The real big news! I'm getting transferred! And...so is Sister Thomas! They are combining Buffalo North with Eggert, and Elder Vazquez and his newbie will take both areas. So I am going to Brockport with Sister Wall! It was an Elders area, so it will be similar to when we moved into Buffalo- both Sister Wall and I will be new. The really big news is...I'm still full proselyting! No visitors center for me still! I'm really really happy about it. This really is the dream for sister missionaries out here. The dream is to go full proselyting in Buffalo at all...but two different full proselyting areas is absolutely unheard of. I am so grateful! Plus I got the chance to live with Sister Wall in Fairport for the first week of pageant and she is really great. Comfortable with who she is and hard-working. It looks to be a good time coming up here. Also it will be cool to move into different territory because Brockport is in the Rochester zone. There are four zones in this mission: Palmyra South, Palmyra North, Buffalo and Rochester. This means the only zone I won't have experienced is Palmyra North :) SO HAPPY!
So moving into this new transfer, here are some lyrics from Mindy Gledhill:
I wanna hold the whole wide world
Right here in my open hands
Maybe I'm just a little girl
A little girl with great big plans
About this past week! I had some more really enlightening conversations. And thoughts. That seems to happen when your life is flooded with new people. One of the sister missionaries we lived with hit a wall where she realized she's been running from commitment her whole life. A pretty big realization if you ask me. It was interesting to talk to her about it and realize that so many of my friends and family are suffering from the same fears. They are understandable- they operate under the assumption that people who really knew you wouldn't love you, or that it would be easier to gravitate towards new people who somehow don't have flaws. Having companions has really been a great teacher not only for me but for all of the other sisters that EVERYONE has issues. After my mission I'll have options: I can stick with the people I love and work my problems and theirs, or I can keep running. The truth is, part of the reason we've been allotted time on Earth is to learn how to conquer our issues. We have the chance to learn how to really love someone and to learn how to be loved. That entails commitment, fidelity, moderation, respect, service and humility. If you can't make a relationship work here, you're really just asking for an eternity of solitude. It's a big, important thing. It'll definitely require more thought. But I'm glad I'm figuring it out.
I had a bunch more thoughts as I met the people who came through the sites this week, but they would take far too long to type and it would be far too much to read. I'll spare you all, and maybe tell you one day in the future :)
Exciting news from this week, though: I GOT TO SEE MCKENNA, MATT, AND THE CORDELLS! It was so beautiful and so good to see them! I really have some of the greatest friends in the world. I also got to see Sarah Ayer's family! They were wonderful and I talked to them for a little while. The greatest thing I realized seeing people from home and related to home was that life will slide right back into where it was- except better! It didn't feel at all like I hadn't seen McKenna in 8 months. I know that's how it will be for everyone when I see them again! Nothing too much changes. Even though my heart has changed and I'm a lot more stable than I was and I may have picked up different habits, I'm still me! And I still really love stripes and Greg Laswell! I still say really strange things and think too much and ask for hugs! Sometimes it's easy to get scared that life moves on without you, or that people will change when you're not looking. My personal progress does not mean I'm a different person. I'm still me :)
Well that's all for this week I think! Today is Sister Thomas' birthday (23 on the 23rd!) so we're gonna go celebrate! Much love from western New York!
Sister Raines
Right here in my open hands
Maybe I'm just a little girl
A little girl with great big plans
About this past week! I had some more really enlightening conversations. And thoughts. That seems to happen when your life is flooded with new people. One of the sister missionaries we lived with hit a wall where she realized she's been running from commitment her whole life. A pretty big realization if you ask me. It was interesting to talk to her about it and realize that so many of my friends and family are suffering from the same fears. They are understandable- they operate under the assumption that people who really knew you wouldn't love you, or that it would be easier to gravitate towards new people who somehow don't have flaws. Having companions has really been a great teacher not only for me but for all of the other sisters that EVERYONE has issues. After my mission I'll have options: I can stick with the people I love and work my problems and theirs, or I can keep running. The truth is, part of the reason we've been allotted time on Earth is to learn how to conquer our issues. We have the chance to learn how to really love someone and to learn how to be loved. That entails commitment, fidelity, moderation, respect, service and humility. If you can't make a relationship work here, you're really just asking for an eternity of solitude. It's a big, important thing. It'll definitely require more thought. But I'm glad I'm figuring it out.
I had a bunch more thoughts as I met the people who came through the sites this week, but they would take far too long to type and it would be far too much to read. I'll spare you all, and maybe tell you one day in the future :)
Exciting news from this week, though: I GOT TO SEE MCKENNA, MATT, AND THE CORDELLS! It was so beautiful and so good to see them! I really have some of the greatest friends in the world. I also got to see Sarah Ayer's family! They were wonderful and I talked to them for a little while. The greatest thing I realized seeing people from home and related to home was that life will slide right back into where it was- except better! It didn't feel at all like I hadn't seen McKenna in 8 months. I know that's how it will be for everyone when I see them again! Nothing too much changes. Even though my heart has changed and I'm a lot more stable than I was and I may have picked up different habits, I'm still me! And I still really love stripes and Greg Laswell! I still say really strange things and think too much and ask for hugs! Sometimes it's easy to get scared that life moves on without you, or that people will change when you're not looking. My personal progress does not mean I'm a different person. I'm still me :)
Well that's all for this week I think! Today is Sister Thomas' birthday (23 on the 23rd!) so we're gonna go celebrate! Much love from western New York!
Sister Raines
 |
| Deborah Tilley |
 | |||
| The Rainey family! I kept seeing them on tour and I really like them! Sister Rainey gave me their information and offered for me to stay with them when I go back to Utah! People are so nice! |
 |
| Sarah Ayer's family! |
 |
| A scene from the pageant: Christ teaching the children |
 |
| Dinner with my best friends! |
No comments:
Post a Comment