Hey ya'llllll hey!!!
Well i'm not sure i can even put
into words what kind of week we have had! Ha it has been crazy! But crazy good
of course. I have never laughed so hard in my life about the most uncomfortable
and awkward situations we have encountered. This area i am serving in is
definitely an adjustment and just so different than anything i have ever
experienced in my life. It is really teaching me a lot, especially about just
making and enjoying the good of any and every situation. That's something i
have really learned a lot about this week is to just slow down and enjoy where
i am at. I know i've talked about this before, but man for some reason it is
something that is super easy to forget sometimes! We were in the hospital this
week with a lady in our ward (we are at the hospital a lot) haha and she was
just telling us how guilty she felt for just rushing through life and not
stopping to take in the moments that matter most and to just enjoy the
situations she is put in and the people she is surrounded by. I learned a lot
from her talking and just realiized how easy it is to take so many things for
granted. This area we are in ..... well lets just say i feel like i'm in a
foreign country most times just cuz of the poverty that is around and just
seeing the way that people are living. Yeah, it could be worse definitely but
it is still pretty bad. It is so humbling to me and i'm so grateful to be
serving in this area. Yeah, it is hard. and it is not perfect, but this work
that i am doing is perfect and this message i carry is so significant. i just
look around all the time at the people here and they just all need this gospel
so bad! it kills me. It can bless their lives in so many ways and bring some
hope that seems to be so lost back into their lives. It is interesting serving
here where there are tons of civil war sites and everyone is still scarred from
the war and they still let it affect their lives. This town is pretty gloomy
and people arent very happy. it is so crazy! But i really am so grateful to be
here. It is soooo beyond different from my last area but i love the people
here. I love who they are and i love that i can help bring some light back into
their lives by the message that i carry. I need the people here. I need them
probably more than they need me. They have already taught me so much... just
people i come in contact with every day and even ward members. It is so
humbling to hear the many stories they have and the many different situations
they are put in and the hard things they have to go through.
The work is slowly picking up here.
We are struggling to find people cuz petersburg is a ghost town and isnt safe
to walk around and talk to the couple people that will randomly be roaming the
streets and tracting for the most part isnt safe...well there are some safe
areas but president has just given us a whole other set of rules for this area
so we can stay safe. Anyway, its all great. But we were trying to contact just
some less actives the other day and we drove by this random house and i just
felt like we needed to stop and knock on the door at just that one house. It
didnt look like anyone was home so my companion probably thought i was just a
little crazier than she already thinks i am. So we knock on the door and
wait..... we knock again and wait... and we start to turn around when the door
swings open and there is this sweet girl who actually lives with members and
has always wanted to be taught by the missionaries. She is super lonely cuz she
is from brazil and her whole family is still there and she is the only one here
so we invited her to activities and she was so giddy and excited and we are
going back to teach her this week. Just a small miracle we had this week as we
are struggling to find and i just know that the lord is preparing people here
and i know that he will lead us to those who are ready... it may not be in the
ways that we think but i know that they will come as long as we are doing our
part as missionaries and being worthy to have the spirit.
Anyway, things here are going good.
Just remember that the Lord is always by your side no matter what you are going
through. There MUST be opposition in all things! In order for us to learn and
grow and truly rely on the savior and his atonement! We must have opposition
just as the people in the scriptures always did that is why we can always turn
to the scriptures and learn! To talk to god we must pray, and if we want him to
answer we must turn to the scriptures! No matter how hard things get, how crazy
busy they get, or how stressful just remember to take some deep breaths and
just take in and enjoy the moments that matter most in this life. With the Lord
on our side EVERYTHING will always work out the way it is supposed to! I know
that to be true! I know i am called of God to serve as a missionary and in this
area. I'm so grateful to be here. I'm so grateful for the people here and the
things i am learning. Like i said earlier, i need these people more than
anything and the things they are teaching me will forever change me and the
person i am. I love you all so much. have a good week!!!! XOXO
Sister Roosendaal
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