26 October 2009

Update on Foodfield

Mission time is so weird! Just like everyone says. The days often drag, but the weeks FLY and before you know it the transfer is over again.

Foodfield is holding its own in spite of being threatened with closing in December (and that's almost a definite at this point). When it closes Trumbull will absorb Fairfield and Easton, and the Trumbull ward will have one set of missionaries instead of two. BUT,we are still holding out the hope that sisters will be doubled into Trumbull so we can stay in the ward (meaning that the ward would still have only one set of missionaries,but they would be sisters instead of elders), which is always a possibility. This ward is AMAZING. We love it and would love to hang around a lot longer.

We have a wonderful baptism scheduled for November 1st. The investigator had a lot of music she wanted to sing at the baptism that wasn't from the hymnbook. We felt so bad because the music is really important to her. So we told her we will learn the songs and play them for the prelude (Sister Johnston plays the violin). It's like her own private concert that no one will be listening to except her. I'm so excited!

Other than that the teaching pool is draining out gradually. Our numbers have dropped because of some health problems and other challenges we've had this transfer. (Yes, I know, excuses excuses. Oh well.) BUT, we still have about five investigators that are ready or almost ready to be baptized, and for one reason or another haven't gotten there yet. But they all progress at their own rate. And for the past several weeks we've had two or three investigators at church which is a lot more than we've seen in a while. So we're seeing small miracles and many blessings.

Here are some random/funny moments.

1. We were in the parking lot of Old Navy (we stopped to use their restroom) and a lady pulled in, in her SUV. She steps out of the car and gets out her stroller like she's going to put a kid in it. The stroller's wheels are falling off. Instead of bringing out the kid, she gets back in her SUV and drives off. Almost as if on cue, a security van pulls up and someone gets out and grabs the stroller. It was like they planned it. And it was so strange.
2. We found a "dead book" in our apartment this week. A dead book is where
missionaries take old teaching records out of the area book and separate them somewhere, because they think those former investigators are never going to progress, or something for whatever reason. Anyway, they are very strongly discouraged and I didn't think I'd ever see one. But we found one. And it's a gold mine! Teaching records that go back as far as the early 90's (that's old in mission time). All these people to go find again! And they're now back in the REAL area book where they belong.
3. One of the teaching records in the dead book listed the ompanionship "Elders Reid and Wright." Take a moment to read it out loud to yourself.
4. We saw a little girl attacking a tree with a rake. Like there's not enough leaves on the ground already? Gotta pull down some more, I guess.
5. We had a very discouraging moment one night we came home and heard the message from one of our golden investigators, that they were dropping us. So we made a paper target and attacked it with Smarties for half an hour. Very therapeutic. I felt much better. Can't attach the video- I tried but that is too complicated for me, I guess.

I'm attaching one of my pathetic attempts to capture the beauty of New England autumn on camera. I really don't know how to take decent pictures, so I can't do it justice. Plus there's not much time to take them. The other picture is the celebration of my eight-month mark. Yay!

Love to everyone,
Sister Monson

13 October 2009

Life goes on, transfers come and go and Sister Johnston came. Lots of tracting, lots of teaching, lots of rejection and discouragement and then, last night, Heavenly Father reminded me why I'm on a mission.

We have been trying to teach a particular family since I got here in August—the
previous sisters found them over the summer. At the beginning of last transfer, we went there so Sister Pulham and I could meet them and that was when we actually set up an appointment and started teaching the mom. The rest of the family isn’t interested. But, when the three of us went over there for the first time, the dad asked us why we had come to see them that particular day. We told him that every night we pray about who to visit the next day, and that's how we always choose where we go. He didn't say why he had asked, and we didn't think about it again. That was in August.

Last night we met with the mom, who has been reading the Book of Mormon and asking lots of questions. She told us the reason why her husband had asked us that question the first day we came. The family had been struggling with some serious problems. She had been praying for guidance, and lo and behold, the sisters started coming around. The dad had just received some bad news the day before the three of us came to meet them, and had started praying for answers, which is why he asked us why we had come. Apparently he was expecting us to say, "God sent us here in answer to your prayer!" The mom knows that we are the answer to their prayers, albeit not the one she was expecting, and that's why she is still taking the lessons from us. Please pray for this family. They need the gospel so badly right now, if they will only soften their hearts enough to recognize that we were sent to them in answer to their prayers.

I think I usually believe, in a theoretical sense at least, in the authority and reality of my calling. But I don't always have the faith to recognize that as missionaries we are here for the specific needs of certain people. It's not like God just turned us loose and said, "Go do some good stuff for someone." God is aware of every single soul in Fairfield and their specific needs, at specific times. Every once in a while, with experiences like this, he reminds me. It's the time in between those reminders that I need to strengthen my faith.

Being the wussy missionary I am, it is easy not to try too hard when people are so quick to reject the message. They tend to say something along the lines of, "I'm a good person, I read the Bible, I don't kill anybody, I'm doing okay. I'm all set! Thanks anyway!" I tend to give up too easily rather than challenge people on this when I receive this type of answer. The reasoning is something like, "Sure, they look like a good family, they're good people, at least they're Christian, maybe they'll accept it in the spirit world, I won't worry about them." But it would have been easy to think the same thing about this particular family. They look like they don't need too much help, like they don't have too many problems. Just by meeting them one would never guess what they are struggling with. And only the gospel of Jesus Christ, restored in its fullness, has all the answers they need. There are bits and pieces of truth everywhere, but only the restored gospel has all the pieces of the puzzle. I learned from this experience that I should never assume that I know who "needs" the gospel more or who is more likely to accept it. It is always the people that you think would be the least likely, who end up being the ones that surprise you.

We have a baptism scheduled for November first! One of our investigators came to church this week after only meeting with us once! Those are the other highlights of the week. We are very blessed, as always.

Everyone enjoy your pathetic Western autumn. (Sorry to say it, but it really is. Everyone raves about New England in the fall, New England in the fall and there's a
good reason for it.) Love you,
Sister Monson

5 Oct 09

Sorry about last week. The Internet gave out before I could send the last email. So
I sent a bunch of pictures but no email. Hopefully the parents got the snail-mail letter with the explanation of the pictures, and maybe if they are very bored they can post that on the blog. But here are some more pictures!

1. Don't worry, this is as close as we got to the water.
2. Wind. And lots of it!
3. Want a boat? This was at Captain's Cove in Bridgeport. It's like a mini-outdoor mall on the beach. And apparently a great place to dump off the boats you don't want anymore.
4. Awww, cute little shops.
5. Yay for fun district pictures!
6. New England in the fall if only I had a photography skills, I could really do it justice. This was somewhere in Easton. The leaves are finally turning, yay!
7. Yes, yes, I know, we have womanhood and not priesthood. But isn't this the greatest picture?

Conference was wonderful as always. It went by way too fast! So many amazing talks, but of course Elder Holland's talk on the Book of Mormon…it was so gratifying to hear the Book of Mormon defended so powerfully. Especially when you spend all your time trying to defend it, to some who don't understand or don't want to. Why would you not want more scripture about Christ, more help in finding peace in a crazy world? And why attempt to put limits on how God speaks and when and where?

As I've studied the Book of Mormon, especially this transfer, I've noticed how many anti-Christs keep coming and going in the book. Take Rameumptom, for example. I'm so
special and God, who is a spirit, has told me there will be no Christ! All I need to do is stand on my tower once a week. In our day we have people not only disbelieving Christ, but attempting to prove that He never existed. This is not a new thing. People have been fighting, and still are fighting against Christ. Why so much animosity against something that has done so much good for so many? You would think that one could choose not to believe in Christ, but still allow others to do the same. But all of this opposition just proves how true and real He is. And it is so important to our Heavenly Father that the world knows about Him important enough to send another witness in the Book of Mormon. That's all it is a second witness. Christ is real! God is still speaking! Why would anyone not want to believe that? Anyway, to step off the soapbox

In mission updates, Foodfield is starting to pick up, slowly but surely. We have a
baptismal date set for November, and another ALMOST set. I found out yesterday that my companions are getting transferred. My new companion will be Sister Johnston, from Kaysville. So bittersweet! It's been such a joy to be in a trio, and it will be so hard to part with my wonderful companions. At the same time, I feel very good about the change. It's what needs to happen right now.

Until next week,
Sister Monson