This week has actually been really hard\ emotional. ill be okay though! Wanna know something weird? I was actually homesick for Stavanger too! I feel like Stavanger is my second home! After leaving stavanger and being here, i feel like i should be going back home there! Man, i was thinking maybe saying goodbye to all of you scarred me for life, saying goodbye to other people...or its just who i am and who i have always been...saying goodbyes being hard.
Anyways, guess what? Im actually getting tan here!!! haha, i have a tan line from my toms! The beach is right down the road, and we live right by the main part of town! So we walk a lot. Oh another thing, my feet have been so bad here! They have just hurt worse than they have my whole mission! Swollen and hurting, oh well though!
anyways, tomorrow we go to stavanger for Zone leader training, and I am SOOO excited!!!! :) I LOVE it there!
So this week we did A LOT of contacting! We got pretty sick of it, even though I love it. We met with a couple of less actives, and that was good! And we ended up making 2 appointments with formers from the area book! We actually ahve 2 area books...one FULL of formers! And we finished them yesterday. Oh another thing! We are only 45 minutes from denmark by ferry!!! haha, too bad we cant go there for pday. :)
We also had a new member teach. Søster Johnson and her old companion got a baptism a little bit ago, his name is peter and he is from nigeria! anyways, we went to a members house and they taught him a lesson which was cool :) Then guess what? SUPER EXCITING NEWS! :) We had a teach with this man named David yesterday after church. He is a referral from PETER! The new convert! Haha Peter was so funny, becuase he asked, after he had referred david, if that was okay to do that. That although he isnt a missionary like us, he can do missionary work. We were like, YES!!! YOU CAN DO THAT!!! Haha, so the other sisters taught david the first lesson and reviewd it, so yesterday we taught him the second lesson. And guess what!? HE WANTS TO BE BAPTIZED!!!!! :) He told us before we taught him, and he told a lady in the ward too. He told us, "I KNOW this is the true church! I know it!!!! And if it isnt true, you WONT SEE ME HERE AGAIN! But I KNOW its true!!!" It was so funny, earlier during church he told us flat out that he wants to be baptized! He did some hand motions to show what it was and said thats what he wants! SUPER EXCITING! So We have a date set for August 31st! He is from Nigeria and is such an awesome man! He is hilarious. He told us something like this, "We just pray everywhere! Always thanking God for everything he gives us. Im sorry to say this, Im really sorry to say it, but even when Im in the toilet, i just pray and thank Him for the things I have! I do!" HAHA! Such a nice funny man. Super random, but also, Peter taught us how to say How are you brotha/sista in Ikka, which is his language in nigeria... ANI WENA? :)
So a couple mornings ago, i woke up to sister johnsons alarm and then i heard a roaring noise outside. So I went and looked out the window and it was POURING RAIN! And there was thunder and lightning and I just LOVED it! :) We also went to the bishops sons baptism. It is so cool that whatever language it is in or wherever in the world it is, I feel the same good feeling. When he recieved the Holy Ghost, I felt the same feeling I have my entire life when I am present for a confirmation. It was just so cool :)
Church was GREAT! IT is a tiny tiny tiny ward, but i think i like it better that way! Elder Torjeson, our district leader, is from here...and so i got to meet his family and that was cooL! Haha I already LOVE this ward and am so excited to work with them and get to know them better :) Being here is deefinitely another trial...another thing that is going to make me stronger. But I know it is just making me a better missionary! This past week has definitely been a test of my humility...but that is okay. Itll just help me be better!
SOOO crazy how trials can help make people stronger. I prayed for a better love of the scriptures and what did i get? I LOVE THE SCRIPTURES SO MUCH!!! I prayed to have more sincere prayers and what did I get??? SINCERE PRAYERS! I prayed for so much and Im recieving it through trials. I dont like the trials at all...haha but I know it is going to make me a better mom and missionary and person. It is so cool to think about....everything I am going through, is shaping me into the Godess I can potentially be in eternity. I read a talk this week that was definitely personal revelation. It is a talk by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland (of course) and it is called "Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence." Theres a paragraph that really stood out to me in it and it says, " After you have gotten the message, after you ahve paid the price to feel His love and hear the word of the Lord, go forward, Don't fear, don't vacillate, don't quibble, don't whine. You may, like Alma going to Ammonihah, have to find a route that leads an unusual way, but that is exactly what the Lord is doing here for the children of ISrael, Nobody had ever crossed the Red Sea this way, but so what? There's always a first time. With the spirit of revelation, dismiss your fears and wade in with both feet. In the words of Joseph Smith, "Bretheren (and sisters), shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory!""
Anyways, we are all given our "unique" trials. Sometimes I feel myself wondering WHY ME or WHY THIS TRIAL, and then after reading this I realized. This was my unique path to get the point I will be in the eternities. It is different for all of us. But all of us have the same goal. The same goal to live with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and our familes for eternity. I might have to go under a bridge then over a hill and through a forest...and mom might have to go around a lake, over a mountain, and through a jungle. But thats what is going to help us individually get there. Going through a jungle wouldnt help shape me into the person I am going to become, but it will shape mom. Going under a bridge might not be a trial to mom, but it would be to me and it would help me become more like Christ. Every challenge we face is the challenge the Lord knows will help us come closer to Him. I read in the scriptures this week how the Lord has control on how much Satan tempts us. It made me realize how...NOT SMART Satan is! He is helping with the plan. Without trials, we wouldnt know the sweet sweet tasee of fruit! Anyways, I hope that made sense!
I really miss you all SO much. I know that we'll see each other soon, but I miss you all.
Your all in my prayers and I think about you all the time.
Love, Søster Chapman
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
No comments:
Post a Comment