Konichiwa! Genke? (No idea how to spell in Japanese…sorry!)
Every day is a great day on Temple Square and this week was as always – great! But seriously, we made a lot of progress this week as a companionship & see the blessings that come from being unified!
On Tuesday the high was 16! Whoo! Chilly! Chilly…chilly chilly willy – the penguin. So we were a tad “frozden” but me and my sliver-lining self still managed to fall in love with the blue sky! Oh and on a side note: I have one year left. WORK WORK WORK!!!
On Wednesday we called Arthur, first thing in the morning. He’s a retired paralegal & taught religion at the University level. I was admittedly, afraid to call him because Sis Khadgi had been the only one to talk with him so far – so all I knew about him was from her. We called, talked and have a very good, productive and in-depth conversation about the First Article of Faith. It was intense – like a mental workout! I took Sis L (Niue) to the dentist in West Valley! Yay! We were gone from 11-3:30! They had to re-do a root canal and she’ll be going back for two others. They painted her tooth BLUE and that was pretty much worth it. OH and also, they lasered her gums back – so we got to wear these 80’s protecting goggles. Best. Dentist. Ever. Only the Assembly Hall was open from 2-5 on the Square because a VIP tour had mandated that the buildings be closed to the public for them. I’d make a smart alecky comment about how those particular people were not very Christian in requesting that…but I’ll move right along. So we froze outside for a few hours and actually ended up talking with a man who said the interview he had just had “could have gone better”. We shared some uplifting scriptures and wished him well. We know that as we trust the Lord & do our part – all will be well.
On Thursday I was extremely pleased to finally get in touch with Lenette, who is an old investigator of my friend Chans. I caught her in the middle of studying – so we’ll call back Tuesday! Sally is doing so good! She wants to be baptized but wants to feel more comfortable with how much she knows first. So we’ll ease her into more information while we patiently wait for her locals to contact her. Patiently.
On Friday we had Companionship Study with Zone Leader Salinas. We discussed our purpose as missionaries and how we can remind ourselves of that more frequently. It’s easy to forget that we’re representatives of Jesus Christ – on Chat. Something I’m working on. Speaking of Chat…this wonderful son of God was being less-than pleasant, going off on 100 year old misunderstandings and finished with “I hate Missouri.” My response? “Okay”. We talked with Arthur again! Whew! We discussed many aspect of the primitive church. We also talked about the different kinds of Greek love – SO glad I took that Shakespeare class in January. :)Dylan is doing SO GREAT! Finally he’s coming out of his down spiral “I just don’t know” and is starting to figure out what he wants to do with his life! Don still has not met with the missionaries…I’m slowly losing my patience. I’m about to hop on the next plane to Alabama & give those Elders a piece of my mind. But until that becomes an option – I’m praying for them. We got a Square referral! We’re so excited! She’s so ready & wants her family to be together forever! I love prepared people!
On Saturday we covered desk twice! I love desk. Contacting is a little more difficult when you’re at desk – but I really enjoy setting people up with tours & getting to know them in 2 minutes. I had an interesting conversation on Chat with Elliot, who is due for a sex change operation and he wanted to know if his friends/family were right in saying that it was going against God. We talked about gender being an inherent characteristic of who we are & that God created us after His image with certain purposes to fulfill in this life. I double-checked that he was planning on continuing his counseling. We talked with this guy “Brent” – finished our conversation – and got him a second time! It was really funny. I got a call from Christopher, requesting the Finding Faith in Christ DVD – he wants to share it with his homeless friend, Jeff. I got a referral on RC Friday afternoon – so we called her tonight! Her name is Moniqua and she lives in New York. She is 19 years old and because of past choices and circumstances has it really rough right now. She is excited to go to church tomorrow!
On Sunday we enjoyed a wonderful testimony meeting. “Our time here is short but if you use it wisely – it can change your life.” ~Sis P.(AZ) I love serving on Temple Square with such inspiring Sisters. We had a good session of weekly planning & had a great Comp Inventory! We’ve agreed that we need to talk more openly & frequently. It’s become a bit of a joke…but it’s good :) Two weeks ago I committed Logan to go to church and he went! Some of you may already know the story. But I was so happy to find a message in our Inbox that said he had gone!!! SO GLAD that he finally made the time to go and see it for himself. So we fasted Saturday dinner & Sunday breakfast. I had an apple for lunch…but I wasn’t hungry. So in 26 hours all I ate was an apple and the whole time – I wasn’t hungry. “Things are very fishy in Denmark, Kato.” Not sure what’s going on there but I haven’t been hungry since Saturday afternoon. Hopefully that’s not…bad.
This week I’ve worked to really “find my niche” in the mission. I’ve made an extra effort to fellowship the other Sisters – especially the 1st transfers. I’m basically trying to become who I was back home in the ward – converted into the mission scenario. Focusing on others always makes you feel good! So I’ve gone the extra mile to say hello to everyone, ask sincerely how they’re doing, praise good things I notice and to be a listening ear when they need someone to talk to :) It’s like being mother hen. Awesome. We usually get paid on Saturday in the third week…but we didn’t this week. I have no food & now no money which means no groceries! Yay! Things are gonna get really interesting here on Temple Square Despite the lack of food the church is still true! It’s a wonderful blessing to be a part of the gathering of Israel. I wake up in the morning at 5:40 to run & I’m so excited that I’m still a missionary! I love having an extra hour of study – no sacrifice is too big, the blessings given in return are eleventy billion times better!
Love,
Sis Despain Jr
P.S. D&C 88:124
