August 26, 2013

Hey everyone!!

 

Well it has been a crazy week and i have been transferred from Charlottesville! I am now serving in the appomattox ward near petersburg and colonial heights and such, just about 20 miles south of richmond. I definitely miss charlottesville and i'm so grateful for the experiences i had there, the people i met, and the many many things i learned! It has been such an amazing experience and i am excited to work here in this new area and see what the Lord has in store for me! I am training a brand new missionary again, fresh off the plane just less than a week ago. Her name is Sister Jones and she is from Denver, Colorado. She is awesome and we are having lots of fun figuring out this new area together. We are obviously both new to the area so we are trying to figure everything out and trying to find people to teach and get things goin!

 

So i guess you could basically say that i am servinig in total hicktown. It is pretty entertaining. Sisters havent served in this area or ward for many many years. In fact, people we have met and even ward members didn't even know sister missionaries existed so they are just eating us right up and are really excited to have us here. We had little girls on Sunday run up to us like we were movie stars cuz they want to be missionaries someday too they had just never seen a "real" sister missionary. It's crazy cuz i was actually reading an article a while ago somewhere probably from the ensign about an experience someone had when they were in the MTC and he said that when he was walking to the temple there was a little girl they walked by and she whispered to her mom "is that a REAL missionary?!" haha i love that story because he goes on to say from that moment on that he would always be a "real" missionary in everything he did and said. That story really affected me most especially since i've been in this area because people are so amazed that sisters serve missions too that i want to make sure i am being a REAL sister missionary. That i am always doing what the Lord expects me to be doing and being a strong example for the people who are always watching and observing us as missionaries....and also that i am being exactly obedient in everything i do and testifying with power and the spirit to those who dont have the gospel in their lives. Cuz if i'm not doing what i am supposed to and not being a "real" missionary then the work doesnt move forward and nothing gets accomplished out here. So i will always be striving to be the best real missionary i can be so that i can be an example to the people here of what a real sister missionary is like since most of them had no clue we existed :)

 

The area we are serving in has a lot of work to be done! There are about 700 members and only 100 or so are active. So we have plenty to do! Haha the ward is very different. Most of them are converts and they are such amazing and humble people... i am excited to get to know them all a little better. Everyone and their dog around here is baptist so our ward is very "baptist" i guess you could call it. Throughout sacrament meeting when people are talking the whole audience is nodding and "mmmm hmmm ing" in agreement to what they are saying and people will even randomly yell out "amen!" or some other odd things. Haha It is like nothing i have ever experienced before thats for sure! But i can tell i am going to have some awesome stories out of this area! Ha i am excited to strengthen this ward and to figure out why the Lord needs me here! It is going to be awesome.

 

I just want you all to know that i really am loving being a missionary. I wouldnt trade any of the experiences i have had for anything in the world. It has been so cool to truly rely on the Lord when you have absolutely no idea what else to do. I can testify that he is there by your side throughout whatever your going through or how hard it may seem. He cares so much about each of us and is just waiting for us to turn to him and let him help us. He will carry you through whatever your going through. He will strengthen and uplift you in ways that you never thought possible. He is right there by your side! I know he is cuz i have felt him so powerfully in my life ever since i got here in virginia. I know how much he cares about each of us especially those who dont have the gospel and he just wants all of his children to return back home to him! I'm doing by best out here to help my brothers and sisters find their way onto the straight and narrow path that will lead them back to their heavenly home. i am so grateful for this opportunity to serve and to be an instrument in the hands of the Lord. I know this church is true, i know i carry and that we all as members of the church carry the most important message in the world or whatever area we are in. We have the most important message that everyone needs to hear, so we must share it by either opening our mouths or just living and being an example of this gospel. I love you all so much and hope you all have such a good week! Thanks for all your support! XOXO

 

Sister Roosendaal