This week was great! I have nearly attained a six pack because of my
incessant laughing. It's a good way to live.
We're still working with some people to work on family history, which I love. I
wish I had more time to work on my own! But it's something I'll probably spend
some time on when I get home. The highlight of our week is hands down Jenn and
Van. Remember how as Visitor Center Sisters we work on mormon.org chat? Most of the time
we get punk kids with nothing better to do, but sometimes we have the privilege
of talking to people who have real questions and either don't know who to ask
or where to go, or who are embarrassed to voice real curiosities. I love that.
Ok! So Van is now 21, he joined the church a year ago after meeting a set of
missionaries. His sister, Jenn, thought he was crazy and ridiculous. Then a few
weeks ago, her boyfriend starting meeting with the missionaries, and now he
wants to join the church. Before someone is baptized, they are required to
leave behind various destructive behaviors- smoking, drinking, sex before
marriage....so if someone is living with someone, they can either get married,
move out, or not get baptized. It's not a hateful thing, it's just that we
believe that God has asked us not to do those things because they are harmful
in the long run! Anyways. Her boyfriend wants to get baptized, so he kicked
Jenn out. By this point, Jenn was starting to realize that if he cared enough
about this church thing to do that, there was something to it. That's where we
come in. She messaged us on mormon.org
chat, and we've been able to meet up with her again and teach her and answer
any of her questions. She's a smart girl. Her and Van have both been through a
lot. It's fun to be a missionary pen pal in a lot of ways. They're both really
funny people, too. I love that life's potholes can either create bitterness or
humor. Humor is the way to go, my friends. Don't get bitter! I'll keep you
posted about how she's doing. Jenn has been reading in the Book of Mormon
(she's decided to give it a shot after all this time ha!) and just this weekend
she decided she would pray to know if it's true. My favorite part of being a
missionary is knowing that anyone who goes to God to know if what we teach is
true will know that it is.
My second to last transfer has begun! And pretty much everyone I work around is
staying the same. I will never be able to adequately describe how awesome it
has been to work with Sister Szuch. She is INCREDIBLE! I have been so blessed
on my mission to be able to work around such wonderful people! It's been a
blessing to watch her grow as well. She came out firm and strong as it was, but
it's been fun to watch her become more confident and comfortable with herself
and with talking to strangers. As Austin mentioned a few weeks ago, adjusting
to missionary work is hard! Everything you're taught your whole life is
contradicted- you're asked to talk about something extremely personal and
sacred to you and then have it trampled on and challenged by people you don't
know! It's not a carnival most days, but it's worth it. She's been a champ
through this adjustment, and I love her dearly.
Can you believe it's almost March?! January inched, but February always seems
to fly. I hope everyone is doing well. I am happy. Sorry there isn't much to
write this week! Possibly more next week. This week just went by in a blur.
Love,
Sister Ray
Monday, February 18, 2013
Monday, February 11, 2013
Szuch a good missionary!
I finished another song! This one has been in the works for a few weeks,
so it was nice to finally finish it. Then the next day I started one and I'm
almost done except I still need the last half of the second verse. Sometimes
the little buggers don't want to come! Sometimes they come too fast for me to
write.
Here ye go:
Strong enough to keep her head
Trusting what the future brings
Sitting in those words they said
Focusing on finer things
Sometimes solace can be hard to find
Pacing as you hasten passing time
Anxiously awaiting peace of mind
Looking for that greener field
Let go of your circumstance
History has taught you fear
Give your faith a fighting chance
Sometimes solace can be hard to find
Pacing as you hasten passing time
Anxiously awaiting peace of mind
Still, you have a place to turn
Calm your beating heart for now
There is so much yet to learn
Things will be okay somehow
Sometimes solace can be hard to find
Pacing as you hasten passing time
Anxiously awaiting peace of mind
Try reading the chorus out loud. It has a good ring to it, if I do say so myself.
Ok so this week! There wasn't as much that happened this week. We DID have zone conference, which turned out to be my last zone conference as a young full-time missionary. I wasn't expecting that. At one point someone said something like "before you know it, it's over" and it STUNG like it hasn't stung before. When you're in the middle, the end seems so far away you don't worry about it or think about it too much. You've got plenty of time to accomplish and become. Now I suppose I'm in the final stages, and it's hard not to feel a lot of emotions. Every day has become more of a battle of feeling like I haven't done enough, like I haven't become enough, to remember all the things I could have done better. I am trying to remember 2 Timothy 1:7 again:
"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
Could I have done things differently? Better? Oh, yeah. Absolutely. I am trying instead though to focus on what I can do better now and for the rest of my life. It's kind of crazy how humbling it can be to make changes when you've already been doing this for so long. At zone conference when I felt that I should be doing certain things better, I felt the pain of pride saying "you've been doing it wrong for this long." It would be easier to ignore it and say that I hadn't been doing anything wrong, or say that it's been fine for this long, it'll suffice for the rest of the time. I've learned though that suggestions and advice are there to help us fulfill our full potential. Every day I want to start out giving my full 100%, not coasting on whatever has worked okay in the past. I've come to have a lot more respect for people who make changes in their lives as they get older. It can't be easy to admit that there might be a better way when you've been doing something for a long time. It takes humility, and it takes vision. Kudos to everyone who makes changes, even when it's uncomfortable. Go fight win :)
Something else I've been thinking about this week is the difference between doing something out of duty, and doing something out of vision. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, no one is paid for their services. People are asked to teach a Sunday school class or to take attendance or go visit someone specific. EVERYONE is given a responsibility. I have truly come to appreciate that genius in a new way since being a missionary. Obviously sometimes there are people who choose not to fulfill what they were asked to do, so someone else is asked instead. Of those people who fulfill their responsibilities, they have the choice to do it out of duty, and out of vision and love. This applies to anything we do anywhere!
For example, a janitor in a high school could very easily get discouraged and bored with their duty. However, we really need what they do. The clock doesn't work without that piece. There is nothing keeping a janitor from looking for innovation and new ways to help the process- to help the entire deal function better. Imagine what astonishing difference it would make if everyone sought to be creative and work hard in whatever they were asked to do! Imagine if every plumber, librarian, tax collector, cashier, nanny and beauty consultant cared enough about the big picture and the human race to put 100% into what they were doing! As members of this church, we believe in revelation, and that is a beautiful thing. That means that if you have a responsibility as a math teacher, you have an obligation to carry out your duties. It also means that God knows how to be a better math teacher than you, and He can help you if you ask. Missionaries are in a prime position to seek revelation and carry out duties with vision, but it is possible to live without it. It isn't possible to be successful without it, but it's possible to go through the motions.
Don't go through the motions! Gain vision, and do it right. It's a beautiful feeling.
Alright that's all I have time for this week! Have a good one! Happy Valentine's Day :)
Love,
Hermana Ray
PS Happy Chinese New Year!
Here ye go:
Strong enough to keep her head
Trusting what the future brings
Sitting in those words they said
Focusing on finer things
Sometimes solace can be hard to find
Pacing as you hasten passing time
Anxiously awaiting peace of mind
Looking for that greener field
Let go of your circumstance
History has taught you fear
Give your faith a fighting chance
Sometimes solace can be hard to find
Pacing as you hasten passing time
Anxiously awaiting peace of mind
Still, you have a place to turn
Calm your beating heart for now
There is so much yet to learn
Things will be okay somehow
Sometimes solace can be hard to find
Pacing as you hasten passing time
Anxiously awaiting peace of mind
Try reading the chorus out loud. It has a good ring to it, if I do say so myself.
Ok so this week! There wasn't as much that happened this week. We DID have zone conference, which turned out to be my last zone conference as a young full-time missionary. I wasn't expecting that. At one point someone said something like "before you know it, it's over" and it STUNG like it hasn't stung before. When you're in the middle, the end seems so far away you don't worry about it or think about it too much. You've got plenty of time to accomplish and become. Now I suppose I'm in the final stages, and it's hard not to feel a lot of emotions. Every day has become more of a battle of feeling like I haven't done enough, like I haven't become enough, to remember all the things I could have done better. I am trying to remember 2 Timothy 1:7 again:
"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
Could I have done things differently? Better? Oh, yeah. Absolutely. I am trying instead though to focus on what I can do better now and for the rest of my life. It's kind of crazy how humbling it can be to make changes when you've already been doing this for so long. At zone conference when I felt that I should be doing certain things better, I felt the pain of pride saying "you've been doing it wrong for this long." It would be easier to ignore it and say that I hadn't been doing anything wrong, or say that it's been fine for this long, it'll suffice for the rest of the time. I've learned though that suggestions and advice are there to help us fulfill our full potential. Every day I want to start out giving my full 100%, not coasting on whatever has worked okay in the past. I've come to have a lot more respect for people who make changes in their lives as they get older. It can't be easy to admit that there might be a better way when you've been doing something for a long time. It takes humility, and it takes vision. Kudos to everyone who makes changes, even when it's uncomfortable. Go fight win :)
Something else I've been thinking about this week is the difference between doing something out of duty, and doing something out of vision. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, no one is paid for their services. People are asked to teach a Sunday school class or to take attendance or go visit someone specific. EVERYONE is given a responsibility. I have truly come to appreciate that genius in a new way since being a missionary. Obviously sometimes there are people who choose not to fulfill what they were asked to do, so someone else is asked instead. Of those people who fulfill their responsibilities, they have the choice to do it out of duty, and out of vision and love. This applies to anything we do anywhere!
For example, a janitor in a high school could very easily get discouraged and bored with their duty. However, we really need what they do. The clock doesn't work without that piece. There is nothing keeping a janitor from looking for innovation and new ways to help the process- to help the entire deal function better. Imagine what astonishing difference it would make if everyone sought to be creative and work hard in whatever they were asked to do! Imagine if every plumber, librarian, tax collector, cashier, nanny and beauty consultant cared enough about the big picture and the human race to put 100% into what they were doing! As members of this church, we believe in revelation, and that is a beautiful thing. That means that if you have a responsibility as a math teacher, you have an obligation to carry out your duties. It also means that God knows how to be a better math teacher than you, and He can help you if you ask. Missionaries are in a prime position to seek revelation and carry out duties with vision, but it is possible to live without it. It isn't possible to be successful without it, but it's possible to go through the motions.
Don't go through the motions! Gain vision, and do it right. It's a beautiful feeling.
Alright that's all I have time for this week! Have a good one! Happy Valentine's Day :)
Love,
Hermana Ray
PS Happy Chinese New Year!
Monday, February 4, 2013
Nolan
I have the most awesome companion and roommates of anyone in the
world. Let me splain.
There is too much. Let me sum up.
This week, during a particularly long shift at the Peter Whitmer Farm
Visitors' Center, Sister Szuch and I got to talking about how if you
use certain words in a quote, people seem to think it's a good quote.
So then we decided to make our own. Enjoy the fruits of our labors!
Take your time:
“The authenticity of the infinite and eternal soul bewilders even the
most enlightened of creatures… Nevertheless, encapsulated within an
obscure bough of splendid scrupulosity, discomfiture prevails when in
the most ubiquitous of circumstances immured between the rocks of
depravity… we fall short. In reality, despite the incongruences of
climax and folly, a parabolic incursion of the vociferous forces of
good and evil attest to the cadence of a triumphant trajectory. There
is no incursion too subtle, no entity too obscure, no oblivion too
divine- to thwart the impotent astonishment of the filial multitude.
In the depths of our solemn
deference, the malignant forces draw nigh in abstract transcendent
regeneration. In the end, there is little left to fear but the
poignant promise of an existential destiny.”
-Oliver David Longfellow
No one makes me laugh like I do! Feel free to re-use. I haven't
decided if it's funnier to tell people we wrote it as a joke first, or
to tell them we found a really good quote and time how long it takes
before they give up and/or pretend as though it's a truly
awe-inspiring piece of work. Ah, my life.
Exhibit B: One night this week Sister Szuch and I came home and walked
in the door to find glow sticks taped up all around the living room
and Sisters Adams and Earl dancing (with more glow sticks) to "Hold
Your Light Up" by Conlon Bonner. Random much? But much appreciated.
They had been sitting in the dark for 45 minutes reading books with
flashlights waiting for us to get home. My life is full of A+ people.
Another good story! We've been working with a family in Waterloo that
has a pet raccoon. Whenever I think of raccoons I think of Maw-Maw and
Paw-Paw since they always seemed to be feeding raccoons in Louisiana.
This one lives in the Poormon's garage and is HUGE because they've
kind of raised it. To knock on the door at the Poormon's house you go
through the garage and then knock on the side door. For some reason
this week when we did that their raccoon (Hemmy) came RUSHING out at
us and screeching! They let us in and were kind of freaked out because
apparently the screeching means it's a threat. What? Was I just
threatened by a monster raccoon? Another guest came in about a half
hour later and wasn't as lucky as we were. It pounced! I couldn't stop
laughing but those things are really scary! On my mission I've
discovered that I laugh hysterically when I am scared or surprised or
in pain. Curious. No worries- we escaped unharmed....until next week.
DUN DUN DUNN.
Ok with that I have a very serious question to ask. Was I weird before
my mission??? Seriously though. Out here I am known for being strange
(Not in a bad way, just more quirky mostly) and this week I started
thinking back and realized I couldn't remember if I was crazy before
my mission. I know I was always this way with my family (Calvin- how
does sprite smell?) but I always seem to think I was put together and
composed....maybe I just have a really terrible memory of my life
before being a missionary. It has been quite a while. I would
appreciate outside input. Don't be surprised if the person you pick up
at the airport is a loony instead of the normal kid you sent off. I
don't mind, but whatever it is, it's probably Austin's fault.
So, with all of that, I hope you all know I am doing well. Missionary
work is full of a lot of hard times- lots of rejection, embarrassment
and long days. In the end though I am so grateful to be a missionary!
It's been interesting to have a new missionary with me and be able to
be with her as she comes to appreciate the work for how wonderful and
true it is despite working so much with flaky, hard headed people. And
that's the thing- we're all flaky and hard headed sometimes. Thank
goodness God keeps dealing with me! This week I had a few days in
particular when I felt like my head was going to explode because I had
waaay too much to think about. I took a break to do dishes and try and
clear my head and I was listening to one of Austin's favorite hymns,
Be Still My Soul. One line in particular stood out that hasn't stood
out before. "Leave to Thy God to order and provide." My mission has
been intent on teaching me that there is a lot more that goes on then
what I can control or even handle. I need to be much better at letting
Him do it and trusting that everything will work out. Not even that it
will work out okay, but that it will work out better.
That's all for this week- gotta go!
Love love love
Sister Ray
world. Let me splain.
There is too much. Let me sum up.
This week, during a particularly long shift at the Peter Whitmer Farm
Visitors' Center, Sister Szuch and I got to talking about how if you
use certain words in a quote, people seem to think it's a good quote.
So then we decided to make our own. Enjoy the fruits of our labors!
Take your time:
“The authenticity of the infinite and eternal soul bewilders even the
most enlightened of creatures… Nevertheless, encapsulated within an
obscure bough of splendid scrupulosity, discomfiture prevails when in
the most ubiquitous of circumstances immured between the rocks of
depravity… we fall short. In reality, despite the incongruences of
climax and folly, a parabolic incursion of the vociferous forces of
good and evil attest to the cadence of a triumphant trajectory. There
is no incursion too subtle, no entity too obscure, no oblivion too
divine- to thwart the impotent astonishment of the filial multitude.
In the depths of our solemn
deference, the malignant forces draw nigh in abstract transcendent
regeneration. In the end, there is little left to fear but the
poignant promise of an existential destiny.”
-Oliver David Longfellow
No one makes me laugh like I do! Feel free to re-use. I haven't
decided if it's funnier to tell people we wrote it as a joke first, or
to tell them we found a really good quote and time how long it takes
before they give up and/or pretend as though it's a truly
awe-inspiring piece of work. Ah, my life.
Exhibit B: One night this week Sister Szuch and I came home and walked
in the door to find glow sticks taped up all around the living room
and Sisters Adams and Earl dancing (with more glow sticks) to "Hold
Your Light Up" by Conlon Bonner. Random much? But much appreciated.
They had been sitting in the dark for 45 minutes reading books with
flashlights waiting for us to get home. My life is full of A+ people.
Another good story! We've been working with a family in Waterloo that
has a pet raccoon. Whenever I think of raccoons I think of Maw-Maw and
Paw-Paw since they always seemed to be feeding raccoons in Louisiana.
This one lives in the Poormon's garage and is HUGE because they've
kind of raised it. To knock on the door at the Poormon's house you go
through the garage and then knock on the side door. For some reason
this week when we did that their raccoon (Hemmy) came RUSHING out at
us and screeching! They let us in and were kind of freaked out because
apparently the screeching means it's a threat. What? Was I just
threatened by a monster raccoon? Another guest came in about a half
hour later and wasn't as lucky as we were. It pounced! I couldn't stop
laughing but those things are really scary! On my mission I've
discovered that I laugh hysterically when I am scared or surprised or
in pain. Curious. No worries- we escaped unharmed....until next week.
DUN DUN DUNN.
Ok with that I have a very serious question to ask. Was I weird before
my mission??? Seriously though. Out here I am known for being strange
(Not in a bad way, just more quirky mostly) and this week I started
thinking back and realized I couldn't remember if I was crazy before
my mission. I know I was always this way with my family (Calvin- how
does sprite smell?) but I always seem to think I was put together and
composed....maybe I just have a really terrible memory of my life
before being a missionary. It has been quite a while. I would
appreciate outside input. Don't be surprised if the person you pick up
at the airport is a loony instead of the normal kid you sent off. I
don't mind, but whatever it is, it's probably Austin's fault.
So, with all of that, I hope you all know I am doing well. Missionary
work is full of a lot of hard times- lots of rejection, embarrassment
and long days. In the end though I am so grateful to be a missionary!
It's been interesting to have a new missionary with me and be able to
be with her as she comes to appreciate the work for how wonderful and
true it is despite working so much with flaky, hard headed people. And
that's the thing- we're all flaky and hard headed sometimes. Thank
goodness God keeps dealing with me! This week I had a few days in
particular when I felt like my head was going to explode because I had
waaay too much to think about. I took a break to do dishes and try and
clear my head and I was listening to one of Austin's favorite hymns,
Be Still My Soul. One line in particular stood out that hasn't stood
out before. "Leave to Thy God to order and provide." My mission has
been intent on teaching me that there is a lot more that goes on then
what I can control or even handle. I need to be much better at letting
Him do it and trusting that everything will work out. Not even that it
will work out okay, but that it will work out better.
That's all for this week- gotta go!
Love love love
Sister Ray
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