Tuesday was so good! In short, I felt like I was in a scene from Inception. Not to make a
non-missionary reference, but here’s why:
So my day started early.
Had to meet my companion (who was on exchanges) at a convenient halfway point
between Olney and Bowie. So naturally, finding a rendezvous spot that worked
for both of us in New Carrolton ended up being more of a hassle than it would
have been to go all the way. Anyway, Sister Kaarma, (from Estonia—she came out
a few weeks before me) and I made our trip out to meet them, and we all
switched back in time for Sister Word and I to be back at the VC for shift at
8:50 in the morning.
Shift was good. I met a young man named Jobari from Iran. We
cruised right through all trivial small-talk and dove deep from the beginning.
He was there for a specific reason, there was no mistake about it. As I shared Joseph
Smith’s account of the first vision in his own words, Jobari began to listen
more intently with each line recited. I watched as his eyes grew wider and
wider with understanding, and I could begin to see realization and recognition
sweep over his face.
As if he had heard it somewhere before.
He then proceeded to confide in me a dream he had several months
ago. A dream of this “vision”. The only difference, he said…was that he was the young boy… He said he has had
many dreams in his life, but never felt such immense joy or elation from any
other kind before. He knew this was personal revelation to him from God, but didn’t
know what to do with it. Kind of neat to see the way God speaks to each of His
children in ways they can understand and relate.
After just a short hour of talking, he wanted to begin meeting
with missionaries. Felt so good to know I correctly played my small role, in
God’s big plan for him.
So the original plan was to be at the VC all day (Sister Word
had trainer duties, so I was going to take another shift in the evening) which
would have been fine. But then because of some medical complications with my
sweet former companion, Sister Nakatsuka, I got to go on another exchange back to WHITE OAK!! Words couldn’t have described my
joy to return to where I was “born”, despite the fact that it was just for one short
evening. I felt like Heavenly Father was giving me a second chance to “fix
something”.
So, Sister Bullock (a former White Oak “baby” herself) and I
drove out to White Oak together, reminiscing about the many people we taught
and loved there. We were never companions, but could very easily relate to each
other’s joy. Well, we arrived at our old apartment, and Sister Bullock stayed
with Sister Nakatsuka (who wasn’t feeling well) so I could go out with Sister
Weber, (who is a brand new missionary), giving her the chance to finally have some
time in her area this week.
We first went and checked on Marc Meredith, a recent convert
within the last year. He is still doing so well, and was super excited to see
us! We talked with him for a bit and encouraged him to look for ways he can
continue to follow Christ. Afterwards, we had an awesome finding activity with
the whole zone. We all met at the chapel to split off into different
companionships, and go tract! The goal of the activity for the whole zone was
to go “finding” only in White Oak.
This was partly as a service to Sister Nakatsuka who had been in the hospital
for the last week and not had the chance to do any work in her area with Sister
Weber. My last “companion” of the night was Hermana Clement, who I happened to
be roommates with last transfer! Yes, she’s in the Spanish program, and had
never been tracting in English before. Well, actually, I hadn’t been tracting
in forever either, so we were both a little rusty, but it was a great experience
for the both of us!
So, for the fourth
time in a 24-hr period, I went on exchanges yet again. And it was so awesome!
(Are you beginning to follow my lame Inception
reference now?)
We went everywhere, and even saw a hard-to-reach recent convert
that some former missionaries had baptized. He should be coming to church this Sunday.
One of the houses we knocked seemed very familiar, and so did the
man who answered. (I swear Sister Lawrence and I knocked his door back in
February…) Anyway, He considered himself a very accomplished theologist and, a
very rigid born-again Christian. As soon as he answered the door, he never
gave us the time of day, but we listened. And listened. And smiled. And
listened some more. Eventually, he migrated from behind the “safety” of his
screen door, to opening the whole door, to stepping out onto his porch, to
laughing with us. We talked until it was dark, and although I wanted to use the
mosquito on his forehead as an excuse to smack him every time he degraded the
church in some condescending way, we held strong and testified. That was all we
could do. He seemed to appreciate our compassionate, patient demeanor, and may
have even been somewhat confused at how two 21 year old girls could seemingly
have as much religious understanding as him without any degrees, or tangible
“diplomas”. We left on cordial terms, and certainly gave him something to chew
on for some time…At least until he has another contact with the church. Made me
wonder what would happen, if every missionary who ever knocked his door just
shied away in timid succumb-ness. What then, would he think of this church? I
was grateful God gave us the strength to withstand the blows we took, and yet
still magnify our callings in that moment as representatives of Christ. Well of
course He would! This is His work, right? Makes sense.
Anyway, it felt so good to just get out and street contact. To
talk to as many people as we could in the short two and a half hour period of
time that we had. This approach to missionary work is quickly becoming “old-fashioned”
and considered useless and foolish by most missionaries, (or at least
considered not as effective). The Lord is really hastening His work through
modern means. We can feel it here in the DC North Mission, and as a Visitor Center
Mission…that the Lord is moving along with the times. Personally, I love
feeling physically exhausted from this work as opposed to mentally drained from
staring at a computer screen for hours. However, it has been fun to try to find
that balance here in this mission. Good thing is, I get both.
Well Sister Clement and I wrapped up our tracting adventures,
and raced through the dumping rain,
running and laughing and knocking as many doors as we could in our last few
minutes, (all the while, doing a really bad job at trying to stay dry). Man we really
must have looked like loony-bins dancing in (and tasting) the sweet, fat drops
all around us. They pelted us like a shower head…but we didn’t care. We had the
best message in the world, and we wanted to share it with the world.
So then, we reported back to the chapel, where the climb back up
through my various companions began: From Hermana Clement, back to Sister
Weber, back to the apartment where Sister Bullock was waiting to take me back
to the VC where my own sweet companion was
waiting for me to go home to Olney. What a day, right?! You read it, I lived it!—and
I would do it again in a heartbeat!
Well, I think this beats my own record for longest email. Not
that I was having a competition with myself or anything.
Gotta run, family.
Hey, guess what? I love you guys!
Hermana Graff
Omni 1:26
PS—I caught a frog yesterday. Do you know when the last time I
caught a frog was? Me neither.
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