Hey Family. Welcome, this next week will be the "Week of Lasts." Already I have had my last "normal Sunday" since General Conference next week. I'm excited, are you?
Everyone asks me if I'm nervous or scared. Truth is it all feels surreal. I can hardly imagine living in Mesa again. I've lived out of suitcases for so long, what will a closet feel like? It'll be interesting. Especially since I'm not the same person. I'll be a returned missionary, and I imagine that is quite a different person than a full-time missionary or someone who has never served. But no matter what I am glad I came.
Things to tell about this week. No investigators came to church this week. New jobs got in the way. But the 8 year old daughter of one of our investigators came to the Women's Broadcast with Sister Walker, Sister Goletz, and me. I loved that broadcast. I was able to visit lots of old friends from my time in Brownlee at the pre-dinner that was the Bossier Ward and Brownlee Wards combined. And as excited as I was to see them, my fears were met. I feared that our relationship might have changed in the year apart, and it's true. But I'm still glad I got to see them.
Friday night Sister Walker and I helped the Spanish Sisters help another sister in the ward paint an extra room in her house. It was so much fun to spend time with all those sisters. I was covered in dust and my shirt got some paint on it, as did my chin. It felt good to have a brush in my hand, to rub the dried paint off my skin, it felt so familiar. I also got to help serve by making planner covers for my fellow missionaries. I've been doing this my entire mission but the last 2 weeks have been a major act for me. I counted this morning. I made 17 custom planner covers and 14 extras for missionaries I might not know but still need that touch--that spark--of something beautiful in their life to make them smile each day. I've seen my planner covers do that in the past and until the mission gets I-pads, I will make it continue happening. This is my joy.
The Lord has been blessing our prayers by giving us answers. This week as we tracted, I met a man who had read the Book of Mormon a little and determined our belief in Jesus Christ was wrong and we didn't believe as other Christians. I testified to him and explained the history that explains the Bible compared to the Book of Mormon and we challenged him to pick it up again and give it a second chance, sharing with him 3 Nephi 11. We also met a Methodist woman that had read many books about Mormons and those who have dissented from the church but refuses to read the Book of Mormon because the "bible is enough." Please See 2 Nephi 29. The Lord never said the Bible was enough. He never said he couldn't talk to man any more. Don't let your mind ever think that the Book of Mormon is just a good story. It is holy scripture. Another man we met does not believe in God and does not desire to work towards that relationship. You could tell he was stoned, when we asked if he did anything he said no, that he just waits for the next day and the next day after that. He had no accomplishments, no fulfillment in his life. The Lord has said to be "anxiously engaged in a good cause" (D&C 58:27). I have broken this commandment in my life. I wonder who I would be if I had kept myself more "anxious" and zealous to the Lord. We challenged this young man to say just one prayer every day. We'll visit him again on Thursday. Every time we have opened our mouths we have testified of our Savior, the Book of Mormon, and our purposes as missionaries. This is a mission.
Kent only has one more day in the South and then he gets to meet the black top of Arizona. 7 hours of tracting left. We are scheduling people for next week we have been so busy. Only 9 days till I see Mom and Dad. Only 12 till I see everyone else. I hope you have those paper chains up, because it's time to take them down. I'm not sure how much work we'll be able to accomplish with Conference at 11 and 3 on Saturday and Sunday, but we will certainly do our best.
Are you excited as I am?
I love you.
I can't wait to see you soon.
Love,
Sister Stewart
Philippians 1:3 "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you."
This is the local lake. Due to a plant that has been growing in the lake, the state drains it every year for winter to try and kill it. 7 years and it hasn't worked yet but you can see how low it goes.
Happy Birthday Sister Walker (September 23th).
Sister Curran's daughter has chickens who had chicks!
A little painted.
What my pants looked like after crawling in the plaster dust to paint the bottom of the walls.
So the study door broke as I tried to close it, the screws came out of the wood. Yikes.
All the planners I made in the last 2 weeks. About 31--WOW!
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