Golden Belgians and my Future Children :)

This week I learned how to say “How are you?” in Danish…but now I can’t remember!

This week was my Golden Birthday and now I know why it’s called that. It was the best birthday ever! Due to my own love of birthday celebrations practically the whole mission knew it was my birthday. So just imagine 180 missionaries telling you happy birthday all day long :) Thanks so much to everyone for the birthday wishes!

I met a woman last Wednesday who went to Jerusalem for her honeymoon! Made me think…Jerusalem? Let’s do it!!! Quite the adventure methinks. I talked to 4 people from Israel while I was on desk, we can’t invite them to meet with missionaries but it’s so cool just to talk to them – they’re from ISRAEL!

We met Bryson on Thursday, sitting on the planters. He is an RM living in Idaho but served in Nebraska. I know, exciting – he made a big difference in my day though. We talked about preparing to go home & schedules with school etc & he looked me in the eyes & said, “Think about it – would you really want to give up a week of this?” It came to a definite no. I wouldn’t trade this for anything in the world. I love being a missionary! There is no greater or more rewarding or worthwhile service I could be doing right now – this is where it’s at :)

I met my future children. Not exactly – seeing as how they already have a mother – but I sure hope they have friends in Heaven who are waiting to come on down here! Ashli, Andy, Ammon, Austin & Aiden (I didn’t meet Alec). They were wonderful conversationalists and told me some wonderful stories about breaking bones & flipping on the tube at the lake. From a missionary perspective they were great at alternating, balancing & yielding to each other. So well behaved – they asked me to share some stories too! They came back a few minutes later with their mom, “Apparently they’re a fan! They want a picture!” So we took a picture & they asked for my phone number :) hahahaha So I wrote down Sister Despain from NC – and Ashli said she would try to look me up on Facebook. They came back again a few minutes later and asked for my sister’s name so they could find me easier. They were too cute – loved them.

The work here is going slowly but surely! I should take a picture of our world map! It’s amazing what we are able to accomplish all over the world when we are about the Lord’s work. We met a couple this morning from Belgium who were astounded by the fact that everyone in the church is a volunteer & furthermore that as missionaries we pay our own way. They said, “You see – I think that’s the problem – no one does this anymore. You are so convinced…and people just aren’t convinced like you are anymore!” They referred :)

I love life.

Sister Despain

RC, DR & UC -- I love TMSQ :)

Talofa!

What a crazy week! We are so busy, I love it! There was one night in particular – Saturday night I think – when I came home, dropped my bag on the floor & said, “Ahh – I love being a missionary!”

I have been out for 11 months and from that experience I can tell you that the happiest times I’ve had as a missionary came when I was working my hardest. As it says in PMG, there is no substitute for it! Work, work, work! What better work to be a part of than the Lord’s work to bring His children home?!?

Wednesday I had a Spanish tour with future Elder Reyes, from the Dominican Republic. He is here in SLC for a surgery and hopefully head to the MTC in a week. His host parents didn’t speak any Spanish so Sis Iglezia talked with them – perfect! We showed them all over TMSQ and even over to the CC. There are very few people who truly appreciate how amazing everything is here. I think Elder Reyes really understood how special a place it is, he kept saying, “que Hermosa”. He was very sweet in helping me pronounce certain words correctly, asambleos – bombillos – persecusiones etc. There are some words I’ll have to practice saying over and over again – which he also had me do! It was hilarious! He’ll be serving in Guatemala and he’s very excited to share the gospel with the people there.

The last time I bought new clothes was for April conference – I figured it was only right to introduce Sis Iglezia to the beauty that is Uptown Cheapskate :)

District Meeting Thursday night went really well! We focused on being brief & clear – having that help us relay our message more effectively. The district I’m serving with is wonderful, they love participating and sharing thoughts. They come from America, Brazil, Kiribati, Samoa, France, Canada & Korea! I’ll take a picture one of these days and you can see for yourself how amazing TMSQ is!

Sis Bateman from Washington – who knows Sis Lyman – guided the best RC real play I’ve ever done in my life!!! For these phone calls we are supposed to invite the guest to meet with missionaries by 7 minutes – total the calls are just 10 minutes, if they let us talk that long :) Each computer had a “profile” on a slip of paper for a missionary or a guest. We read through it & then real-played as that person. It was so neat, actually being called & pretending to be “Barbara”. The Spirit is definitely there as you real-play, it teaches us how to approach people and what to say. This way we can use it for our real calls!

We got to see MOTAB this week! I love hearing the choir – I think they should still be in the Tabernacle though, it’s much more impressive :)

From this week I learned that Heavenly Father loves me so much that He sends me sincere, prepared Spanish tours to take. He has sent me a companion who is patient, supportive & loves working. He continues to bless me with an out-of-this-world family who are fantastic! And if you thought it could end there – every day I realize that He loves me so much, He let me come to TMSQ :)

As the Armenians say, “yehs-kez-sirum-ehm” [I love you]

S.Despain

Ants on a Log

I’m back! My personality included :)

These last 6 weeks have been the most challenging of my life but I’m grateful for the experiences I was able to have. I know that the Lord gives us more than we can handle on our own – so that we remember to rely on Him. As I took the Christ-like attributes assessment this transfer, I was able to see a lot of personal progress in humility & diligence. However, it still seems that CHARITY & LOVE will be a life-long endeavor! And that’s okay.

I moved apartments…across the hall & two doors down! My new companion is Sister Iglezia from Brazil – she is 27 and very sweet. Her testimony is so strong and she doesn’t let anyone go without sharing it. She is in her 2nd transfer so I feel bad that her second companion hasn’t really been on the square for more than 2 hrs at a time for the last 4.5 months! We’re working things out.

We’ve already taken two Spanish tours & a Portuguese tour! I can introduce myself in Portuguese :) And when we take Spanish tours S. Iglezia will speak in “Portunol” – Portuguese/Spanish – and they understand her! It’s so much fun being her companion.
We took a motorcoach our first night together and it went great! We both spoke & shared testimony & even though no one referred I still felt really good about it. S. Iglezia is a pro-active missionary. We work well together to always be busy & keep to our schedule. She is a wonderful help! She’s teaching me Portuguese & I’m teaching her Spanish – so we have some great bonding moments.

I made biscuits the other morning (Uncle Darrick’s recipe) and she took a bite, “Mmmm dis is delicious! You buy dis at Wal-mart?” Hahahaha she wants to watch me the next time I make them :)

Hysterical story from lunch this week. This is why I love Temple Square: I ate lunch with Scotland, England, Armenia, Brazil & Albania! Isn’t that amazing! The other great thing is that Ants-on-a-Log was the most entertaining thing they had ever seen. NONE of them had ever seen someone put peanut butter on a banana, let alone with raisins on top! I made them all try it – they loved it & I felt very foreign and semi-proud of my typical American kids’ snack. Sis Osmeni from Albania had to practice saying “ants on a log” for 5 minutes – “antsonalone….antsonalon…entzonalot…what is it?” LOVE IT!

Sister Nelson is in New York on her Outbound. I miss her but we already made plans to be ZL’s together when she comes back! I can’t wait to hear about her experiences with those people. This transfer is already going really well. Everything is so different. I love being out of Guest Services – I miss knowing everything but I absolutely love the sunshine & all of the people!!! Every day is a new adventure & more than ever, I know that the Lord has my back. These are His children that we labor to serve and I know that He is very aware of each of His missionaries.

Thank you all for the love & support,

Sister Despain Jr

Hello from Headquarters!

We had a very good tour the other night with a 25 year old RM named Brennan. In the end what it came down to was this analogy: We’re all riding on the “Train of Life”. His question was: Wouldn’t it be easier just to jump off? My answer: Maybe. But it definitely wouldn’t be as worth-it as sticking it out to the end.

Touché, Sister Despain. I was thinking about what I told Brennan and I realized that I’ve had a bit of his attitude about this transfer – wouldn’t it be easier just to quit? Just to give up? Just to stop caring? Maybe. But it wouldn’t be as worth it or as rewarding.

This reminds me of the video on Mormon Messages by Elder Holland. He narrates the story of a young father who repeatedly has to walk miles along a desert highway to seek help in fixing his car. In the later part of Elder Holland’s talk, he says, “Don’t you quit.” And his voice is one I hear frequently in my head, saying, “Don’t you quit” and then I find that I can keep going!

I know that each of us experience times in life that challenge us, that push us to our edge but that if we recognize it – allow us to increase our faith in Heavenly Father & put all of our trust in Him. He believes in us because He has prepared the way to make all things possible.

I know Heavenly Father loves us because He sends us listening ears. He sends us Quail babies to make us smile & laugh. He sends us beautiful sunsets that make us glad to be alive. He sends us people who need to talk specifically to us about their struggles with faith – people that only we can help.

True silver linings are difficult to see; a very thin line of beautiful, shiny silver that follows the outline of a dark storm cloud. This week, I discovered something new about myself. Even though times are tough & my “tough-it-out” Cowboy boots feel a little heavier than usual, I still have the strength and determination to put them on each morning! Every day – ready to “get back on that horse”.

Transfer Conference is on Monday. You might be hearing from me sooner if I get a new P-day!

Peace. Love. Guest Services.

Sister Despain Jr