Year Mark!!

Oh My goodness.... I can't believe that this friday is my year mark as a missionary! The time has gone by so fast. I never thought I'd say it, but I feel like it's slipping through my fingers now. Having a new companion this week has made me think back to the beginning of my mission and how different I feel now. I feel like a different person from when I first came in.

So yep. I have a new companion fresh out of the MTC! Her name is Sister Workinger and she is from San Diego California. People here think we're sisters. She is only 19! It's funny to see how people here react to her cause she looks sooo young. It's been a good week, but I feel like all my weaknesses are magnified as a trainer cause I want her to be the best missionary, but my faults are still there that she gets to "look up to". Oh well.... I'll just be doing my best!

I've still been really sick this week, but there is no way I'm staying in on her first week here. Haha It's been funny cause I have no voice, so she's had to talk probably more that she would have liked to her first week here. I hope she's really ok with that.

 

Yesterday I finally decided to ask for a blessing from the elders at church, and right after the blessing my voice was perfect, but it only lasted half way through the afternoon. I'm just trying to drink lots of airbourne that the members have given me!

 

It sounds like y'all have been a little bit sick too!? I pray for your health lots! I hope the cold isn't getting to you too bad. Everyone down here is talking about the crazy cold in Utah. How are you handling it?

Today it's 77 degrees. I'm loving it!

 

So... I'll try to update you on everything this week. I'm having an inner battle cause I can't let Sister Workinger know how I feel about this area. This area has been the hardest I've served in, and I feel like we're doing everything we need to be doing, but we don't have any progressing investigators right now. I don't want this to be Sister Workingers first experience in the mission to get shut down everywhere she goes. On Saturday when we came in... after all of our appointments fell through (but we did find back ups!) she went in the room and I could tell something was wrong. I asked her if she was ok and she told me that she didn't know if this is where she needed to be. She was pretty much engaged before she came out and she just left and came here cause her parents thought she was too young to get married. So she pretty much was having serious doubts about being here. I have no idea what advice to give except that I felt the same when i came out. I remember at the beginning of my mission (I never told y'all this... haha) but thinking to myself. Ok, I'll just make it to July and then come home. Because at the beginning of the mission you have no amazing experiences keeping you here quite yet. It's just your own personal love of our Savior and our dedication to Him that keeps us here. But I told her that throughout my mission getting to see others accept the Light of the Gospel in their lives has changed my life. I told her lots of stuff I don't even remember, but I hope that something helped. I don't know if she's hiding it now, or if she's doing better, but she seems to be doing ok!

 

I just hope and pray that we can see miracles in this area so she can have a reason to stay here and get to see peoples lives change like I've been able to see. I told her that this is the thing that will make her the happiest in her life.... cause it has been that way for me. Pray for her! And pray for us that we can find the elect here in Memorial.

 

I think it's just been hard for me cause I'm really struggling with this area and I can't let her know that cause I don't want her to have a harder time. Several of the members here have told us missionaries... "yeah the missionaries used to be baptizing like 30 converts a year, and now we haven't had a baptism in several months!" I'm like... great thank you for your support! haha But it's ok. We're going to keep working with the members here so they can open up and help us find people to teach.

 

I hope y'all missionary work is going great! I want to hear your stories.

 

Yesterday we dropped by one of our investigators and her husband was there. He isn't really interested in religion cause it's "too confusing with all the churches" But we talked to him about the Book of Mormon and he opened up a lot and wanted to read it. We left him with a copy and we're praying that he will read it with an open heart and receive his own answer. Pray for Mike!

 

Anyways... I''ve got to go write President. But I'm praying for y'all! I hope you're doing good and if you need anything please let me know!

 

I love you!!!!

 

Erianne