Dearest Family,
This week has been very different. I don't even know how to
describe it. You haven't responded to last weeks email, but I'm sure you
will soon. So you know that I'm training now. Like I said last time,
her name is Sister Lewis from Highland, Utah. She is excited about being
a missionary, which is good. Training is an entirely different
experience. Now that I'm actually doing it, it is very different than I
expected. Being a trainer is all about finding balance. I'm trying to
balance telling her too much, or telling her too little. Taking the lead
too much, or taking the lead too little. Letting her try her new ideas,
while letting her see how it is done. Showing her that missionary work
is not simple or easy, but also that it is wonderful to help her keep
her fire alive. I'm gaining a new perspective and appreciation for
Sister Dodd because balancing isn't easy. Honestly, this has been a
really hard week, although it has been a really good one, too. I just am
starting to feel the weight of carrying the load of an area on my own.
Sister Lewis is all about being a unified companionship, but for now,
she doesn't know everyone and their needs, so it all depends on me. I
have to remember the long list of people to take care of. I've made some
mistakes, but we've made some progress, too. I'm learning how to
discern when I need to speak up and correct her and when I just should
stay quiet. It's hard. Parts of my soul are getting tired, but it's P
day so I get to bake and write letters and maybe take a nap. It's all
good. :)
Happy story. Remember how I have had several miracle tours at the
VC? Well, they ask us to type those up to send them to Salt Lake (our
boss) to let them know what is happening at the visitors' center. I am
pretty good at remembering to do it, so recently they have heard mostly
from me. Sister Adams (the VC's director's wife), got back an email
that said, "Thank you for sending these on to us! They are what our jobs
are all about. Just so you are aware, we often share these stories with
the missionaries we are training and the Brethren." Wow!!! The
Brethren? They may have read my experiences? Recognition isn't
important, but it feels good to show the church that we are doing good
work out here. I'm glad that they got to hear my stories. :)
Selene is wonderful. I love her. That's all. :) She's so amazing!!
She just gets the gospel in a way that many members don't. I've seen a
change in her countenance recently--she glows. There is a light in her,
and she looks happier. The gospel really does change lives. Even for
people that are pretty stable by everyone else's standards. There is a
change in Selene and it is beautiful.
We had several miracles this week. On Sunday we were running a
little late, and when we went out to our car, we discovered that I had
left on the lights and killed the battery (sound familiar, dad? I tried
so hard to break that habit!). Right in our moment of dismay, Sister
Lewis noticed a man getting out of his car. She yelled over, "Sir? Do
you have jumper cables?" Within five minutes he had pulled up, jumped
our car, and we were good to go. We ran into the chapel just as one of
the bishopric stood up to start the meeting. We weren't even late! It
was a huge miracle!!
We taught Immaculate from Cameroon, and it was really good. We left
late, so we were going to be late to our dinner. As we were walking
down her sidewalk, her next door neighbors waved just to say hi. I waved
back and kept walking to the car. I paused. Looked at them. Looked at
my watch. Looked at them. Looked at Sister Lewis. We both knew we needed
to talk to them. So we walked over, knowing we were late. They were
working on their car, and Sister Lewis just naturally started a
conversation about their car. She has a real talent for street
contacting, we discovered. They were really friendly. It was a man and
his step-son's best friend. I've seen the boy before because we have
visited Immaculate on Sundays, and usually there is a game of street
ball going on. This neighborhood is a little ghetto, but it is a really
tight community. The young boys all play street ball, and it was clear
pretty quickly that this particular house was home to a family made up
of random people not related to each other. An old lady leaned out the
door yelling, "How much medicine does grandma need for her back?" I
thought she would have been the grandma, but I guess she was just the
scrawny, grouchy lady that cooks and takes care of everyone in the
house. I know she's not married to the man, and probably isn't related
to the step-son's best friend either. maybe not even to grandma. Anyway,
it was just a cool dynamic family.
We chatted about their car for a bit, then I brought up the fact
that we were missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints. I asked if they were religious. The boy (keep in mind, he's
probably my age), said, "Well, I'm athiest." The man under the car said,
"No he's not. He's lyin' to ya." So we started up a discussion about
how he had never seen God's hands in his life. The man under the car (I
never saw his face, actually) asked, "Hey, are you guys Mormon?" Turns
out, they are good friends with a boy down the street that is mormon. He
plays street ball with them. "He's a good kid. He's over here all the
time." I know who he is, and his family is really good, but he
intentionally sleeps through sacrament every week, and I'm pretty sure
he doesn't stay for the rest of church. But cool that they had a
positive connection with the church. They said that we could come back
any time, but we set up a specific appointment anyway. We're going to
try to get a young guy team up for that appointment. someone who plays
basketball.
It was a miracle conversation. It was pretty cool. It all happened
because we were able to start a relaxed conversation with them. If we
had just walked up and immediately started talking about the church,
they would have totally blown us off. But because we noticed where they
were in life, and listened, we got a return appointment. It was cool.
So life is good. I love being a missionary, even though I feel it
using every part of me. It's a whole soul workout, you could say. I'm
upping my soul strength. The biggest thing I'm working on this week is
descovering the different between stubborness and determination to do
good. I've been toeing that line this week, and it's something I really
could be doing better at.
I love you!
Have a wonderful week!
Your happy Sisiter Missionary,
Sister Atkin
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