The first item of news I have to discuss with you all is...TAN LINES! It makes me so happy. Austin is probably already laughing as he has had ample experience with my appreciation of sunburns. Got em! And they are waaaay too attractive for my own good. I'm working on getting some really solid defined lines and then I'll take pictures in all my glory. Patience, Iago.
Next item of business! I got a new bookbag this week! I had been using a messenger bag and it was starting to tear my back up a bit. We do walk a ridiculous amount. The one I have now is a skinny little camping bag. It's great! It's like "tiny bookbag days" except mission style! Really though between these first two items of business my life is pretty dadgum great right now.
Next! I actually have a new song this week! Yep! Another one! Ha. This is likely because we hit a brick wall at the beginning of the week and it feels like Heavenly Father was testing Sister Thomas and I to see how we would really respond to resistance. As of Tuesday we had no one to teach- Leila, Charlie, Heshem, Pauline...all gone. Plus we had run into some pretty nasty people here and there which just makes you feel worse than wearing one broken stiletto. So we did what you do! We got out and tried harder to find people. When I say we went to find people, we are really looking for two qualifications.
1. People who need more light in their life. *cough*everyone*cough*
AND
2. People who are willing to receive more light.
It seems there are few people who fit this last requirement. Hmm.
Anyways we've had the opportunity to have a lot of interesting conversations and meet many wonderful people. I hope that we've been able to make someone's day along the way, but in truth this week I've really learned how much I love teaching about the doctrine of Jesus Christ. And I really like talking to people! People are so interesting. Sometimes I wish I could just spend all day listening to people talk about their lives. I guess I could become a shrink, but that... adds a different dynamic.
We talked to Kim who is nearly 40 and looks just over 20. Kim believes but has spent the last decade growing more frustrated with churches and doesn't know what to believe in anymore. Sometimes figuring it out has just gotten so frustrating that it doesn't seem worth it.
We met Richard- a devout Roman Catholic with a huge smile who tried to give us donations haha. I think we startled him by refusing but he'll be okay. He was so grateful that there are "young people trying to do the right thing." He kept calling Sister Thomas "lady in red." Oh, Richard.
We talked to Pat and David and got a tour of their little garden. We met their neighbors and found out that their dog had just died.
We spent some time with Bruce- a man who lives up the street with trees blocking the front door and a grown-over lawn. We're going back this weekend to help him pull weeds. Bruce distrusts organized religion but admires that the Mormons he's met always seemed to practice what they preached.
We talked to Lorine and Sharon- old friends who know more about each other than they do themselves. Lorine does all the talking and Sharon does everything else.
I wish I could send little video clips of each of these people and the dozens of others we met this week. Or at least pictures! I am not likely to ever meet any of them again in my lifetime, but I find myself hoping they're doing okay. It's hard not to love people sometimes.
But back to the song! In the middle of the week, I woke up at 4:30 am with the song RIGHT there in my head and so I got up to write it down and never got back to sleep. Totally worth it. This one is meant for the guitar so I won't be able to get any solid background till I get home, but I was able to get the chords stationed on the piano. Here are the lyrics:
Abide with me
Don't hurry, stay awhile with me
I feel it as I let go of my cares
It helps to know You're there
Even now
I'm peaceful sitting here somehow
And though I'm plagued
By thoughts and memories
You put my mind at ease
And at the close of one more day
Sometimes the only thing to say
Is, "I'll be okay."
Still awake
You're not alone, make no mistake
There is so much that
Keeps us from our dreams
But life's more simple than it seems
Just be good
Treat people as you know you should
We're not here just to
Watch and weep and sigh
And to bemoan what passes by
And at the start of one more day,
Sometimes the only thing to say
Is, "We'll be okay."
There's a bridge but...I left it at home. So...next week! But there's the main part.
Adding to the grandeur of this week, I got an A+ package from the Dressmans! Spring shirts, tiny cheez-its and Skyline! Thank you thank you. 2 blesd 2 B stresd.
Yesterday we went to a barbeque at the Hawes' home- a bunch of family was in town because Taylor graduated from law school this weekend. Sister Thomas and I just sat peacefully for a good portion of it- soaking in the atmosphere of their family and the sunshine. Life moves forward feeding from moments like those. Home can be a heaven on earth. I can't wait to go to more of those kinds of things with people I consider my own family in a year!
That's plenty for this week ha I hope everyone is doing well. Love to all,
Hermana Raines
See ya!
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