Feb 24 2011

This week was pretty alright, we spent a TON of hours out on the streets trying to talk to people, going on splits so we can get more done, and had a several appointments fall through. The weather has been pretty nasty and not many people are out and about, but even with this, we were able to finally pick it up in the last few days and meet a few really great people. My favorite is probably this girl H, who is Hong Kong people but went to high school in New Zealand and is now studying aviation in Australia. Yeah, she's going to become a pilot. and suuper nice, and best of all she was like, sure! I'd like to learn about your church! aaand then we found out she's going back to Australia (after being here for 3 months already) on satuday. Anyways she was way nice. We also met a girl from Peru a few weeks ago, but she's heading back and wants missionaries to visit her there! hmmm.. what else.. oh yeah, I feel like an eighty year old woman right now. These past few days its like my body is completely falling apart. my feet, knees arms head, everything has been aching and stuff. I mean walking around for 12 hours per day is bound to do something to us right? Hopefully it won't persist though, because I still have a long ways to go and a lot of things yet to accomplish.

Also I'm glad granddads funeral was nice. I wish I could have been here. I've been praying for you all a lot.

So there are 7 native missionaries coming into the mission next week, which is halfway through the move. Which means... things could potentially change for my companion and I next week! I have loved serving with sister L and could definitely continue for a while with her, however, for her sake I think itd be good for her to go senior and have that responsibility to keep helping her move forward. And sometimes i'm pretty sure she gets sick of me haha. But being 24/7 with someone that's bound to happen right? eh anyways, it'd also be nice to have at least one more person out here in tolo harbor, a tri-panionship would be good especially for sundays. but if they had 2 companionships? woah it'd be awesome. Speculation aside, i'm fine with whatever the Lord has in store for me, I've learned enough that even when we're in the toughest times we can learn stuff and it will benefit us if we choose to let it.

K so as to what I've been studying this week, I've been trying to find ways to help me and sister L stay motivated because I will NOT accept being lazy as a missionary. Theres no time to waste, seriously. Anyways... some interesting stuff i read from the life of Heber J. Grant... He said "I believe unless we have ambition to accomplish things and to do things that we amount to but very little in the battle of life. I know of nothing at the present time that seems to me sadder than to find the number of our people who are losing the spirit of integrity and devotion and ambition to do things. It seems to me all wrong. Every individual should have a desire to grow and increase in capacity and in ability to do things. Certainly by mere exertion of the will, by mere desire, we accomplish nothing. We must put with that desire the labor to accomplish the things we desire. I am convinced that every individual can improve from day to day, from year to year, and have greater capacity to do things as the years come and the years go."

I know thats kind of long, but I really like it. In sunday school last week or some weeks ago or something, I remember the teacher talking about how as we use our agency to follow God's commandments, we have increased agency. If we have choice A and choice B, and god commands us to choose "A" he already knows that A will lead to a better life and more opportunities for growth. So when people look at commandments as things to block us or stop us or tie us down, that's totally wrong. Example- smoking. It is part of the word of wisdom to not smoke. At the time God gave us this commandment, people didnt know smoking was bad for their health and could give them cancer etc. But God knew and gave us the commandment not to, because he already knows where smoking leads- an addiction and eventually death. So if we choose to follow that commandment, it leads us to a healthier, happier life, right? When we can see little by little each commandment helps us out, it makes it easier and easier to keep them. Sorry about this commandments vs. agency tangent, but I'm really grateful for agency- our ability to choose for ourselves. Because we have this ability, we CAN change every day, we CAN choose who we're going to be, where we want to go. Yes sometimes this means others choose to do things that effect us, but we can choose how to react right? we can choose whether we want to just lay aside and roll down the hill, or if we want to climb, step by step, to the top of the mountain. And when we stumble, we can choose not to give up, but just pick ourselves up and keep trying. yeah agency is aweeeesome!

Another quote I like from my studies this week... "Every kind word spoken gives you greater ability to speak another" (also heber j grant) because when you help someone, you learn how to comfort someone or lift someone, you can do it more in the future. yup. ok so I'm not out of time this week buuuuutttt i am out of things to say. so I'm praying for you, I'm grateful for you all. and I'm just trying to keep working hard and remember what's most important.

thanks.

Love you all!

Sister Black/Baahk jimuih.