From Louisiana to Arizona, smiles and love abound.
Hi. : )
Yes I got your packages! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!! I was shocked when we got home and there was a package for me, and then we realized of the 3 packages, 2 of them were mine! I was completely surprised and over joyed. I immediately made an account that I had planned to send last week but didn't finish. This is how I reacted:
I opened the first box and and saw the cook book and was super excited because now I had some recipes to use, should I ever need them. Then I saw the shoes (gray) and I gasped, I wasn't expecting you to be able to find them so quickly! I grinned at the hot chocolate in them, very smart, Mother Dear, and the popcorn is a treat. I was super happy to find the second pair of shoes (navy) and was already going through my head what to wear them with. Then I opened the 3rd box and nearly fainted seeing the 3rd pair of shoes (white lace) because I had been admiring a pair that looked exactly the same but were too small just a few weeks earlier at Family Dollar. I was happy to find my star mug and Cole erase pencils and immediately told Sister Johnson about them (she's an artist too, I might have told you), and then I saw them. The 4th pair, red shoes. Sister Cox can testify that I nearly fell off the couch laughing and almost crying. Those shoes made it on my feet quicker than I could say "I love them!" and of course the pictures came quickly after, good thing I was already wearing a red poka-dot shirt to match!
So yeah, super excited, wearing the navy ones to Gators and Friends today. Mom, I'm sorry but I don't think I can return any of the shoes, I love them too much! I've worn all of them except the lace ones (I'm waiting for the right weather).
Yes, I knew Tommy! I mean I didn't talk to him much, but he would open the gate for the seminary students to go to class and things like that. And I always saw him riding his bike around campus. That's great to hear that he's investigating the church. I wish I could have been at that meeting with you, President Ellsworth is awesome!
Karl and JaNel are moving?! I wasn't expecting that. Is there anything else I should know that I haven't been told?
On mother's Day we can Skype at the Simpson's (senior missionaries, they have 3 computers with cameras so my companions and I can all skype at the same time), but it will probably be around 2 or 3 (my time, so 12-ish your time). I know that's not going to work very well with your ward time, but ours gets out at 12p, we have lunch for an hour, and then we can probably call. I'll ask the Simpson's if I can call by phone first and make sure you're available. Send me mail with your opinion.
I can't say much for spiritual experiences this week. I've had a tough week, the natural man has been siding with the devil. But I figured out its because I've been trying to be the "perfect missionary" and not letting myself be "myself". So I've been trying to work on that. And actually I think it helps. There are so many things you have to be thinking about, recognizing, and working on all at the same time. If you weren't a multi-tasker before you came out on the mission you better become one fast! You really get pushed to your limit and beyond. Most importantly is learning to recognize the spirit, act on it, and make sure your investigator recognizes it. That's my biggest challenge, just knowing what to do and say based off the spirit. For example, twice we've had to just leave a set appointment because the person's home wasn't going to be able to carry the spirit. In those instances, I knew that teaching a lesson was useless, but I didn't how to fix that, which was probably my biggest problem; we can't always fix things, sometimes the investigator has to fix it themselves.
I've found that relating who ever I'm talking to as someone I knew back home, makes it easier to talk to them and be open rather than be suspicious of "stranger danger." Also singing. I haven't been singing very much and the only songs I know that I hear every day are hymns, and those can get boring fast, unfortunately. So when I sing I have been trying to throw in different pitches or notes to make it new and exciting.
Yesterday in Testimony meeting, after a pause of silence, a woman got up and related something that had been told to her in a silent congregation years before. The man who said it, stood and asked the question "If Jesus Christ was presiding at a fast and testimony meeting, would you sit in silence?" That question kind of penetrated me, because Christ already knows our testimonies, but would you show your "devotion" is what I wonder.
"The Lord doesn't want you to settle, Satan does." -Sister Johnson
Some funny things I've noticed about the South:
-- In the past when I've seen a red brick building in the distance with a white trimmed roof and a tall white steeple, I always smiled, knowing it was a LDS building. Here, its more liking Methodist or Baptist.
-- If there are moving or blinking lights on a building 99% of the time its a casino, so don't waste your time looking.
-- Just because someone has white skin doesn't mean they won't talk black. Just because they are black, doesn't mean they will talk Southern.
-- There are a lot of smokers in the South and there is no way to go into their homes without coming out smelling like them. Just except it and love them.
-- Put on a jacket. If it rained yesterday, its going to be cold. If it rained 2 days ago, its going to be cold. It is cold in Louisiana. Its the build up to the rain when it is the hottest. (Yes, I am currently wearing a jacket.)
Could you send me a copy of "Find the Lambs, Feed the Sheep" by President Hinckley, May 1999 Ensign? Its referenced in Preach my Gospel and I would like to read the whole thing.
I love you much and pray you are happy and healthy. Thank you for your support and prayers, keep 'em coming!
Sister Lucky Stewart
Ps. Thank you for getting the mission home address on the blog! Have you been able to put it on facebook yet?
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