Dear Family,
It was so good to talk to you this week. :) I feel like I don't
have a ton to say since I talked to you so recently. It's also been a
slow week because of the Holidays. Everyone is too busy. This email
might be a little all over the place, but isn't life that way?
But I want to thank you again for the presents you sent. They were perfect. :) Thank you thank you thank you.
Also, pass along the note that I LOVED the package I got from all
of my friends. Thank you to Erilyn and Jessica in particular. That
package was perfect. I loved all of the little notes. I laughed and
cried over all of the letters and silly thoughts. Mike and Ikes, Hot
chocolate, and Peanut Butter M&Ms all made me smile. and the little
turtle. nothin' like a good ol' inside joke. :)
Talking to Willie was the best thing ever. I wish I could talk to
him at the end of every day. He's growing up so much! What a stud!! I
have a rockstar of a brother. BFFs. It's amazing how much is similar and
how much is different in our missions. They are totally the same and
totally opposite. The VC has a lot to do with that. It's a way bigger
part of my call than I realized before my mission. It really is a huge
responsibility.
So a couple of things went on in the VC this last week. For
December the VC had musical nights around the Christus. The last night
of the season was put on by the sisters. They think I can play the piano
for some reason, so I accompanied two of the songs. I messed up a bit,
but it was alright. I really am improving a lot at the piano out here. I
love it. Thanks mom. :) Anyway, without telling me, the sisters in
charge decided to make the theme of the night the stuff I talked about
in my 5 minute talk at Zone Conference. Apparently it touched a lot of
people. We've talked about those ideas a lot since then, and it's
amazing to see how the Lord used me as his mouthpiece. I was super sick,
but He made it possible for me to get up there because He knew that
everyone needed what I had prepared. Crazy. So the theme of the night
was 3 Nephi 18:24 and Christ being the Light of the World. It was cool.
The spirit was really strong.
Oh, I don't know if I ever told you, but I have a calling at the VC
to be over all referral stuff. I had that calling last transfer, too. I
train on how to get them, how to call them, and how to use Chat. I call
for accountabilities every week, too. It's good for me. Anyway, every
Friday morning, the VC has a training for the sisters and I was in
charge of the training last week. It went really well. There were a ton
of questions. I think it has been a better week for referrals all
around. :) This calling is good for me because of anyone, I was the one
needing an attitude change about the whole thing. It's helped.
I totally agree with Willie about the day after Christmas being a
let down. At the VC, 3 of the sisters had the stomach flu all day. I'm
just glad I didn't get it. It sounded a lot like what I had a couple of
weeks ago. I'm glad that is over. It doesn't help that it looks like
early October out here. We're in the 50s every day. No snow. It
definitely does not feel like winter.
I have a couple of cool VC stories this week, though.
First of all, I gave a tour (*ahem* we're supposed to call them
'presentations') to a middle aged couple that were just traveling
through. They were members from Utah and were very nice. At the end of
the tour I took them to go see God's Plan for His Family. Right as we
were walking in one of the FM (Facilities Management) Missionaries came
in with an obviously nonmember woman. They joined us to see God's Plan.
She lost her dad, who was her best friend, a couple of months ago and is
still really struggling with it. He met her at Wendy's so he decided to
bring her here. She wasn't all there, and it was clear she was a heavy
smoker. Her voice and breathing were very deep and raspy.
I started the movie, and just prayed and prayed that I would be
able to say the right things to be able to touch Anna's (that was her
name) and the couple's hearts. I wanted to have both of them have a good
experience. Watching their faces during the presentation, I think they
did. Then at the end, Anna just started talking. At first it sounded
like random stories (like I said, she's not all there), but then it came
together. She told us the story of how it was just a normal day and her
dad fell down and died at her feet. She told us how guilty she felt
about the things she had said to him shortly before. She also talked a
lot about how she didn't know how much he had been suffering with his
heart condition, and how she just wants to know if he's suffering now. I
bore simple testimony of the joy of the Gospel, and of Heavenly
Father's love for her. I tried to teach some of the plan of Salvation,
but she couldn't hear it.
Then we were walking out, and the woman in the back (in the couple)
stood up, just crying. She came over and bore her testimony and gave
Anna a hug. It was perfect. It was exactly what I had prayed for. I
wanted this perfect couple to be able to share their love of the gospel
and tell this woman how the gospel has blessed their family. I wanted
them to be the ones to talk. And that hug was perfect. They left,
holding hands and crying. I think they were grateful to have been there
for that moment to help this crazy woman. It was cool.
I took Anna to the Christus and she really liked it a lot. I didn't
ask her to meet with missionaries in the end, because it didn't feel
right. The FM missionary is in control and I trust him to know if or
when she will be ready for it. If it doesn't happen, I honestly believe
that after she dies and doesn't have all of the disabilities she's
carrying with her now, she will recognize and know the truth.
Another cool thing happened later this week. A young man came in
the Visitors' Center. He was alone, so I took Sister Lisonbee with me on
the tour. He's studying Art History, and was driving through on his way
to school in the east, and "wanted to check out our museum here".
Obviously he didn't know what he was in for. He just wanted to look at
our art. We showed him around and taught him about the restoration. He
only had 15 or 20 minutes, but in those 20 minutes we taught him about
the Book of Mormon, the First Vision, Priesthood, Christ, and really,
most of the first lesson. By the end of the short time, he asked if we
had any literature for him, and he seemed excited to take a Book of
Mormon and some pamphlets. We asked if he wanted to learn more from
missionaries, and he said yes and gave us his information. He even said,
"I came here interested in art, but you know, I would like to learn
more about this. I find it very interesting." In those 20 minutes
everything changed. It was so perfect!! It's amazing how sometimes
people come into the Visitors' Center and they don't even know why they
are there. The Lord leads them there because they are ready and they
don't even know it. And the other cool thing is that his interest in
what we were saying changed when I recited the first vision to him.
Those words are so powerful. In the MTC they had us memorize it, and I
have used it every time I have taught the first lesson. Every time I
recite it the spirit comes in powerfully, bearing testimony. It's
amazing. Everything goes quiet and the person pauses to listen to what
I'm saying. It's like the world pauses to hear those words. I love it.
After he walked out of the front doors I just stood there like,
Wow. Did that just happen? I looked down at the referral card and saw
his email address was @yale.edu.
Wow! a Yale student! Awesome! So there are some missionaries in
Conneticut that are going to get a pretty amazing referral. I wish I
could know what happens with him, but it's alright. I did my part.
One thing he mentioned that I thought was interesting was that he
had seen missionaries before. He studied abroad in Japan and the only
other white guys on the bus had black name tags. It just goes to show
that people notice us. We're different, and they see everything we do.
And it takes a few encounters with the church to be the right time for
most people.
I love being a missionary!
Also, this week I passed off the last of my lessons! I can drive
now! I feel like I'm turning 16 all over again. It's cool. It's a little
intimidating because we drive really nice cars out here (I might look
into buy a Ford Fusion when I get home. It's my favorite of the cars we
drive) but I'm ready. And so is Sister Dodd. She's excited to not drive
every day.
That was pretty much my week! Hopefully I get some cool stories in my area this week to share with you. :)
I love you all!
Have a wonderful week!
looooooooooooooooove,
Sister April Atkin
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