Sporadic Thoughts

This week has been a very interesting week to say the least. Monday I got a blessing from Brother Broadbent to deal with everything that was going on. I felt, and feel, a lot better. The storm was not so bad here. It was very windy and rainy but nothing like July’s storm. We have had ten (10!) lessons this week! It has been good teaching people. On Wednesday President Riggs came down to Fredericksburg to talk to me and Sister Patten. It was good. I am listening to and applying the things that I felt would help this companionship. Then I had fun on Halloween! It was great. We got to watch some great movies (Puss in Boots and Madagascar 3).

Thursday was a difficult day. We went over to do service for a member in the ward. We started cleaning and she opened up to us as to why she’s a ‘hoarder.’ She talked about how hard her life has been. Sister Patten got so upset and just couldn’t function afterwards. To make matters worse, we checked on a less active in the ward and it was just depressing. The woman said that she does not believe that this church is the true church and she only believes that ‘some’ of the Book of Mormon is the word of God. Then we tried to share a thought with her from “Our Search for Happiness” and before we could even quote any of it, the woman ‘chewed us out.’ She said: “If you think that life is hard now, you might as well put a bullet to your head.” It was rough. But Friday was phenomenal! It was just great. We had a wonderful lesson with Ana and she is just amazing. This weekend was good too.

I just hit my 6 months mark (from the MTC). It is crazy. I cannot believe that I am 1/3 done. I am happy. Two of my recent converts got the Aaronic Priesthood! Terence and David! They are awesome. I saw David yesterday at the Departing Missionary Fireside. It is awesome to see that they are still going strong. I love them to pieces. They are fantastic. I saw Sister Anderson too and she is doing great. She is happy and she doesn’t want to leave Mount Vernon. She has never stayed in an area for 3 transfers and she hopes to stay for another transfer. I trust her with my area. I know that she is taking care of it. Transfers are this week. I think that I am staying in Aquia with Sister Patten. President Riggs at least alluded to that with Sister Patten on Wednesday. I don’t know how I feel about that. I mean, I love this area (the members and the investigators) so I want to stay here but I will be okay if I leave.

I am just not use to having a companion 24-7 and having different opinions. She really is a great person, but we are just so different personality wise. I am used to becoming friends with/ or getting put in a situation with people who are hard to get along with or have self-esteem issues. President just thinks that I am strong enough to handle those kinds of people. I am sure that if I had people to talk to here things would sound better. I really am not that depressed. A mission is just "refiners fire" for missionaries. You learn so much about who you are.

I am learning about how real Satan is. He really does not want us to be happy. He wants us to be upset and feel inadequate. He wants us to suffer and not feel like we can do anything. He wants us to beat ourselves up. I am also learning about how real the Atonement is. I have been studying a lot about the Atonement. I have been using scriptures, Bible Dictionary, Topical Guide, and True to the Faith. It has been a real eye opener. All of those feelings and thoughts that Satan puts into our minds the Atonement already cover. It is so cool. I love it. I love Christ. It is wonderful to think about. There is nothing that the Atonement does not cover. There is no feeling or action too big for Christ. I love that.