We did an exchange with Windsor this week. Sister Darrington came down to Fairfield. It was fun to spend time with her again. She does such a great job of following the Spirit while talking to people. Everything is SO unscripted and sincere. I am still working to get to that point. I have a hard time trying to get over the feeling that I have to spit out as much information as I can before they run away or slam the door because people are always in such a hurry here.
We had a zone P-Day last week and played dodgeball in the church. Elders are BRUTAL in athletics. But when the two of us joined one of the teams we had the advantage because almost no one dared to throw a ball at us. A sister was always one of the last ones out. I may not be able to throw, but I won't get thrown at! It was fun.
Here are some thoughts I had, which stemmed from a reply to Lisa's email, regarding overcoming fears of sharing the gospel: It is scary to share the gospel. It has been a process, over months and months, that has helped me come to a point where I am more straightforward and less apologetic. We met with a family a couple of weeks ago. The mom has been inactive for years and the daughter goes to the Congregational church with her parents and hasn't been taught anything about the Church, but she loves everything we teach her. We taught about how to observe the Sabbath and the mom FLIPPED OUT! She thinks it's not realistic to get your
shopping and everything done on Saturday so you don't have to do it on Sunday, and
there's nothing wrong with sporting events on Sunday, etc. etc. She kept saying, "I
just don't agree with that." The only thing that helped me stand my ground, and not
back down, was the knowledge that what we teach is from God. It's not just my opinion. As a friend from BYU told me, "Other churches guess, we KNOW." I can apologize for, or take back, anything that is just my own opinion. But God's laws are not up for debate. If people don't like it, they're rejecting God' truths, not ours. I can only imagine what life would have been like if I had figured this all out at the beginning of my mission! I guess what I'm getting at, is that it helps if you don't think of it as pushing your beliefs on people, because these are not just your beliefs. These are truths from prophets of God. It's a big deal! And we open the door for opposition when we move out of our comfort zones, out of "safe" conversational topics like organic food and diversity, and unequivocally declare truth.
I still struggle with talking to people. One thing that does help motivate me is the fact that by accepting my call, this is what I covenanted to do. But really, that promise is also in the baptismal covenant, where we promise to stand as witnesses. We become our Savior's friends by sharing His gospel and by showing that we stand with Him. And again, this is all a process; I am still very bad at talking to strangers; but those are some thoughts that help motivate me.
Thanks to everyone for your love and support!
-Sister Monson
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