Exciting things are happening here in Garner! I dont even know where to begin!
I"ll start at the beginning of the week. We had interviews again with President Bernhisel! I always love interviews. Then after interviews Sister Bernhisel had asked to come out on exchanges with us. I was super nervous and stressed. I wanted to make sure she had a good time and that we could show her the fabulous missionaries that we are (ha). Our lessons ended up going so well and I had no reason to worry. I love Sister Bernhisel.
After our exchange with her we went on exchanges with the spanish sisters in our zones. I stayed here in Garner with one of the Hermanas. We had such a great time! She is a new missionary and was actually just baptized herself only a little over a year ago. She had friends in high school that were members. She had wanted to go away for school but out of state tuition was so expensive. Her mormon friends convinced her to go to BYU Idaho even though they werent even going there. So she went to BYU I as a nonmember and joined the church about 6 months after being there. It was so fun to hear her stories and experiences. She has so much faith and I couldn't imagine her not being a part of the gospel. We had a good time teaching. Then we decided to go tracting. There was a neighborhood I have been wanting to go to for a while. We started knocking on some doors with no luck. Then we get to a door and a hispanic woman answers. I said my thing and then she responded by saying that she didnt speak english. Then Hermana R whipped out her spanish. The look on the ladies face was priceless. Hermana actually looks a lot like me. Blonde hair, green eyed girl from California. The lady definitely was not expecting spanish to come out of her mouth. She agreed to let missionaries come back and teach her more. And the best part is that it happened again! We got 2 new families for the Spanish elders to start teaching. Truly a miracle and it couldnt have happened without Hermana. I could have gotten used to her being around!
Another tracting story of the week. We are working on serving with our whole "heart, might, mind, and strength". I had made a goal this week to act just as Jesus Christ would in every situation I am faced. Whether it be with my companion, or on the street, or in lessons.. whatever. Well of course whenever you set a goal it gets tested. We had about a 30 minute window before our dinner appointment so we decided to knock doors. About the 5th door in this lady answers. Sister Langarica starts talking and I could tell the lady did not want to hear us. Well then the lady start yelling at us and starts going off on all this stuff. I will spare you what she said but basically she was trying to tell us what we believe. And was not being nice whatsoever. I was standing there with a smile on my face trying to be nice. I wanted soo badly to just put her in her place and tell her how it really is. It took every ounce of being in my body to just keep standing there quietly and not say anything. She then slammed the door and we walked away. Its not easy to be a missionary. And its especially not easy when you are trying to do whats right and work even though we could have just sat in the air conditioned car for that 30 minutes. And then to have a lady literally verbally abuse you on her porch.. man it sure is trying! But I thought back to my goal. And then I thought about Joseph Smith and all he went through. And then I thought about all my scripture heroes and all the trials they had to face because of their commitment to always follow Jesus Christ. And then I remembered why it was all worth it. Because this gospel is amazing. Because Jesus Christ died for us and gave us the opportunity to make it back to live with our Heavenly Father. And because I would do anything to give this gift I have of the gospel in my life to other people. So when a door gets you down, just keep on knocking!
We had some fun experiences this week. I had the opportunity to help out at the Young Womens activity this week. They were having a princess academy. They had a nice dinner then there was 4 classes the young women rotated through. I was asked to teach the class on beauty. I taught about hair and makeup and did some demonstrations and taught them some new hairstyles. It was so much fun to be a part of. We had ran into rite-aid right before to grab a last minute supply. As we were checking out the worker asked if we went to the church. We said yes and started talking. He then said that they have some easter candy they would love to give to us to give out at our church. He then went to the back and came back with a bag full of candy and 2 big baskets. It was pretty much awesome. Free stuff for the win!! The word free takes me to my next story. We had gotten a flyer on our door for the Baptist church down the street having a little get together. The key words that stood out to us was "free event for all. Free food. free activities. free..." We decided we had to go. Free lunch!! We did a little drive by and didnt see a single white person. We knew we were going to definitely be the odd balls out. Other than our lighter skin, we are obviously missionaries from the Mormon church. We decided to go up anyways. We were greeted very kindly and they were all very nice. They had that pastor giving his little message and some bands. We got our hot dog and chips and had a seat and enjoyed the show. It was basically awesome. People watching is taken to a new extreme at a baptist church in the south with people feeling the spirit all around you. We enjoyed ourselves and got to talk to some very wonderful people. We might have been the only white girls there but that didnt stop anybodies party. It was a great time.
Other good news, a miracle happened and K is going to be baptized on Saturday! We are so excited for her commitment and faith and her desire to follow Jesus Christ. She is awesome!
Anyways, out of time but I hope you all have a fabulous week! Look for the good all around.
Thanks for all your love and support.
Love,
Sister Judd
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