Tuesday, October 8, 2013

September 3, 2013


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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