Week 60: Two steps forward, one step back...
Hills and valleys, you know? I guess I know intellectually that we need hard times to teach us compassion, empathy, patience, and a host of other good things, but it's not fun watching your kiddo go through it... Really, though, I have been feeling greater peace lately in knowing that Becca will be stronger in the long run. Here are a few snippets from her email to me:
Wednesday we had exchanges with the Massena sisters [a different area of the mission]. I stayed in Canton with Sister Weaver and Sister Chanipo went to Massena with Sister Black. I think they had a lot of fun, they are more similar. Sister Weaver and I had a pretty good time too... We had a lesson that night with Vern which really raised my spirits....
Saturday was better... We had some fun that morning and took a couple pics by a flowery tree. (Oh, the cottonwoods started pollinating so that's fun.) Jay came to a baptism that morning with us and he loved it. It just made him more excited for his own.
That night we tracted in a downpour, tracted into our landlords (very, very nice. We had fun getting to know them,) and we were absolutely soaked to the bone by the time we met with Vernon. I wrung out the bottom of my dress. Twice. But it was fun. We had a lot of laughs and Sister Chanipo said "Heavenly Father knew we needed this rainstorm."
Sunday was so hard... I am finally learning what it means to rely on the Lord when I literally have nothing left. The humility we can learn in trails is astonishing. And I actually found myself thanking Heavenly Father for this opportunity this morning. That surprised me. But I'm learning more temperance, patience, and humility. All the while trying to stay positive and confident - in the Lord, not myself. So I'm stressed, but I'm afloat. I'm looking forward to seeing President Vest tomorrow.
Oh yeah, we're going to Syracuse tomorrow for a Mission Tour with Elder Bennett, our area president. I'm excited. We've been preparing for a couple weeks now. I hope my mind is clear enough to hear and learn.
1 - from the mini photo shoot, I was truly happy that night. Even though my hair was pulled back so I felt a little like a goober. [Whatever. She is adorable, so I'm sharing!]
2 - we put Jay's hair in a baby pig tail
Here's the group email:
Good Morning!
I was informed this morning that I have been on my mission for 60 weeks! That's pretty unreal. But pretty neat too. I love my mission!
Personally, this week was not great. But I'm doing fine and I'm grateful to be involved in something so much bigger than myself. As far as the work goes, we had some pretty cool things happen! We had a couple of fantastic lessons with Jay. He really loves learning about the gospel and is so so excited for his own baptism.
We had exchanges this week and I got to work with the wonderful Sister Weaver! She is a pretty new missionary, but she has an astounding testimony. I needed her this week and so did the people here in Canton. We had a lot of fun together.
We attended a baptism on Saturday morning with Jay. He figured out that he grew up with the some of the kids that are part of the family that just got baptized! He also has two of his former school teachers in the Branch, and he's very outgoing. I think he will have befriended the entire congregation before the summer is over. It's really fun to see him making these connections. Makes my heart happy. :)
Hope you all have a great week! Happy Memorial Day!
Sister Fairbanks
1 - exchange with Sister Weaver
2 - we got stuck in an epic rain storm :)
Wednesday we had exchanges with the Massena sisters [a different area of the mission]. I stayed in Canton with Sister Weaver and Sister Chanipo went to Massena with Sister Black. I think they had a lot of fun, they are more similar. Sister Weaver and I had a pretty good time too... We had a lesson that night with Vern which really raised my spirits....
Saturday was better... We had some fun that morning and took a couple pics by a flowery tree. (Oh, the cottonwoods started pollinating so that's fun.) Jay came to a baptism that morning with us and he loved it. It just made him more excited for his own.
That night we tracted in a downpour, tracted into our landlords (very, very nice. We had fun getting to know them,) and we were absolutely soaked to the bone by the time we met with Vernon. I wrung out the bottom of my dress. Twice. But it was fun. We had a lot of laughs and Sister Chanipo said "Heavenly Father knew we needed this rainstorm."
Sunday was so hard... I am finally learning what it means to rely on the Lord when I literally have nothing left. The humility we can learn in trails is astonishing. And I actually found myself thanking Heavenly Father for this opportunity this morning. That surprised me. But I'm learning more temperance, patience, and humility. All the while trying to stay positive and confident - in the Lord, not myself. So I'm stressed, but I'm afloat. I'm looking forward to seeing President Vest tomorrow.
Oh yeah, we're going to Syracuse tomorrow for a Mission Tour with Elder Bennett, our area president. I'm excited. We've been preparing for a couple weeks now. I hope my mind is clear enough to hear and learn.
1 - from the mini photo shoot, I was truly happy that night. Even though my hair was pulled back so I felt a little like a goober. [Whatever. She is adorable, so I'm sharing!]
2 - we put Jay's hair in a baby pig tail
Good Morning!
I was informed this morning that I have been on my mission for 60 weeks! That's pretty unreal. But pretty neat too. I love my mission!
Personally, this week was not great. But I'm doing fine and I'm grateful to be involved in something so much bigger than myself. As far as the work goes, we had some pretty cool things happen! We had a couple of fantastic lessons with Jay. He really loves learning about the gospel and is so so excited for his own baptism.
We had exchanges this week and I got to work with the wonderful Sister Weaver! She is a pretty new missionary, but she has an astounding testimony. I needed her this week and so did the people here in Canton. We had a lot of fun together.
We attended a baptism on Saturday morning with Jay. He figured out that he grew up with the some of the kids that are part of the family that just got baptized! He also has two of his former school teachers in the Branch, and he's very outgoing. I think he will have befriended the entire congregation before the summer is over. It's really fun to see him making these connections. Makes my heart happy. :)
Hope you all have a great week! Happy Memorial Day!
Sister Fairbanks
1 - exchange with Sister Weaver
2 - we got stuck in an epic rain storm :)
Comments