Week 7: Glorious Spring (sort of)

First of all, most of you know that we got to video chat with Becca for a little over an hour yesterday!!  We only get to do that on Mother's Day and Christmas, so it was a cherished hour in my life.  It took us most of the hour to finally get the video connected.  It turned out that the computer she was using at the church house had a bad camera.  Thankfully, we figured out that the other computer had a good one, so we FINALLY got to lay eyes on her!  We're so spoiled these days.  My mom never got to see her sons during phone calls.  That seemed like science fiction at the time!  We had a wonderful visit.  Now I have to grit my teeth until Christmas... At lease we still have emails!

Actually, just so you all know, I joke about it being hard, and it is, but I want you to know that THIS is how deeply I believe that the work Becca is doing is God's work.  We say that our children leave our families for a short time so that they can teach others how they can be sealed to their own families for eternity.  That's an important message, and I am proud of my daughter for wanting to share it.

So, on to the newest email.  Becca has been hesitant to admit in her emails that the last month has been very difficult for her.  I advised her that she doesn't need to give the gory details, but it's okay to let her friends and family know that she can use their prayers, so she finally expressed a bit of that this week.  I'm glad.  I know you all want to pray for her when she faces something hard.  She's gone into much more detail in her emails to me, thank goodness, so it's not like she hasn't had any place to vent.  I've encouraged her to speak to her leaders and even her Mission President if she needs to. I think it's important for her to feel support that is nearby, and they will know how to best support her and bouy her up.

As for her difficulties, let me explain.  When an LDS missionary is close to the end of their mission, sometimes they get so focused on being home that they don't do a very good job of focusing on the work.  We call that "getting trunky."  You know--like they can't wait to pack their trunks and head home.  It's an understandable phenomenon, considering how long they've been away from their families, but missionaries are encouraged to be faithful to the very last day of their missions.  This time in their lives is meant to be a serious sacrifice and no one wants them to look back and regret that they were less than dedicated in the last weeks or months of their mission.  It's hard on their companions, too, who need to be with someone as dedicated and "on fire" as they are.

Sister Anderson is one of those missionaries who is anxious to be home.  The Mission President hoped that by assigning her a new missionary to train (Becca), she would be able to rediscover her own motivation.  It hasn't worked so well...  Becca still loves her companion, of course, but you can imagine that it has been difficult to be paired with someone who is not as gung-ho about getting out there and working.  I think it's been a little more disillusioning for Bec than she would like to admit.  She didn't expect her first companion "in the field" to be one of her biggest challenges.  I think most missionaries expect to be paired with someone who will help feed that fire they bring when they first arrive in their assigned area.  I think it's been a bit of a shock for Bec.  She's still praying and fighting for the strength to endure, but she wants to WORK.  She hasn't mentioned it in her group emails, because she would never want to speak ill of her companion.  I love her for that, but I think it's okay to admit that she needs prayers.

She's gotten good advice from her uncles, cousins, and others, but please feel free to send her more advice and encouragement.  And while you're praying for Becca, pray for Sister Anderson.  She is a sweet girl who just need to be reminded why she is there.  In the meantime, there is good stuff happing, too! Here's Becca's group email so you can read about it:

Good Morning! 

First of all, Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful women!! What a wonderful spring day to celebrate all that you do. Thank you all for the influence you've had on my life. 

This week has been pretty good. Highlights: We went to Hobby Lobby, definitely awesome. Our mission president said that he wanted us to have a different car, so we had to give up our gorgeous red Rav. We were super bummed until we figured out that we get to have another Rav, haha! Oh, my favorite part of the week was Saturday. We went to help serve breakfast at the Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church here in Liverpool. The pastor there, Pastor Yost, loves the missionaries!! He's an awesome guy and was fun to be around. He's come to church with us a couple of times and he invites the missionaries to his services, too. Way fun! 

Also on Saturday the elders in our ward had a baptism! It was a mother and her daughter, and it was amazing. It was neat to see how excited they were and how this first step is going to take them far in life. The Spirit in the room was amazing. 

It occurred to me this week, and I talked to my mom about it, that my group emails thus far have been all sunshine and rainbows. While it is true that there are good moments in my days and weeks, the truth is that this is the hardest month I have ever had. Missionary work is just plain hard, and sometimes it's not just the missionary work that is hard. But this last month has also taught me incredible things. I'm learning more and more every day that this is God's work, not mine, to bring more happiness and faith to His children in central New York. (And all over the world.) And the joy that I feel when I see that someone has felt the influence of the Holy Ghost or when I gain a witness again and again that God loves His children, that joy far outweighs the other craziness. I love it. 

I hope you are enjoying spring as much as I am! I also hope that your allergies aren't hitting you like a freight train, haha! Love you!

Sister Fairbanks