Woo, well here comes a curve ball atcha!.. I'm leaving Lake Nona east! I'm a lil shocked to be honest haha. I've absolutely fallen in love with the area, but I guess I've done what I was supposed to here. Man, what a transfer it's been and how FAST it's flown by!! I swear I was just with the Grovers at the dentist office ;) haha. I don't even know how to express how grateful I am for this last transfer. I've grown prolly more than I have like my whole mission (maybe a lil over the top, but equally true). I've learned how to kick it up a notch and give it my all. I definitely learned the power of love! It was really cool how that became a theme for me. I learned how to listen to people better as well as the spirit. I learned about making decisions between good, better and best. Those are just some examples and seem basic but they've made a huge difference for me. I've LOVED being companions with Sister Kreiberg and have learned a whole lot from her. We just belong together haha. We tried pretty hard to tell all the office couples and the assistants to put in a good word for us to stay together but it turns out it doesn't work that way.. Quite the opposite actually haha. She's so deeply rooted in the gospel and it shows in everything she does and says. We worked pretty stinkin hard together and had a blast (we laughed often and HARD). Needless to say, I'm grateful I got to be her companion.
So now that I've been all sentimental, I'll go ahead and tell you more about my week! The other night we were biking by a lil used car place (if you could call it that) and two ladies were just getting done fixing something with a car. We asked if we could help and started talking with them. One of them has an aunt who is a member and we got to talking about the Book of Mormon. Then we see a guy come out of the lil shack and walking toward us (backup: we've talked to him once before as we were biking past and he said he'd call the police if we gave him a card..). I was just writing our number down on the card when he tells me he's going to call the cops. He was yelling at us! I mean, it's not like it's out of the norm haha we don't encounter the nicest people always.. But I hurried to finish writing our number down and he said that if I gave her the card he would have us arrested. So Sister Kreiberg and I got on our bikes and rode away. Immediately we were both in tears. We stopped a lil further away and just didn't know what to do! Honestly, I didn't care at all that he was yelling at us, he can yell at me all he wants. What hurt was that he wouldn't let us give her a card about Jesus Christ. I wondered if I could have been more bold like the prophets in the Book of Mormon. WHY were they just so good!? It's like we're living the Book of Mormon! I catch myself often making parallels to the situations back in those times. Lots o similarities, I tell you! How are people so hard-hearted?
Technology is the coolest! For the past 2 weeks I've been communicating with a guy in Peru! He found me through a member in our ward. He's GOLD!! I got to have a skype lesson with him the other day and it was the coolest thing! Hard by myself and not having used spanish in a lesson for a while haha, but Heavenly Father blessed me! Haha sister K didn't know what was happening so at the end he told me, "she needs to smile more!" and prayed for her hahaha. Then the next day Sister K got to teach her best friend in Denmark! I understood how she felt the day before not understanding haha. It was incredible. I'll keep you updated on him. His name is Carlos.
We had a lesson with Richard the other day and he really enjoyed church and told us before we asked that he'd come this week to all 3 hours! Unfortunately he got sick the night before (Darn it Satan!). He's progressing really well and keeps telling us that he knows he needs to put in his part.
This week we had at least 2 LARCs with the craziest trials. Like heavy stuff. We'd come away from their lessons and say a prayer to feel better cause it just breaks our hearts! Haha who are we as lil 20 year olds telling people how to live better lives?! Good thing this is The Lord's work and he leads it, eh?
Saturday we had something fall through at night and 30 minutes before that time (we were just gonna stick to the backups) when we were eating dinner, we get a text from a potential that some other missionaries gave us this week and he asked if we would come over! The Lord PROVIDES. His name is Dennis. He's just about deaf and has had a really hard life recently. He's about 70 and the sweetest lil thing! After getting to know him and talking about Jesus Christ breifly and what we were there to do, he committed to coming to church! He says he needs to get closer to God again. Yesterday we were sure he (and 4 others) were going to come, but we got a long text from him later telling us that he got all ready and got a mile away from the building when he had a panic attack and couldn't do it. He said it would have been easier to drive off a bridge than to come because he gets so embarrassed :( he told us he doesn't want ot waste our time. We went over last night and it just hurt me to watch him cry silently. He's gonna try and come this sunday.
Alright, running out of time. But know that all is well here as I'm in the promised land! This afternoon we get to welcome to newbies (11 sisters and 3 elders!) to the mission!!! It'll be crazy cause I feel like that was just meeee!
Que tengan maravillosa semana :)
Hermana Jackson
