Chapter 12: Behold.... the Rain

 Wow, a LOT happened this week. Some miracles, some hard things, some new things, some funny, some sad. But all around mostly good. 

Last p-day our district went to the church and played volleyball ball! It was so fun!! I LOVE volleyball!! I was super sore the next day, which is kind of ridiculous, but well worth it. 

Tuesday.... Tuesday started out really good! We had DCM (District Mission Counsel), did some more lesson roleplays and discussions. We heart attacked one of our friends. We went to visit some less actives we hadn't met yet, but they live in a gated apartment complex and we couldn't get in. So we gave one of them a call. She said they weren't home, but asked if we'd like to come over for dinner later this week! Of course we said yes! And the day she asked to do dinner on was the only open day we didn't already have a member meal! 

Tuesday evening we got in a little car accident. It wasn't bad. The car barely has one little ding. There were definitely angels around us keeping us safe. And the family in the other car was alright too. I am very grateful for how it turned out. It wasn't nearly as bad as we first thought it was. I definitely have a deeper gratitude for when people pray for our safety in travels now. 

(Someone turned left into them.)

Wednesday we had an amazing miracle!! We had a lesson set up with one of our friends and a member to come with us. That ended up falling through, so we decided to go visit a recent,(within the last year-ish), young convert couple and their family. They hadn't been to church in a little while because of car situations. So we went over and talked with them for a while. It was so good!! The member we brought with us and the Sister had a really good connection. What's more! is their car needed a jump to start and the member had exactly what they needed in her car! It wasn't even her car; I was her husband's car. He had just taken her car to work that day. It was awesome!! Also! We got a referral from them!!

Member Hero

We did exchanges this week with the Sisters in our district. And that was really good! I stayed in my area with Sister Allred, and Sister Myers joined us. All our lessons fell through😅, and we ended up dropping one of our friends in person. That was hard. But we had some amazing contacting miracles!!

Sis Ray, Sis Carter, Sis Allred, Sis Myers, Sis Jones

Friday was awesome! We did service as a district at a food drive. That was lots of fun. And we had so many good lessons!!

Saturday!! LEIGH ELLEN AND RICKY ACCEPTED THE INVITATION TO BE BAPTIZED. I cannot express how totally excited I am for them! They both have such beautiful faith! They were even going to come to church Sunday, but Ricky got quite sick overnight so they couldn't come. But we set up a blessing for Ricky and it went really well! Leigh Ellen said it was a really good experience, and that Ricky was already starting to feel better!

Sis Ray, Leigh Ellen, Sis Allred, Sis Jones, Ricky

We also had a relief society activity that morning with a pmf! (Part Member Family) We all made wreaths! 

Sunday was such an interesting day. It rained aaaaallllllll day. Church was amazing. Sacrament and Relief Society were very needed and I learned a lot. Right after church we rushed to a funeral for a less active in our wards' brother. That was the first funeral I've been to where I didn't know anyone there. I still cried. You could just feel the grief in the air. During the service, I just kept thinking about when Lazarus dies and how Christ wept with Mary and Martha, and how part of the covenant we make at baptism is to mourn with those that mourn. I've been thinking about how important that is. To emphasize with each other.

Sunday night was a miracle! We meant to go visit one of our friends, but a member has the same name. And I thought we were talking about visiting the member, so I put in their address. We were all a little confused when we got to the apartment complex, but God has a plan and He needed us there. It was really good we stopped by the member. We gave her one of the wreaths we made and talked for a bit. On our way back to the car, Sister Allred and I both had the bing to knock on this one door. So we did. And we had this amazing contact!! It was a young dad who said he and his wife were looking for a good church to start raising their family in. We set up a time to come talk with him and his family more next week, and I cannot wait!!

Also, people here say that they don't want to commit to something they can't give their word they'll be able to be there for. Which is honorable, but most of them use it as an excuse. Then! When we do get them to commit, they either don't answer their door, or any of our calls. It kinda drives me nuts. Don't ghost the missionaries please, cause you're really just ghosting God, and that's awkward. 

Last thing. As a district we read and discussed the talk "fourth floor, last door" by Elder Uchtdorf. And it was so so good. I learned a lot about faith and about enduring through hard times. God has a perfect plan for everyone, and faith is not something to change God's will, but the courage to act on God's will. Sometimes that's really hard. I don't always understand why someone will ghost us or drop us or be super flaky, and I don't always understand how that is a part of their plan. But I know that God is in control. I am here to do His will and His work. This is not my mission, it's God's, it's Christ's. I am simply and humbly a mouthpiece. "[For] behold, I am a Disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of Him to declare His word among His people, that they might have everlasting life." 3 Nephi 5:13. And though it might be frustrating and exhausting at times, I would not change what I am doing for the Lord right now. 

Stay safe, Rely on the Lord.

Love, Sister Ray

With our friend Nora in the blue jacket.