WHERE.TO.START! This place is nuts. I feel like I could write a novel
on what's happened on the last week. Just to put this on the table and
get it off my chest...WE. WALK. ALL. DAY. LONG. No car. Companion
doesn't wanna do bikes. And sometimes buses just don't come. Soooo, I
invested in a pedometer. No worries, weekly totals will be provided.
Point is. Sometimes I feel like Mr.Potato Head and that my two little
legs are just gonna pop off. Butttt, we keep walking. Keep talking.
And for that, God has been really good to us. Hermana Madsen says I'm
the new luck charm because things have just been going right this
week. I like to think a little differently #promiseit'snotme.
First day. Got to the area. Did all of our shopping- which included a
trip to the mega Target on the other side of our area to get a fan and
a blender. No buses came. It started pouring. No umbrella. Sighhhh, we
probably looked like little drowned kittens when we showed up at the
Relief Society President's house for dinner. Luckily we had nice soft
towels for us to dry ourselves off with and all was well.
Day two. We had only one planned appointment for the day and a big
block of time for contacting. Woof. Defs not used to that. Cool
experience number one. We're walking down this neighborhood, when I
see out of the corner of my eye this sweet old lady who looked really
sad. Before my fear could stop me, I turned and we started talking to
her. After a few minutes of conversation, a man (later identified as
her husband) came out on the balcony and yelled, 'Hermanas! How've you
been? Long time, no see! Blah blah blah....'. Come to find, we had
just located a former investigator who we taught right then and there,
and he seems pretty legit!
A not so great moment of the week was on Friday, when Hermana Madsen
and I went back to my old area for a funeral :( Hermana Ramirez had
called me the day before to tell me that the son, Diego, of our less
active had passed away. This kid, bless his heart, was just a few
months younger than me - and has had some serious disease for a huge
part of his life. I didn't mention anything in last weeks letter, but
Hermana Ramirez and I had spent a good amount of time in the hospital
with him, his mom, and the rest of the family during my last week in
the area. I won't go into much detail, but the father/husband of the
less active, is pretty anti Mormon- and as 'protection' for us (I
guess he's said really rude and hurtful things to members and
missionaries in the past), we only ever visited the Hermana in the
mornings without him knowing. Obviously we met him in the hospital,
and you could tell that it meant a lot to him that we cared enough to
continually visit them in the hospital and then come again to the
funeral. Idk how to say it without it sounding weird, but I feel like
the experiences I've had this week and especially the ones at the
funeral, have been pretty pivotal for me in the mission. To watch this
grown man weep and tremble at the side of his sons casket, and know
what he DOESNT know, and what he has rejected for years, was extremely
painful. Painful enough that the 4 of us Hermanas were all crying.
Obviously death is hard, but it can be so much easier. Fortunately,
from what I could tell, the less active Hermana has been taking it as
well as anyone could in that hard situation, and has really been the
rock for her family. More than anything(!!!!!!!), I hope this will
bring the family closer together, and open doors for the missionaries
to go, serve, teach, and ultimately, comfort.
Lastly, Saturday night, we had planned dinner with an active family in
our area. We show up, and first thing the Hermano tells us is that he
wants us to teach his friend/coworker. Who was sitting on the sofa.
Right then. Done. GLADLY! This kid. Ah. Total angel. 19yrs old. Came
to the U.S about a year and a half ago from Ecuador. No friends. No
family. Met this Hermano at the zoo, where they both work, and is now
living on their sofa. The member actually took Milton (yes, that's
actually his name) to church last week. He loved it. Then he showed
him the Restoration movie. Also loved it. Really. Kid is golden. He
asked us some of the most perfect questions. Haha, the member keeps
telling us, and Milton, that he's gonna get baptized soon and will be
on a mission within two years, hahaha.....no pressure, Milton. Anyway.
He came to church again today. Made him be friends with a guy who just
got home off his mission a year or so ago- and have plans to teach
Milton, with him, on Tuesday #kidisgettingbaptized
#possiblytoogoodtobetrue #Wehavefaith
Wait. One more thing. On our way to the funeral, we got on the train
(expecting Hermana Ramirez and her companion to pick us up at the
station), when they informed us that they were running really late and
that we would have to wait for them at the station.....no thankssss.
We got off on the following stop, which luckily, was on the far corner
of our area. Walked for like 10minutes in this neighborhood, when we
got a referral/ text from church head quarters. We stopped. Read the
message. Looked up. And the house was literally right there in front
of us. Seriously. Of all the places to be in our area at that time
that we received the text message, what are the chances we'd be right
there? Miracle for sure. Man was home. Sweet little old guy. We're
going back to him on Wednesday. Yes!!
Woah. This has quickly turned into a novel. There was just so much
goodness going around, I had to share!
For those who skipped the letter and are looking for pictures....here ya go!
First day. Looking hot at the bridge. And thennnnnn getting poured on.
Found ourselves in what looks to be Latin King territory #LatinPrincess
And finally. Walking home from church....10k steps later. Literally.
Found this gem of a bridge. May be hard to tell, but I was pretty
'fresh' in the princess photo, and was about to die in this one. Long
walks in the sun can do that to a poor ginger girl
#couldhardlykeepmyeyesopen
Love you all!
Hermana Mortensen
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