them again. Oh man -- so sad.
The next day we were sitting on the Bus after building some houses for Habitat for Humanity when none other than Keila steps on! Ohhh man we were all three of the biggest smiles you've ever seen. She said, "SEE this is a sign!". The next day, last bus of the night, we are sitting in the dark bus when a man yells, "Hold on I have to get the buggy!" and his wife quickly hops on the bus with a baby in tow. "KEILA!" You could see her eyes widen from across the bus. So, we met her husband! Um. Yeah nothing changed. But we have not given up hope. We know that their family needs the gospel.
Get this - they live in the basement of someone's house on a tiny dirt road with no street sign. She said they were walking around on little trails behind the house and came out RIGHT at our church building (which is a store-front that we rent right next to a bakery). Talk about the fast-track to Heaven! They have their very own personalized short-cut to the chapel!
I cannot wait for the day that those hopeful eyes will widen with Joy as her and her family receive all the blessings this gospel has to offer! I know it will happen.
Ok, how are you feelin' now? Did I share enough? How about some pictures?
How about some studying on the beach?
Or some Sunday strollin' with my companion!
Here's some happy fingers re-learning how to play the Ukulele! I can't remember the notes anymore so I took pictures of what I play for each song that I learn so that I can memorize without knowing what the notes are called...
What about me looking like a total goober with a million flowers in my hair (gifted to me by the cutest little baby picking them and runnnnning them back to us)
Or some late-night bus waiting Mary Poppin's style
Here's a bus-snapshot of our drive to church. Right along the beach! It's really not that great... just, whatever, really. Just FREAKING BEAUTIFUL
Aaaand to finish it off we have some P-day fun from this afternoon playing on a dock while we waited for the bus!
Ok. can't leave without a spiritual thought, right? RIGHT!
KAYAK ANALOGY
Every river has a natural flow. If you are riding down in a kayak you can find that flow and it is the most efficient way to slide along down the river. BUT, you have to make lots and lots of little corrections along the way. A little on the left, a little on the left, turn sharp before this rock, curve gently around that rock. If you don't do this little corrections, you'll end up fighting the natural flow of the river and inevitably end up out of you Kayak and out of options. Life is the same way! There is a natural flow that leads us right back to God. Of course we'd love to hop right in and glide along smoothly till we get to the gates of Heaven spotless and dry. But we have agency. And we have trials. We have rocks and logs and our own weaknesses that hold us from gliding along that natural flow. All we have to do is keep up with those constant corrections. Those tiny little efforts that, when used together, make you better than you were before and get you to your destination stronger and happier and more grateful than ever!
So friends, take the challenge! Find the natural flow, whatever it might take. And stay in! Keep changing, keep growing, keep praying, keep asking, keep studying, keep learning, keep sharing, keep going to church, keep loving your family, keep following Jesus Christ! And I PROMISE you, it'll be the ride of your life. It'll be a story you'll tell for eternity :)
Ok. Seriously, you wouldn't think missionaries have time for this. Well, we don't. I'm just super happy and super love you and super want to tell you that THIS WORK IS AMAZING!
The church is true, the book is blue, and the sky is too.
LIFE IS A MISSION
Hermana Hileman
No comments:
Post a Comment