I'm really sorry but writing home isn't my favorite thing to do. It's nice to read your emails every week and all, but........I don't love emailing back, haha;) But for Mom's sake, this is what happened:
The Branch home teaching statistics are at about 8%. So we got together with all of the missionaries and the Elders' Quorum President for an hour or so to make new assignments. The new assignments were passed out on Sunday and then Presidente Lagos made a promise that if the Branch works toward 100% home teaching, church attendance will double! I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before or not, but our Branch is REALLY SMALL. We get about 20-30 people to church each week, and apparently last year it was closer to 10-15. The Branch is getting really excited about missionary work!:)
We live really far from Richmond, about a 2+ hour drive. We had MLC (Missionary Leadership Council for Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders) on Wednesday in Richmond and we decided to drive ourselves because we've received member complaints about us asking for rides too much... So I got to drive us down, which I really enjoyed! Shenandoah is so beautiful, and probably even better in the springtime!
In MLC, President Wilson and the AP's give trainings. Then we meet together with the Zone Leaders from our Zone (Waynesboro West) to discuss what we want to share in Zone Meeting. Then we have until Friday to prepare a training (based on what President and the AP's said) for Zone Meeting! We also played lightning (basketball) during lunch and I stayed in for a few rounds! That was a lot of fun:)
I was able to give a training on setting goals for the new year. I shared some of the things I learned last year when Elder and Sister Ritchie of the DC South Mission visited the Fredericksburg Stake. I talked about making personal constitutions and using "I am" statements. My personal constitution starts with my vision: "I am Celestial material!" I picked this because I love my family! I have the best parents and sisters ever. I know for sure that all of you are going to make it to the Celestial Kingdom. So my greatest goal in life is to be "Celestial material" so I can be with all of you there!
Another training I enjoyed was about spiritual creation. President Wilson talks about this one a lot, haha:) In Moses 3:5 it talks about how our Heavenly Father created all things spiritually before they were naturally created on the earth. We learn more about this in the temple. In the premortal life, we had the opportunity to spiritually created some of the experiences we have here. D&C 130 states that intelligence gained in this life will give us an advantage in the next life. I think that's true from our premortal life too. That's why certain people were preordained to live in specific dispensations. (Like this one!)
After MLC on Wednesday, we had to stop in Charlottesville to drop off the Rapidan Sisters so we took the back way to get home to Harrisonburg. It was 7:00 and we were starving so we stopped for a quick dinner at Subway to celebrate the new year! We then visited with Hermana Maria, a recent convert and she fed us too. I thought about setting an alarm for 11:59 but decided against it because I was exhausted!
Oh, and on our drive back, I saw a church sign that said, "Happy New Year! Is it your last?" The signs here just kill me:) I have a list in my journal somewhere of all the funny signs I've seen.
Zone Meeting was on Friday which I already mentioned, and then on Saturday the Elders had a baptism! His name is Steven--his parents are recently returning and he's 9 or 10. Ana and Fabian came, and Fabian is always telling us about como quiere hacerse Crisitano, or how he wants to make himself a Christian. It's so cute:) I hope Ana accepts a date soon! They came to church on Sunday too. We're having a hard time getting a fellowshipper for Ana and I think that's what's going to make a difference.
Afterwards we did a quick power exchange with the Sisters in Waynesboro because one of them was really sick. Waynesboro is 40 minutes away. By the end of the week, I was just exhausted!
On Sunday I didn't feel very well. I guess the state of VA is at a "red level" for the flu. I'm not sure exactly what that means, but LOTS of people here have the flu. I was vaccinated for it, but I haven't been feeling great. That and my back has been hurting a lot. When I woke upSunday, it felt like there someone was gripping my spine in their hand. I felt like I needed to ask Hermano Julian to give me a blessing. He was baptized last May (former Testigo de Jehova!!) and is now in the Branch Presidency. It was his first time giving a blessing, and the first blessing I've received in Spanish. He blessed me that I'd be healed of all illnesses I have. While he said that, it felt like there was something physically leaving my back--as if their was someone gripping my spine but then they let go. He also said that the angel (singular) that is with me will protect me if I happen to fall again or feel sick again. That really hit me. Over the past two years I have felt a really strong connection to one of my ancestors. (Mommy will probably remember who.) That's why I wanted to be endowed in the Manti Temple--because I knew that she had received her endowment there. It was a really sacred experience! And many of the things he said I've heard in other blessings I've received. I know I felt inspired to ask Hermano Julian for the blessing because I knew that he would be very careful to listen to the Spirit!
Ana and Fabian came to church. Leo didn't :( We're worried he might have been "antied" by his mom. But we'll keep working with him! We're teaching a new woman named Petronila! I'm pretty sure I have an ancestor by this name. We were really busy this week with leadership stuff, so hopefully this upcoming week we can spend more time working in our own area:)
Right now I've been working through the Doctrine and Covenants. If you'd like to have your mind blown, reread Section 88. I don't know if I like it as much as 76, but it is full of golden nuggets!:)
Anyway, that's all for today! Happy New Year!:)
Love, Hermanita Crandall
No comments:
Post a Comment