Dearest Family,
Well, I can't lie and say that this
week was easy. It was probably the hardest week I've had so far on
mission. But I feel so blessed to be fighting this fight and being in
the Lord's army. The opposition hit us super hard this week. Nothing
seemed to go quite right. So many people just dropped us or didn't show
up or went away and so therefore we did a LOT of walking and a LOT of
praying.
Even Sister Orr and I had some
struggles. I am definitely learning the importance of communication out
here. We have become such good friends so it is easy for us to assume
the other person knows what we are thinking but when we don't it can
cause conflict. We have had a lot of good talks and things are all good
now. I love my companion so much. It's good to have someone you can turn
to and find a helping hand or a stupid joke to get you up off your
feet.
I think the hardest part of the week was
that my weaknesses seemed to be displayed out for everyone to see. They
were made plain to me and it was humbling and potentially discouraging.
Mission has a way of bringing out the little weaknesses you didn't even
know you had. But I feel the Lord working inside of me and helping me
to become a better person. Perhaps one of the greatest miracles on a
mission is the changes you see and make within yourself.
But
there were still redeeming things about this hard week and I am still
as happy as ever. Last Pday we were walking to the market a different
way than normal and we found this huge bridge to cross. I will send
pictures but it was as if we had been transported into Indiana Jones. It
was just made of long boards of wood with large gaps in between. You
could feel the bridge sway as you walked across it. It was bridging the
gap between markets over cabbage fields and a little river that runs
through the city. I can't really do the beauty and adventure of the
moment justice but I will send pictures. Later that day we went grocery
shopping and as we were walking around the store, the power went out in
the whole place and it was pitch black. I just laughed and laughed. Only
in Africa.
That same less active that made me
cry last week we went to visit again and the juxtaposition of the two
visits was so hilarious. Instead of yelling at us for an hour, this time
she was falling asleep the whole time. She just kept looking at me with
crossed eyes as I shared the scripture we had planned and I was just
dying trying to hold in laughter. I think she would make a good
character in a future book. She is either falling asleep or raging mad.
There's no in between.
On Saturday we were
sitting on a curb waiting for a referral to meet us in front of this
church and these two guys walked up to us. This was the conversation:
Them: We do some business. We sell stuff.
Us: What do you sell?
Them: Weed...do you want some?
Us: Does it look like we're interested? (pointing to our tags with JESUS CHRIST on them)
Them: No, we were just asking.
Us: Ha, well you are very welcome to come to church!
Them: Does it look like we're interested?
Us: No, we were just asking...
I
laughed so much. Man, dese people. I don't think I've ever so directly
been offered drugs before. So funny. You never know, maybe we planted a
seed!
I think yesterday was hardest because
almost none of our investigators/recent converts showed up for church.
One thing that just filled my heart with joy when I was feeling a bit
defeated was seeing a couple and their little boy walking down the dirt
road to come to church. They just barely got baptized
(Chisomo&Mercy) and Chisomo and their son Joseph were both wearing
crisp white shirts. I love seeing them so faithfully coming as a family.
It's the happiest thing to watch.
Well, I love you all! You are wonderful. Have a good week!
Sister Michaela Proctor
P.S. I haven't sent my weekly scriptures for a while so here is a list to catch you up:
Mosiah 2:41
Mosiah 4:9
D&C 64:33
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