Whew! What a week, what a week!
This week, Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Twelve came to speak to us, the missionaries. I had the opportunity to shake his hand, and during part of the conference, he opened up for questions. It was really an amazing time, but they said not to transcribe any of it, unfortunately. But here is the picture! I'm right behind Elder Renlund, four rows back. :)
This week, I had a profound experience while rendering service to a neighborhood plagued with tumbleweeds. I wasn't in a talking or socializing mood, it being early in the morning, so I grabbed a pair of gloves and a rake and fairly HACKED at those unsuspecting bushes. To my surprise, they came up easily; with very little effort, bushes that reached my waist came up easily, like giant, prickly cotton balls. I was swinging away like a merry old golfer, when I looked behind me to see my companion.
To the idle onlooker, she appeared to be doing nothing, just chipping away at the rocks I had already cleared. Upon closer examination, she was actually cutting down the much smaller, much more stubborn weeds. I was reminded of Doctrine and Covenants 4 and the image of the harvester. Some lucky missionaries get to the really big, obvious, golden investigators first - they open their mouth and thrust in their message, and they harvest a TON. People see them and think, wow, what a successful missionary. Missionaries like my companion, who have to come behind these lucky reapers, are often judged for appearing less successful than others, even though they work just as hard if not harder than those who came before.
I considered the uprooted bushes we'd unceremoniously dumped into the road. I thought to myself, if we don't get these bushes into bags, they'll roll in front of a car and be dashed to pieces. As the thought crossed my mind and we brought out the trash bags to start stuffing, I thought of those who are newly baptized, recent converts. They have a testimony, but they are still new and need guidance and protection from the breezes that would blow them into danger. That's why the church focuses so much on having them go to the temple to do baptisms for the dead, and prepare them for more sacred covenants. The temple is the "bag" - the safe place we gather them into so they don't get run over by temptation, doubt, and pride.
As we stuffed the surprisingly poky plants down into the fast-ripping plastic bags, and the sharp stickers got into our gloves, shoes, and clothing, I was reminded of the crown of thorns that our Savior wore. He wore it without grumbling or complaining.
Sharing the gospel isn't easy. There are tough little weeds, prickly thorns, sore muscles, and hard days. But once we gathered all the weeds into the bags, it was so rewarding and so worth it. I know that there are people all around us that are just waiting for the gospel. As we thrust in the sickle and share the Book of Mormon with them, we actually feel the Spirit more in our lives.
My brother, Janson, and the family actually are great examples of that. A while back, Janson shared the Book of Mormon with a neighbor and actually gave him a copy. Now, that same neighbor is taking the missionary lessons in our house! My family are amazing and great examples to me of member missionaries, and it's blessed me on my mission to have them to look up to! :) Love you, Family!
That's all for this week.
Con mucho cariño,
Hermana Smurthwaite
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