In the mission field, time is measured in transfers, not in months.
A transfer is 6 weeks, as I'm sure you know. Well, I just finished my
first transfer, which means I'm officially not a newbie anymore
(although I am technically not finished being trained until the end of
this transfer). We got a load of new missionaries this morning. I was so
excited to meet them! I kept telling Sister Dodd that it was like
waiting to meet my new best friends, because I know they will be. We
got 7 new VC sisters, and 4 of them are starting at the VC with us, so I
will get to know them well. It is SO nice to not be the only new one
anymore.
Okay. Last Friday was my miracle day (although, it extended to
Monday night). I see miracles every day of my mission (I've told you how
I write a "miracle of the day" in my journal, right?), but these were
extra big miracles.
Okay, our area has been a little hard recently. We love teaching
Lyric, but she was the only investigator we had that we were
consistently teaching, and she is moving very slowly. So we had to work
hard to not get discouraged, especially with so little time in our area
every day. Well, last last Monday Sister Dodd called the number of a
potential investigator in our Area Book (our area book has probably 100
potential investigators. We are slowly wading through them). Her name
was Tammy, and she not only answered the phone, she said, "sure, you can
come over. How's Friday?" We were shocked. That doesn't happen. I
almost worried that she had mistaken us for someone else.
So we went over Friday, and she was ready for us, two bibles in
hand, and a notebook to take notes. Then I really started wondering if
she thought we were someone else. So we explained who we are, and she
was like, "yeah, I know. I've met missionaries before. They came over
once a few months ago." Sweet! She pulled her oldest two daughters in
because she really wants them to know Christ and to have faith. Her
daughters are 15 and 17 and they are awesome. Their names are Dommanaiy
and D'ashai (did I mention that they are African American? Amy, maybe
you should edit names. I dunno. What do you think?). The 17 year old
really loves Jesus for reals. She was super nice and I felt like we
really connected with her. She asked about youth programs because she
thinks it is really important to have faith with other youth. Perfect!
So we taught them the 1st lesson. It went off perfectly, like they
do in the MTC or on training movies. They didn't have any problems with
anything we said. They are nondenominational Christians, and really love
the Bible. They had no problem with our concept of the trinity, or with
the idea of a restoration being necessary. They liked it. We gave them
each a copy of the Book of Mormon, and they seemed excited about it,
especially Dommanaiy (the 17 year old). In fact, she asked if she could
have an extra copy to give to her friend. We were like, "um. YES. Let us
go get another from the car." :) She said that one time at school she
decided that she wanted to call herself Mormon, but one of her friends
made fun of her saying that that meant she was a polygamist. We told her
that wasn't true, and in fact, we are pretty normal people. We wear
dresses as missionaries, but we are pretty mainstream otherwise. And
yes, we do date, just not on missions.
The other crazy thing was that we could tell this was a whole
family. The dad didn't participate in the lesson, but he was home, and
they had 4 kids together. They seemed like a happy family that loved
each other. We never see that. There was a whiff of smoke in the air,
but that isn't unusual. But can I say GOLDEN. I felt like I had been
given a present from God, all pretty with a bow on top. We are meeting
with them tomorrow. We'll see how it goes. They seemed cool with the
idea of coming to church, so hopefully they will come this Sunday.
We got into our car when we left, a little in shock. We didn't know what to say besides, "WOW."
Then I decided to call a referral we got from Liberty Jail of a
lady dating a member (the church texts referrals out to the local
missionaries). I called, and she picked up. Her name is Selene (Sell-an-
A). I asked if she would like to meet with us. She said, "Oh, yes. I'm
excited to meet with you and talk about what I've been reading in the
Book of Mormon". She seemed genuinely really excited to meet with us.
"Oh, and I am coming to church this Sunday. Is that okay?" Whaaatt???
yes. That is okay. We told her it was stake conference, so she decided
to not go, but she is still excited to come next week with us.
The call ended, and I was like, holy cow. We go through a dry
spell, then we get 4 new investigators not only in one day, but in about
1 hour? Okay. We'll take it. It really is an amazing opportunity to be
doing the Lord's work. He is in control, and the blessings we recieve
are from Him. We can't really take any credit, no matter how hard we
work. Hard work brings blessings, but those blessings are from Him. We
drove home in shock. I think I babbled a bit about how happy I was, but
as Alma says, "I cannot say the smallest part of which I feel" (Alma
26:16. In fact, I get that whole chapter now. He's super excited and
joyful because of the missionary work he's done. He glories in the
Lord).
But, the miracle continues. On Tuesday we went to meet Selene for
the first time. We planned to just teach her the first lesson. We buzzed
at the front door so she would let us into the apartment building. The
door wouldn't open, so she came down to open it for us. As soon as she
opened the door, my jaw dropped. "Oh! Hello!!" I had taken her on tour
at the VC 2 or 3 weeks ago! Me! The rest of the story unfolded. She had
gone to the Liberty Jail VC, and really had a good time, so she self
referred, and just happens to be in my area, so now I get to
teach her the lessons! The cool thing is, I already basically taught her
the first lesson when she came to the VC!!! She's read all the way
through Alma and is in Helaman now.
The lesson went wonderfully (well, it was a little scattered
because she talked a lot, but it was good because we got to understand
her religious background better). She's been searching religiously for a
while now, and is excited that what she's learning here fits things
that she's come to believe wonderfully. She was raised Baptist, but has
kind of left that now. She's dating a member, and he was there. He's
solid. He has a deep understanding of the gospel and how to explain it.
They fit each other perfectly, but she understands that he won't get
married outside of the temple. But she emphasized several times that she
is not going to convert for him. She will only convert if it is right.
So that's good. Wow. She's wonderful. And we hit it off right away
because she already knew me.
In fact, she mentioned that she didn't understand why everyone was
asking her what she felt when she went to the VCs. She said she didn't
feel anything. Her boyfriend, Orson, corrected her. So she qualified
that and said that the one thing she did feel was love. She said that
the other sister and I both radiated love to her, and she really enjoyed
that. And now I get to teach her. :) She made my day.
So this Sunday, Lyric is coming to church for sure (she has a ride,
and she isn't the type to flake ever), Selene is coming for sure, and
maybe we can get Tammy's family to come. And this Sunday is Invitation
Sunday (they do that outside of Utah every quarter or so. It is a
special sunday where members are encouraged to bring their friends to
church. All of the talks and lessons are made with nonmembers in mind.
So good). So it's perfect! Blessings blessings. :)
In response to your email, we have copies of "Daughters in My
Kingdom" here. They made sure all of the sisters had a copy. :) The ward
can get me one if I need one.
I LOVE your gingerbread house, mom. It is beautiful. I love the
little gingerbread men! You decorated it perfectly. Mom, you have a real
talent. Sister Dodd was impressed, too.
The VC is all lit up. They had a lighting ceremony the other week.
It was pretty cool. The trees aren't as crazy, though. They just loop
lights around the ousides, but it looks good. We have a beautiful tree
inside. I'll have to send you a picture. We also found a christmas tree
in the closet of our apartment, so we set that up. It's pre lit, and
very pretty, about 2 or 3 feet tall. Love it. :) Sister Dodd's mom sent
us presents to open every day in December (little things like Pez candy
with the scripture about opening our mouths, and stickers and stuff), so
they are under the tree. It looks very nice.
We did get to see the Christmas devotional at the VC. SO good. I
loved the clip of the new movie! It is so different from what they have
done before, and I really like it. I'm excited to see more of those
clips. :) Good luck with your Christmas preparations! We are starting to
share a lot of Christmas messages, and I really like it. It suddenly
has gotten really cold here, so I'm wearing my boots every day. Thanks
dad! I love them!
So that's about it.
I love you family. :)
Love,
Sister April Atkin
P.S. I would really love to get a cardigan for Christmas. Just a
simple one, in some color. I can't find my purple one, and I really need
some more. I haven't had time to go shopping for them yet.
So, updated Christmas list (well, ideas)
1 cardigan
2 garment tops
1 bag with a shoulder strap (a bigger bag, probably)
maybe some scarves
some of the EFY music laying around the house
and I can't remember anything else.
P.P.S. Next week my P Day will be on Friday, so look for my email then.
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