Whew! What a WEEK, what a week!
This week I received the two craziest companions in the mission field! Hermana Jackson is from Delaware and we actually knew each other before the mission - we went to the same mission prep class at BYUI. And Hermana Burrell is from Tremonton, Utah, and she's been in the field a fresh two weeks now!
We are covering 3 stakes, which is to say, 3 Spanish branches, the largest area (geographically) in the mission. The Valle del Norte branch is the largest, with 30 active members and about 80 less active members. The Bosque branch is the second largest, with about 6 active families and 1 investigator family that goes every week. :) There's something very special about that branch - everyone is so loving and inclusive. This is silly, but I wish all church units could be that small, so everyone could know each other and be super close like that.
The smallest branch is the Coronado branch, with about 3 active families and 13 families total. We haven't gone to their branch yet, because it's at the same time as Valle del Norte, but we'll go next week, for sure!
Many crazy fiascos happened this week - Hermana Jackson got really into studies and dressed as a Pharisee:
And we accidentally chucked the keys in the dumpster when we were taking out the trash: (I was the only one who could climb in and get it :)
I love this quote from Jeffery R. Holland:
“… if I come to your mission, and I don’t think you are working hard enough, forgive me if I seem to bear down. A mission is not casual; it is not something we do if it is convenient; it is not something we do if it is comfortable…. I want you to embrace, savor, and cherish every single minute of it – the good times and the hard times, the companions you love and the ones who test your faith. I want you to enjoy all of it, to learn from it, to grow from it, and to know that it will never come again. Plan now for the stories your children will hear and ask to hear again about what you learned on your mission, about how much you loved the people and the land…. We cannot guarantee heroic results. You are going to a wide variety of missions and to a wide variety of peoples, where interests, cultures, needs, politics, materialism, and a whole host of factors will play a role in your success. We can not and you can not guarantee heroic results. But every elder and sister in this room can pledge heroic effort. I ask you to do that.” (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Provo MTC, 18 January 2000).
He is right - this moment is so short! And I think this could apply to life, not just to the mission - the time is short! Even though it might seem long sometimes. I never understood that before my mission - but now I can feel a sense of urgency. I feel like I need to MOVE! And not tomorrow, but NOW! Every second counts.
Love, love, love,
Hermana Smurthwaite
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