This week we went on exchanges again, except since a lot of weird stuff has been going on with the site trainers, I went with Sister Aiello from Italy instead of Sister Madsen, and Sister Butters came to Waterloo with Sister Szuch. It was interesting! Sister Aiello goes home a transfer after me but she's really struggled with English. I'm proud of her for keepin on- language is not an easy thing.
Other than that, there's really not much to update anyone on! I hope everyone has a good weekFriday, April 26, 2013
Friday, April 19, 2013
Righteous Revolutionaries
To give you a bit of a glimpse of what it's like to live in my house right now...the 4 of us spent a good 10 minutes this morning discussing the label on my recently purchased body wash. It's called "sheer twilight." We were specifically discussing how it's impossible to say that name without whispering it. It has to be whispered! Anyways.
As for the rest of life, I have been getting more and more tired. You can see it in pictures taken of me, which is part of why I've been sending fewer and fewer pictures. I've been learning more on my mission to live in the moment because sometimes it's too much to think about anything besides the task at hand. Yesterday morning I woke up and thought to myself "I can do today." And I knew I could! And I did. Sometimes I have to tell myself "I can do this next hour" or something like that until I can get up the energy to focus on more. I can't think about anything at home really because it's too much to focus on and it's overwhelming because I can barely do what I need to do for the rest of the week! I used to be really good at seeing ahead even years ha. As much as I really love this work, it is very tiring. More tiring for your soul and emotions, it seems. Tiring nonetheless. I am grateful for every moment, and I am grateful for moments to catch your breath and dive back in. This is a lesson I'll need to understand for the rest of my life! Not everything is a cake walk, but I can do today.
A theme that Sister Szuch and I kind of stumbled into this week comes from Mormon 9:19-
"And if there were miracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable Being? And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles."
"And if there were miracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable Being? And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles."
Miracles don't always look like we expect they will look! But they are still there. I'm grateful for the many miracles in my life. It was a good pilot light of a scripture for this week for me. I hope it helps some of you, too.
That's all from me!
Sister Ray
"Hope on. Journey on. Honestly acknowledge your questions and your concerns, but first and forever, fan the flames of your faith." -Jeffrey R. Holland
Friday, April 12, 2013
Always be yourself. Unless you can be Batman, then always be Batman.
Good morning :)
Sorry I'm emailing so late this week- we had appointments all afternoon, and this morning we decided to hit up the Salvation army. I got a Catcher in the Rye tshirt! Life is good. Clearly."And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ."
-Ephesians 4:11-15
"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."
General Conference was phenomenal! I've been having trouble narrowing down my favorites...but I think it's between one given by Elaine S. Dalton and one given by Dieter F. Uchtdorf. When I was listening to Sister Dalton I was reminded of how grateful I am to be a woman, and to know that I am a daughter of God. It's hard to describe how I felt as I listened to her. I felt whole and capable and happy. I hope you all take the chance to watch that if you haven't already. Elder Uchtdorf talked about light and darkness. He talked about a woman who lived in adverse circumstances for much of her early life. To demonstrate the point of his address, he said:
"She sought counseling and medical help and began to realize that, for her, the best path for healing was to understand and accept that darkness exists—but not to dwell there. For, as she now knew, light also exists—and that is where she chose to dwell."
He goes on to discuss how the source of this light is Jesus Christ. How grateful I am to know that!
Sister Dalton's talk:
https://www.lds.org/general-
Elder Uchtdorf's talk:
Pay attention to how you feel as you read or watch or listen to their addresses. I know their words to be true.
Sister Raines
Friday, April 5, 2013
Spice Cake
It's been a great week! Sister Szuch started it out (the week starts the day after I email in this case) by riding bikes everywhere we had to go on Saturday instead of using the car. Mostly this was because we were out of miles for the month. We wouldn't have been thrust into the dungeon or anything if we had gone over, but I kind of like a challenge, it seems. And it worked! But my bum ached for like 2 days afterwords. The problem with this plan is we had an appointment to do service with a member of the ward who lives on the other side of Seneca Falls, the other sisters' area. When we got to their house at the end of the 18 mile day, they refused to let us bike home, so we got a ride in their truck from their. I can't say I wasn't happy about that. Our bikes never did learn how to gear down from 6th gear. Yeah...
Most of our week was spent at the Visitors' Centers which continue to pick up in traffic. I really love giving tours when it's busy. Can I just say that? The VC has been a trial of my mission in many ways because switching focus back and forth from normal missionary work to VC work makes you a little crazy, and sitting around studying for hours when no one comes in also makes you a little crazy. When people come in though, I remember how much I really love people, and I get to talk about the sites here, which I love! It's great. I'm grateful I get to end my mission on a busy note instead of a Winter one.Friday, March 29, 2013
Welcome to the family
Welp the mission practically exploded this week, and I was relatively unharmed. We got 10 new sisters (plus a bunch of Elders but I am less than concerned about them), so most people are training. Fortunately, Sister Szuch and I stayed the same- we have a lot going on in Waterloo, plus we are working on revamping the referral system at the Visitors' Center and will be presenting a training in a few weeks. Staying together makes all of that quite a bit easier. None of those going home in 6 weeks are training, but everyone else is. I escaped! Haha. Ha. Ok. Did I mention all 10 are under the age of 21? It's fun.
So Sister Adams is still living with us in the vortex of insanity with her trainee, Sister Tipton from Payson, Utah. She is sweet. And 19. It hasn't even been a full 6 months since the announcement was made that 19 year olds could serve, and already these sisters have voluntarily put everything aside to come! It's astounding, really. There are all amazing. I'm sad by the time I leave they'll only be halfway through training. I had a rough moment where I realized I was leaving that soon and it was harder than I expected. There are days like that. I just can't think like that though- I've been given a certain amount of time to do this work, and I need to be satisfied with that. After my time is up, I need to go and do other things. I don't want to live in the past when I can't be a missionary anymore.
Not to be boring or anything, but I'm fairly uninspired as to any rants today....and those we're teaching are pretty much steadily moving along. Nothing crazy in my life, just working hard and being happy. Today I am tired of hearing my own voice. I would much rather read and hear things from other people. So I will try and write more next week.
Till then!
Sis Raines
So Sister Adams is still living with us in the vortex of insanity with her trainee, Sister Tipton from Payson, Utah. She is sweet. And 19. It hasn't even been a full 6 months since the announcement was made that 19 year olds could serve, and already these sisters have voluntarily put everything aside to come! It's astounding, really. There are all amazing. I'm sad by the time I leave they'll only be halfway through training. I had a rough moment where I realized I was leaving that soon and it was harder than I expected. There are days like that. I just can't think like that though- I've been given a certain amount of time to do this work, and I need to be satisfied with that. After my time is up, I need to go and do other things. I don't want to live in the past when I can't be a missionary anymore.
Not to be boring or anything, but I'm fairly uninspired as to any rants today....and those we're teaching are pretty much steadily moving along. Nothing crazy in my life, just working hard and being happy. Today I am tired of hearing my own voice. I would much rather read and hear things from other people. So I will try and write more next week.
Till then!
Sis Raines
Friday, March 22, 2013
Life's hard when you're a little drunkard
Warning: Missionary rant ahead. Proceed at your own risk!
Ok so the second photo didn't actually attach last week. So here it is now.
As I said before, we started losing our minds a bit.
Ok! So this past week was a little less eventful than the week before, but not much. We had a training with both of the Palmyra Zones, and we had someone special show up! This guy and his family happened to be touring the sites:
http://link.brightcove.com/
His name is Kuhau, and he is incredible. It was such a privilege to be able to meet him and hear him play! I have a video of him playing "Called to Serve" while the two zones sing with him, and then he also played at our site meeting that night. It was excellent. Music does things that nothing else can. The guy in the video with him was also there. It was strange because Sister Szuch and I watched that video literally 2 days before we met him. So cool.
Waterloo is kind of taking off! By next week I'll know if I get to stay here for my last 6 weeks and who I'll be with, but until then I'm assuming I'm staying here with Sister Szuch till the end. It's been wonderful to watch how much has happened, especially just in the past few weeks. It's also had me thinking a mile a minute because I have so many people I care about and want to help! I will spare you the details of all of the things I've thought about and learned, but there's one topic this morning that I'll share a bit about, and that's....the law of chastity! Maybe it's because we're teaching a 27 year old guy and a 23 year old guy. The 27 year old has never been married and has two kids. The 23 year old is engaged with one boy and one on the way. Chastity is really a topic you can't avoid in situations like that. This morning I was so impressed with gratitude for my understanding of this law. I've found that in society we really don't use the word "law" correctly. We should use the word "rule" or something of the like. Why? Well the law of gravity is a law. It's unchangeable. You can try and defy it, but really you'd end up with the short end. It would be foolish. There are laws on Earth and in Heaven that are set- they aren't going anywhere. We can test them or rebel against them all we like, but we will yield the same results. You can't win against God in a world He created. Sorry
So to explain what the law of chastity is- it is a law given that prohibits sexual relations outside the bonds of marriage between a man and a woman. There are definitely details, hard aspects, sticky points. Issues like political correctness, "freedom" and character traits attempt to make the entire subject more difficult than it needs to be. We don't believe that God gives us the law of chastity to make us miserable- on the contrary. The law was already in place, but we are given knowledge of it so that we can get the most out of life and love. Consider again the law of gravity. Whether you are aware of its existence or not, you feel it. Those who insist that following this law inhibits their freedom may fling themselves from cliffs but you bet they'll only be free to do it once. I've been thinking back over various experiences in my life, and although I've been fortunate enough not to end up with an early family of my own, I know what it feels like to feel used, worthless and ugly. The adversary and the world would convince us that sex is the way to conquer insecurities. To give in to what is natural is the only way to be free or to be healed. Anyone who has experienced this temptation knows that following these experiences comes the realization that nothing has actually changed. Instead, your worth feels cheapened and you're looking for the next escape. How long does that continue? Till you're 60? 70? Let me offer a piece of wisdom, and it's only a piece: you will never feel beautiful if you're looking for someone else to prove it to you. It's not going to happen. God loves us, so he has sent His prophets throughout time to give us things like the law of chastity to keep us happy and to help us to understand who we are. Don't get lost in the lie.
That was a lot. I would apologize, but I'm not really sure that I should. So...not sorry? :) I just love so many people who are hurting! Yeesh. Just go listen to General Conference, okay? Those guys really do know what they're talking about. I will never be able to deny that!
In case you were all wondering about the weather and if it's warming up, it is currently snowing outside. We've gotten an inch or two like every other day this week. There is no summer in New York?
Ok that's all I've got for the week. Till next week!
Cheerios,
Sister Raines
Ok so the second photo didn't actually attach last week. So here it is now.
As I said before, we started losing our minds a bit.
Ok! So this past week was a little less eventful than the week before, but not much. We had a training with both of the Palmyra Zones, and we had someone special show up! This guy and his family happened to be touring the sites:
http://link.brightcove.com/
His name is Kuhau, and he is incredible. It was such a privilege to be able to meet him and hear him play! I have a video of him playing "Called to Serve" while the two zones sing with him, and then he also played at our site meeting that night. It was excellent. Music does things that nothing else can. The guy in the video with him was also there. It was strange because Sister Szuch and I watched that video literally 2 days before we met him. So cool.
Waterloo is kind of taking off! By next week I'll know if I get to stay here for my last 6 weeks and who I'll be with, but until then I'm assuming I'm staying here with Sister Szuch till the end. It's been wonderful to watch how much has happened, especially just in the past few weeks. It's also had me thinking a mile a minute because I have so many people I care about and want to help! I will spare you the details of all of the things I've thought about and learned, but there's one topic this morning that I'll share a bit about, and that's....the law of chastity! Maybe it's because we're teaching a 27 year old guy and a 23 year old guy. The 27 year old has never been married and has two kids. The 23 year old is engaged with one boy and one on the way. Chastity is really a topic you can't avoid in situations like that. This morning I was so impressed with gratitude for my understanding of this law. I've found that in society we really don't use the word "law" correctly. We should use the word "rule" or something of the like. Why? Well the law of gravity is a law. It's unchangeable. You can try and defy it, but really you'd end up with the short end. It would be foolish. There are laws on Earth and in Heaven that are set- they aren't going anywhere. We can test them or rebel against them all we like, but we will yield the same results. You can't win against God in a world He created. Sorry
So to explain what the law of chastity is- it is a law given that prohibits sexual relations outside the bonds of marriage between a man and a woman. There are definitely details, hard aspects, sticky points. Issues like political correctness, "freedom" and character traits attempt to make the entire subject more difficult than it needs to be. We don't believe that God gives us the law of chastity to make us miserable- on the contrary. The law was already in place, but we are given knowledge of it so that we can get the most out of life and love. Consider again the law of gravity. Whether you are aware of its existence or not, you feel it. Those who insist that following this law inhibits their freedom may fling themselves from cliffs but you bet they'll only be free to do it once. I've been thinking back over various experiences in my life, and although I've been fortunate enough not to end up with an early family of my own, I know what it feels like to feel used, worthless and ugly. The adversary and the world would convince us that sex is the way to conquer insecurities. To give in to what is natural is the only way to be free or to be healed. Anyone who has experienced this temptation knows that following these experiences comes the realization that nothing has actually changed. Instead, your worth feels cheapened and you're looking for the next escape. How long does that continue? Till you're 60? 70? Let me offer a piece of wisdom, and it's only a piece: you will never feel beautiful if you're looking for someone else to prove it to you. It's not going to happen. God loves us, so he has sent His prophets throughout time to give us things like the law of chastity to keep us happy and to help us to understand who we are. Don't get lost in the lie.
That was a lot. I would apologize, but I'm not really sure that I should. So...not sorry? :) I just love so many people who are hurting! Yeesh. Just go listen to General Conference, okay? Those guys really do know what they're talking about. I will never be able to deny that!
In case you were all wondering about the weather and if it's warming up, it is currently snowing outside. We've gotten an inch or two like every other day this week. There is no summer in New York?
Ok that's all I've got for the week. Till next week!
Cheerios,
Sister Raines
 |
| We go a little crazy sometimes. |
Friday, March 15, 2013
Thou art a boat-rocker
A lot has happened...but I'm not sure how I'm gonna go about explaining all of it! I feel like so much of what happens in my life is one of those "you had to be there..." things. So why aren't you all here? Yeesh.
In so many ways this week could have been killer. I think I've mentioned Jenn and Van- people we've worked with online. I feel foolish even telling you all, but it turned out to be a joke? We think. They both just kind of disappeared off the face of the earth after a month of calling and asking questions and things. It's hard to elaborate on that because so much happened. I was a little worried about Sister Szuch at first because I was kind of skeptical the whole time (I'm really just a pessimistic person, though) and she never suspected that anything could be wrong. Plus, she's still kind of new, and dealing with bad intentions can be heart breaking when you've never really encountered it before. We've talked a lot about the balance between being wise and giving people a chance. That's not something you have to think about if you've never lived around a liar or you've never been betrayed. Once it happens, the challenge becomes to keep from hardening and trusting again somehow. A perfect example of this (as in everything) is the life of Christ. We know he was betrayed by Judas, but just as frustrating might have been finding his apostles back at their nets after His resurrection. Those who walked with Him and were called to serve alongside and in His place after His departure weren't getting it! If they didn't understand, who could Christ count on? Ultimately He couldn't count on anyone- all of us are unreliable and imperfect a majority of the time. And still He takes a chance on us. Consider the risk the Lord takes every time we are given a second chance. I can't count how many second chances I've given. In circumstances of various addictions, how many times does an addict say "Ok I'm really done this time"? How many times have we said something ugly or shirked responsibility or thought only of ourselves even when we said we would be better? Christ always expected the best, and each new time He trusts that this time will do it. It's that hope in others and hope in self that eventually leads to lasting change. I don't want to be an idiot, but I don't want to be the one who hardens and doesn't expect anyone to come through for me when I am relying on others to still hope in me when I fall. This may be one of the great lessons of my life- I expect to continue learning it on a deeper level. I'm grateful for this chance I've had to really consider where I stand. I'm grateful for chances to change.
David (the guys with the lost keys) also ended up cancelling on us because religion "just isn't important enough," but we were blessed to be able to get in at the right time to see a few families who have been struggling. Things are looking up! One of my favorite families in the ward set in more heavy with a smoking problem because at the beginning of last week the dad lost his job. It was such a beautiful thing to be able to go in and bring light and hope to that family! We read and prayed with them, but mostly listened to their fears and frustrations. Ultimately we all came to the conclusion that this was what they really needed. Larry wasn't even happy at that job, and although it will be a struggle for him to find another one, he is learning to let go and allow God to lead him to a better place and to be a better man. That's a scary thing to do! I don't think anyone can pretend that it isn't! In Provo there is a place where there's a decent size rock wall overshadowing a foam pit. You're not strapped in to anything because you're only falling on foam, but letting go of that wall is actually kind of terrifying if you think too much! You have to fight your instincts telling you you can't just free fall, and right before you hit the ground your stomach tells you you're going to die. EVERY TIME. I've thought about letting go of that rock wall a lot recently. In so many ways, trusting God- an unseen power- is like fighting your instincts.
"For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father." Mosiah 3:19
Do you see how dangerous the thought process of hardening and fighting can be? God has a much bigger plan than we do. If we will search His will and then allow Him to carry it out, we will end up much happier than we would have been otherwise. Quit trying to force everything! Sister Szuch and I have had a few companionship mantras, one of which is "Thing big. Then think bigger." As we come to see the larger plan the Lord has in store, we can let go and trust in good things to come.
The sites have been pretty busy, which is nice! I really love having the privilege of giving tours at these sacred places. I really hope one day all of you will have the opportunity to come through for yourselves. It seems like I'm always gathering plans for Austin and I to visit before too long. Western New York has really come to mean so much to me.
Welp I think that's all I'm going to be able to adequately explain ha. So till next week! Stay warm, everyone.
Sister Raines
In so many ways this week could have been killer. I think I've mentioned Jenn and Van- people we've worked with online. I feel foolish even telling you all, but it turned out to be a joke? We think. They both just kind of disappeared off the face of the earth after a month of calling and asking questions and things. It's hard to elaborate on that because so much happened. I was a little worried about Sister Szuch at first because I was kind of skeptical the whole time (I'm really just a pessimistic person, though) and she never suspected that anything could be wrong. Plus, she's still kind of new, and dealing with bad intentions can be heart breaking when you've never really encountered it before. We've talked a lot about the balance between being wise and giving people a chance. That's not something you have to think about if you've never lived around a liar or you've never been betrayed. Once it happens, the challenge becomes to keep from hardening and trusting again somehow. A perfect example of this (as in everything) is the life of Christ. We know he was betrayed by Judas, but just as frustrating might have been finding his apostles back at their nets after His resurrection. Those who walked with Him and were called to serve alongside and in His place after His departure weren't getting it! If they didn't understand, who could Christ count on? Ultimately He couldn't count on anyone- all of us are unreliable and imperfect a majority of the time. And still He takes a chance on us. Consider the risk the Lord takes every time we are given a second chance. I can't count how many second chances I've given. In circumstances of various addictions, how many times does an addict say "Ok I'm really done this time"? How many times have we said something ugly or shirked responsibility or thought only of ourselves even when we said we would be better? Christ always expected the best, and each new time He trusts that this time will do it. It's that hope in others and hope in self that eventually leads to lasting change. I don't want to be an idiot, but I don't want to be the one who hardens and doesn't expect anyone to come through for me when I am relying on others to still hope in me when I fall. This may be one of the great lessons of my life- I expect to continue learning it on a deeper level. I'm grateful for this chance I've had to really consider where I stand. I'm grateful for chances to change.
David (the guys with the lost keys) also ended up cancelling on us because religion "just isn't important enough," but we were blessed to be able to get in at the right time to see a few families who have been struggling. Things are looking up! One of my favorite families in the ward set in more heavy with a smoking problem because at the beginning of last week the dad lost his job. It was such a beautiful thing to be able to go in and bring light and hope to that family! We read and prayed with them, but mostly listened to their fears and frustrations. Ultimately we all came to the conclusion that this was what they really needed. Larry wasn't even happy at that job, and although it will be a struggle for him to find another one, he is learning to let go and allow God to lead him to a better place and to be a better man. That's a scary thing to do! I don't think anyone can pretend that it isn't! In Provo there is a place where there's a decent size rock wall overshadowing a foam pit. You're not strapped in to anything because you're only falling on foam, but letting go of that wall is actually kind of terrifying if you think too much! You have to fight your instincts telling you you can't just free fall, and right before you hit the ground your stomach tells you you're going to die. EVERY TIME. I've thought about letting go of that rock wall a lot recently. In so many ways, trusting God- an unseen power- is like fighting your instincts.
"For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father." Mosiah 3:19
Do you see how dangerous the thought process of hardening and fighting can be? God has a much bigger plan than we do. If we will search His will and then allow Him to carry it out, we will end up much happier than we would have been otherwise. Quit trying to force everything! Sister Szuch and I have had a few companionship mantras, one of which is "Thing big. Then think bigger." As we come to see the larger plan the Lord has in store, we can let go and trust in good things to come.
The sites have been pretty busy, which is nice! I really love having the privilege of giving tours at these sacred places. I really hope one day all of you will have the opportunity to come through for yourselves. It seems like I'm always gathering plans for Austin and I to visit before too long. Western New York has really come to mean so much to me.
Welp I think that's all I'm going to be able to adequately explain ha. So till next week! Stay warm, everyone.
Sister Raines
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