El Dia de Madres

It was SO wonderful to talk to my Momma yesterday. It's so funny how it's SO anticipated, and then its over before you know it. BUT nonetheless, really great to tell my Momma that I love her. And Linz and Ty and the boys, and of course my Joe Joe. Who will soon no longer be MY joe joe... but someone else s. But that's ok, soon I will just have a Joe Joe and a Ja Ja (for Jamie... Congrats you guys!). I loved saying hello to Chan Chan and Haleigh girl too. And of course the quick hello to my sweet Jayne. I love you all! I missed the others that couldn't make it, but I totally understand the business of your lives! Know that I love you all and think of you often.

The first thing my Mom said was "You know that you can come home honorably at any time, right?". Thanks Mom, I did know that. And I think I'll stay. This is too good, in so many ways. Even the hard ways, this is too good.

Let's see. What to write about this week. I wish I could say this whole explain-everything-that-happened-to-you- in-40-minutes thing would get easier as the months go by, but they DON'T! News flash. I'm am becoming a killer typer though. And I was pretty good before...

So this week is transfers. So crazy. I'm about to begin my 6th transfer! And I only have 12 total! AGH! SLOW DOWN TIME. I'm not sure what is going to happen. I got a call from President saying he wanted to see me tonight which could mean a couple things... but I'm not sure what is going to happen. Tune in next week to see :) I really can't believe this transfer is all ready gone. I have to be honest, this transfer was the hardest one yet for sure. Lots of stress with a new area, a HUGE area at that with a LOT of people who don't exactly love missionaries coming to their door, a lot of great people that we are teaching with a lot of issues to work through, personal doubt and frustration with myself... just a hard transfer. And on top of that, I've gotten to the point that I never thought I'd get to: I just don't care about what I look like anymore. SO on top of being a tad stressed, I look really bad for the most part. But it's ok, because I'm on the Lord's Errand, right? I can look better when I get home. (hopefully... I will need some serious help...)

Megan is doing really well. Her baptism is this Saturday! We are going to have to "cram" some lessons though because she has been in and out of town and we've had a hard time getting together. But all will be fine. Her boyfriend, Justin, is baptizing her and we are just so excited for her. She is really happy about it. I hope there is a good turnout from the UCLA ward. She's awesome and I'm so excited for her.

Kaz... is... amazing. She is so cool. Yesterday, she came to church and it was hard. It was super noisy and there were a lot of kids sitting right in front of us and I thought Kaz was going to eat one of them (she even said she was about to punch something... haha shes so funny). Kaz really doesn't want to do this just to fit a mold, so we are trying to help her understand that this is NOT about joining a religion or becoming "mormon". This is about following Jesus Christ and becoming clean through his atonement. She is progressing, although she is frustrated that God isn't answering her prayers. We talked a lot about prayer yesterday and why we pray the way we do. It is definitely an adjustment for her. She wants to do things HER way, but she completely accepts the fact that God is not going to let that happen because He wants things done HIS way. I think we can all relate to that a bit. It will be amazing the transformation that happens when she trully succumbs her will to the Lords.

I had a neat experience at the Visitors Center with a couple Elders and their investigator. Elisha doesn't really know if God is there... She feels like she has done everything on her own, and she has been through some HARD things. She said she doesn't really think she needs God, that she is fine and she doesn't need to know what happens after this life, that she is content just being. But I could tell differently. I could really see that she was putting on a huge front that she was fine even though inside she was screaming. At the beginning, she was very closed off, didn't really want to open up, but then we got to talking and I really felt like I should be very bold to her. I said "I know you think you are fine... and it is truly amazing that you have come out of those hard things... But I have to be bold. You are not fine. You are broken and only God can put the pieces back together. You have to let him. You have to find out if he is there and give Him a chance to heal you." It was really crazy because I was looking into her eyes, and I felt so strongly that that was what I needed to say to her. Tears welled in both of our eyes and by the end of the time we had together, she had decided she would pray to know if He was there. I truly believe that God will show her he is there and she will be so blessed. Tender mercy.

 

 Jeremiah stopped in to say goodbye before he takes off on his cruise. Always great to see people who I love. I love hearing about the success all of my dear friends are having! Congrats to everyone, I love and miss you all. (Brittany Bowman I want a letter please :) Good luck to Jer. Don't you forget what we talked about.

Not sure what else to talk about so I think I will close. I am so grateful to be a missionary. I was telling my Mom... "I know that you know that this is hard sometimes. But the good totally outweighs the hard because this is so worth the rough days!" And that is totally true. I love being a missionary and I love the things I am learning. I love the Book of Mormon. Read it everyday.

Love

Sista Brink