How are you all doing? I want to thank everyone who has sent emails and mail! You're the best!!
This
week was definitely different than our normal routine. Pretty much a
roller coaster.There wasn't a single day that didn't have some special
event, which was stressful, but really fun...
Monday
was P-day as always. We did our normal stuff and we also got frozen
yogurt (thank you grandma!) and waxed our car by hand! I'm learning a
lot about how to take care of a car and that's exciting :)
On
Tuesday, we had District meeting in the morning and then set out for
our four-hour drive to Reno, Nevada for Mission Leadership Conference
(Sister Hingano is a Sister Training Leader, so she goes to a bunch of
extra meetings). All highways. Lots of trucks. Great stretcher for me :)
Nevada can be pretty boring to look at sometimes, but it's also very
beautiful in its own way. The desert is pretty cool. When we finally got
to Reno, we ate at Olive Garden with all the Elders who are leaders in
the mission. We then stayed the night with the Reno STL's.
In
the morning, we played Oompa Loompa ball (like ultimate frisbee but
with a football) with about 20 Elders. It was insane and kind of my
worst nightmare hahaha but I survived! And I even caught the ball once
;)
I then spent the day with Sisters MacNeil and Finch in Reno. It was really fun to be in a city (maybe a taste of what Sao Paulo will be like?). I loved being with them and we had some really powerful lessons. I hope I get to see them more! Then, that night we drove the four hours back to Elko! It was A LOT of driving for 24 hours. But it was good and we stayed safe :)
I then spent the day with Sisters MacNeil and Finch in Reno. It was really fun to be in a city (maybe a taste of what Sao Paulo will be like?). I loved being with them and we had some really powerful lessons. I hope I get to see them more! Then, that night we drove the four hours back to Elko! It was A LOT of driving for 24 hours. But it was good and we stayed safe :)
Thursday
was our weekly planning, and we also had a lesson with our new
investigator, Wa, who is 18 and awesome! He's so prepared and I
committed him to be baptized! That's the first time I've been able to do
it without any help from Sister Hingano and it was a really great
feeling :) Thursday
afternoon, we drove to Spring Creek to do exchanges with the SC
sisters. And then I drove back to Elko with Sister Torres and Sister
Hingano stayed in Spring Creek!! I was super nervous about this exchange
because I would be without Sister Hingano in Elko, handling the driving
directions, the phone communications, and all of our appointments in
Elko. I prayed a lot and relied heavily on the Lord and the members and
it went so well!! God definitely helped us out. Thursday
night, we taught Ca The Word of Wisdom and she accepted the challenge
to quit smoking!! She's gonna need a little more time before she quits
alcohol, but it's a start! We then had one of our less-actives call and
ask for a blessing! We brought the ward mission leader and the spirit
was super strong!! He had never let us into his house previous to that.
Friday
was a busy, stressful, and miraculous day. I tried to plan super well
(so we wouldn't end up lost in the middle of nowhere haha) and we ended
up teaching more lessons than we've ever taught in Elko since I've been
here! It was a fantastic day and I'm so grateful :) Friday
night we switched back and Sister Hingano came back to Elko. It was
definitely a confidence booster to know that I made it through Thursday and Friday without messing anything up too bad :)
Saturday was Zone conference from 8am to 4pm.
It was nice to see the mission president and his wife and all the other
missionaries in our zone. We have some really great people in this area
:) The baptism for Saturday
got cancelled because the girls met with their dad and he convinced
them that they're not ready. That was really hard for us, especially for
Sister Hingano, since she's been teaching them for a long time. We've
just tried to have Christlike love for the dad and understand his point
of view. The girls will get baptized eventually, because they know it's
true. Saturday
night we had a lesson with an investigator, and he was being very
stubborn and I was too bold and dropped him. I felt pretty terrible
afterward. But something I've learned is that Christ's Atonement covers
not only our sins, but also our accidents and mistakes. I know that
Christ can make up for all of what we lack. After that lesson we ate
dinner with three of the YSA guys. It was little weird. But I'm grateful
for worthy priesthood holders and the fact that they help us to move
the work forward in the YSA branch :)
A couple miracles that I left out:
We
helped some little girls find their mom's EBT card the other night, and
we prayed with them and then found it and they said they want to pray
from now on. So precious. Tender mercy.
We did a
church tour with Al last night and the spirit was so incredibly strong
and he wants to get baptized next month and come to church and
everything :) The Spirit can do amazing things :)
Mel came to church!! Woohoo!We got a hold of Ka and rescheduled her wedding and baptism dates!
Life
is good. The Gospel is true. Have the missionaries over for dinner.
They are hungry. Give them referrals. They will love you. Use Preach My
Gospel in your family scripture study or FHE; it is such a fantastic
resource!!
I love you all!! Keep praying :) God is working miracles all over the place.
All my love,
Sister Doyle
