Chapter 9: Baptism, Boldness and Blessings

January 03, 2023

Chapter 9: Baptism, Boldness and Blessings

I have fought a mighty war. But alas, it has come to an end. For weeks now, I have fought off symptoms of illness. And while I lasted as both my companions fell ill, I must now surrender. And though I don't want to, I must admit, I am sick. And this week has been a STRUGGLE. I highly recommended not being sick as a missionary. I've been taking lunch naps almost everyday day this week, which has been nice. My energy has been so so low all week, and I've had a brain fog most the days as well as a sore throat and some nausea. But enough about me being sick! I've got great Comps who take good care of me, and I'm not about to let it stop me from sharing this Gospel! Don't worry, I didn't push myself too hard, just enough to make it through the day. Medicine helped too.

Monday, the day after Christmas and p-day. we had Micah's Baptism!!!! It was soooooooo good!! Him and his family are just so adorable!! His mom asked me to give the talk on the Holy Ghost. I was so happy and excited to give this talk. Micah plays football, so I made an analogy about how the Holy Ghost is like a coach. They're there to give us guidance and counsel on which "play" is the best for that moment. When we listen to them, our "game" goes better than if we tried to figure it out ourselves while we were in the middle of it. AND! His dad, who's not a member, really enjoyed my talk!! We're really hoping to start teaching him! Micah's baptism was on Monday because hid dad travels a lot for work and he would be around on that day. We were happy to dedicate part of our p-day to his baptism, though it made it a bit hectic.

Also, we had our last District p-day of the transfer. It was a lot of fun. One of the Elders put together a Gospel jeopardy game, then we went to the Elders' clubhouse at their apartment and they cooked fajitas on the grill and we played more games. I'm grateful for my first district out here. They are all wonderful people and missionaries. I have learned so much from being around them and having discussions with them.

District Sisters

Tuesday we had District Council Meeting. We got together at the church and did some role-playing and discussions. We do this "mega role play" where a companionship plans a lesson for someone they're teaching and basically gets to practice it. It was our trio's turn! The mock lesson went really well! And we got some tips. We still haven't taught the lesson for realzies, but I'm excited for when we do. It's going to help our person a lot.

Wednesday was a good day. Full of lessons and contacting. Also, we did some impromptu service. We were meant to have a lesson with our last nine year old on date, but she had a bad stomach ache when we got there, so her grandma had us rake leaves in her backyard. That wiped me out😅. Don't recommend doing that while sick.

Oh! Sister Harris successfully pawned off the SIM card on me at the beginning of the week. I had been evading her attempts for like a week. It's a bit stressful, but honestly not too bad. Also it's forced me to talk more during phone calls. I hate random phone calls. But I'm getting better at talking during them.

(Missionaries all have phones, but just one SIM card per area. That way the missionaries for the area have the same phone number as the missionaries are moved around the mission.)

Thursday we had STL exchanges! (I've had sooo many exchanges. But that's what happens when your comps are STL's). It was really good! We swapped with the Conway STL's. Sister Jones and I stayed here with Sister Allred. I learned a lot from Sister Allred. She's an amazing missionary. She is full of Charity.

Friday Sister Harris and Sister Jones had MLC,(Mission Lead Conference), so I hung out with the Nexton Sisters again. I honestly didn't really want to. I love the Nexton Sisters, I just really wanted to be with my companions in our area. I had kinda a bad attitude about it, and I didn't like that, so I decided I was going to throw myself all in and be very bold for the day. The day ended up being good! Also, we went to Chick-fil-A for lunch! Lowkey I wanted to stay in so I could take another nap, (the rest of the day was a struggle without that nap), but it was really good we did. We ran into someone we met on exchanges and set up a time to stop by and share more of our message with her! It was well worth the sacrificed nap.

Saturday I was not feeling good. It was probably the worst I've felt all week. But we had one of the most amazing first lessons with one of our neighbors. We met her a few days before while she was trying to start her car. It was so cold it wasn't starting. We stopped and asked if we could help at all or if there was anything we could pray for for her. We talked a bit more with her and said we'd love to come back another day and hear more of her conversion to Christianity story. We didn't really have a lesson planned for our meeting with her, aside from some inspired questions, because we didn't want to be pushy and she had just expressed wanting to know a general overview of what we do as missionaries. But wow, that meeting with her, the Spirit was so so strong. As she was sharing her story, all three of us felt prompted to read part of Alma the youngers' story with her, because hers' and his' stories were verrrry similar. (Read that story here in the Book of Mormon, Alma 36) She loved it. We talked about the Atonement with her and about how our souls can be filled with joy rather than wracked with the torment of our sins because of Jesus Christ. We gave her a Book of Mormon, invited her to start reading, and she was eager to do so. I'm seriously pumped about going back and sharing more with her!!

We had another bomb lesson that day. It was with someone who was previously on date. That lesson was also powerful. We were very bold in our purpose, and it came from a place of love which made it even more powerful.

I mentioned earlier that Saturday was the day I felt the WORST this week. I was not feeling good at all. During my personal study I had the thought to ask for a blessing. During District Leader call ins that morning, our DL, Elder Perkins, asked how we were all doing and I said I felt way trashy and sick. He asked if I would like a blessing. I honestly felt so relieved when he asked and I said I would really appreciate one. So we set up a time that evening to meet at the church so the Elders could give me a blessing.

I got a blessing of healing. The Spirit was very strong during my blessing and the blessing itself was powerful. And the next day when I woke up, I felt so much better. It was such a miracle. I only had a slight lingering cough and congestion in the morning. Definitely a tender mercy. I am very grateful for the Priesthood and that God has given us access to His power and the authority to worthily act in His name.

Sunday was fast Sunday. I definitely would not have been able to fast if I was still feeling super sick. And I'm really glad that I was able to fast. I saw a lot of blessings come from it. We found a TON of people who who were all super interested. There was this suuuuper cute little boy who came right up to us, tapped me on the side and talked with us, then grabbed me by the hand and led us to his grandparents house.

This is my favorite picture of the week!

This email is already hecka long, so Imma end it with this: God is aware of you. And I invite you to include God in your new years plans. Council with Him and seek guidance from Him in all the things. Big and little. You will see blessings and miracles along the way as you invite Him to guide you.

Love y'all! Have a blessed week!

Love, Sister Ray