So I was totally going to bring my journal so I could remember what to say in my weekly email, but of course I forgot it. I'll just have to rely on my planner.
Monday we went on exchanges! Sister Harper is my new STL (Jordan's new Sister Training Leader who Jordan trained in Mica Peak) :). She and I got to hang out for the day. Just like old times. We went out to Genesee and got to contact a lot of people. We were able to heart-attack a members door who is going through a really hard time right now. So we wrote "feel-good" scriptures on hearts and taped them to their door! It was way fun. It was cool to get to be with Sister Harper again. She's learned so much! Obviously I was an excellent trainer :)
Tuesday I was still with Sister Harper. We saw Doug, an investigator who's super depressed. We spent most of the morning trying to find a member to go with us, and we couldn't find one. He's a single man so we needed someone. We found someone, but we felt like we needed to try someone else. So we called Sister Anguilo and she could come! It turned out to be a huge miracle because she could relate to him perfectly. She's a convert and struggled with the same things he did and was able to testify like a champ. It was awesome. MIRACLE! :) Then we had our youth activity and played marshmallow dodgeball. So fun. Except the youth had extra super strength hands this time or something because all the marshmallows got super sticky and were sticking to the floor. So who got to clean up the sticky residue? Yep. The missionaries. Hahaha. Then we realized that some marshmallow would have gotten stuck under the stage, so we pulled out all the tables and chairs and there were so many under there. Sick. They were hard as rocks! So who got voted to crawl under the stage with the nasty floor and bugs? Yep. Yours truly. Dust bunnies galore... and I swear there were mice under there. Probably not, but I felt like there was something moving all the time. Then, all the elders ganged up on me and started throwing the hard marshmallows back at me while I was under the stage so I couldn't avoid them! Rude. Everyone was laughing. It was pretty funny, except for the fat welts I got. We switched back for exchanges and then went to our on-dates house for dinner! It was nice to have SIster Rose back.
Wednesday was a crazy day. Sister Strong (Palouse River Sister) and I went on exchanges for the day. She's been going through some rough times, and she needed some "Sista G" time. We did lots of service and really bonded. It was way fun. We had dinner at my ward mission leader's house (Thanks Mitchell's!). Then we went to the Foutch's and spent some time over there! :)
Thursday was supposed to be weekly planning.....but we ended up baking bread and rolls instead. Hahaha. It was so much fun! Our apartment was so hot, but it was so worth it. The Palouse sisters were with us so we spent more time with them. :)
Friday we had a super awesome lesson with an active family in our ward. They've been going through a lot of trials and are super discouraged. So we decided to teach them the Restoration to help them feel the spirit and remember why the gospel is so important. Hands down the best restoration lesson I've ever taught on my mission. The spirit was tangible and I knew they could feel it. I repeated the scriptures regarding The First Vision and I even got choked up. What? I know. That's how strong the spirit was. I know it touched them. We encouraged them to pay attention to the spirit as we taught and when they felt peace, comfort, or love, that's the spirit telling them that what we are telling them is true. Sister Rose and I said a gratitude prayer when we got home because we were so thankful for the spirit that was there when we taught. We didn't have time to prepare the lesson because we didn't get companionship study that morning, so we relied completely on the spirit, and that was the first time Sister Rose and I had ever taught "The Restoration" together. Such a cool experience.
Saturday was probably my favorite day ever on my mission. Saturday morning we had a stake Pioneer Day celebration. I don't have any pictures, but a member from my ward sent a ton to my mom. Gotta love members :) We got to play games with the kids and hang out with the stake. It was way fun.
Then we got home and the elders called us and said their town (Potlatch, Idaho) was having a festival and that they would give us 50 extra miles to help them contact. DONE. So we drove out to Potlatch (20 minute drive) and got to contact for 2 hours! We saw tons of miracles. Sister McCabe and I were companions and we found a lost less active! He lives in Potlatch and his records aren't in the ward! So we got his information and passed it along to the elders. We learned how to do sign language. All in all, it was a success. :) Then the Howard's took us out to dinner at this really good authentic chinese restaurant. I ended up accidentally eating a chili pepper and I thought I was going to die. I was out of water and my mouth was ON FIRE. My eyes were watering and I was sweating. It was that bad. Bro. Howard thought it was hilarious and Sister Rose was laughing. I WAS DYING. But I survived. :)
Sunday we spent most of the day at the Mitchell's. They fed us and so we went over there to help them. And we taught Lilly, their daughter, the lessons. We colored pictures. :) Then we taught Jefferson, and it turned out to be a lesson on repentance and prayer. He feels like he still hasn't gotten an answer to his prayers. Which is frustrating because we know he has, he's just not recognizing them. We had a member with us who talked about how we need to align our will with God's will to get an answer or blessing. That made sense to him. Maybe he needs to have more faith before he can receive and answer to his prayers. We'll see what happens with him next week. We got home a half hour early last night, (because we had to finish planning) and we realized we were 2 lessons short to meet our goals for the week. So we both looked at each other and made the decision to go get 2 more lessons before the end of the night. We got the two lessons, and were back at home by 9. Miracle? I think so. :)
This week I read an awesome scripture that has become one of my favorites. Alma 37:44-45. Alma is comparing the Liahona to Christ. If we follow Christ we will be led to "a far better land of promise". We may like our goals, passions, dreams, but when we follow Christ and do as God has asked us to do, we can have better things in store for us. It reminds me of Elder Utchdorf's mormon message about living beneath our potential.
For Nephi's family, Jerusalem was comfortable. It was home. It was hard for them to give up all their precious things and leave their friends behind to camp in the wilderness for an undisclosed amount of time before reaching this "land of promise" they had heard so much about. We will have to face unpleasant and not-so-ideal situations before we get to see the light at the end of the tunnel, or our land of promise. full of hope and new possibilities. Thanks Heavenly Father. :)
Also, this week, please keep Sister Ricks in your prayers. Bro. Ricks passed away Thursday morning.
On a happy note, TONY IS GETTING BAPTIZED ON WEDNESDAY!!!! :) Keep him in your prayers as well. :)
I love you all so much! :)
Love,
Sister Gardanier
"Trunky papers"...November 3 is her release date!! Yippee!!
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