Monday, December 16, 2013
This week was full of planning and
preparations so next week we should get to teach! Yea!!! It's hard
not being able to teach very much, which might sound weird if you haven't been
on a mission. I really want to be out doing work, and we didn't get very
much of that this week. I know numbers aren't everything, but ours were
pretty low this week. Sister Hale has been recovering from a sinus
infection and Tuesday was a bad day for her so we stayed home most of the day
to let her rest. I got some really good studies in though.
Wednesday we were busy with district meeting in the morning. I got
to play piano which was wonderful! I miss my piano and flute! I was
so excited when President Craig said I could have my flute sent to me!
So hopefully that will work out sometime in the near future!
Thursday was AMAZING! We had a
Christmas devotional for the ENTIRE mission! Every one of the 264
missionaries met in one church for a talent show, dinner, and an uplifting
devotional. (speaking of food, apparently the average weight gain for the
FJM missionaries is 35 pounds. . . time to work out a bit harder!!!) We
were reminded to let the joy of Christmas fill our hearts every day, and to
focus on what we have. President Craig shared his experiences of past Christmas
days spent serving in homeless shelters in Salt Lake. It truly is eye
opening to hear how little some people have, and it is a wonderful reminder to
be grateful for what we have. Each companionship was sent home with a bag
of gifts from various wards, a Florida Jacksonville Mission pin, and an apple
pie! Someone donated pies for everyone! The pie is heavenly!
Friday night and Saturday we had
trade-offs with the Sister Training Leaders. I was with Sister Fife and
Sister Hale went with Sister McCleary. It was good to see how other
missionaries work, and it was a good experience to meet other people.
Saturday night was the long awaited for Arlington Ward Christmas Party.
It was a big hit! The food was delicious, and most importantly we
met a lot of great people--both members and non members. Several members
have asked for my mom and dad's address/phone numbers to send letters and
pictures. It is so sweet. One ward member even made gluten free
brownies for the party so Sister Hale could have dessert! They take good
care of us here! The Elders even bought one-piece pajamas to be Santa's
helpers! Did I mention they also went caroling to their investigator's
house in them? Yep! Those are our zone leaders!!!
Saturday after the party Sister Hale
and I found a little friend in our apartment. A frog! he was hopping
around on our carpet. . . I was able to catch him in a cup and we let him go
outside. it was raining hard that night and we were running some cookies
to the other sisters and the elders apartments. On the way a huge toad
was right in front of us and startled us! Some of the elders cookies may
or may not have ended up on the ground outside the sisters' apartment. . .
It was huge, and we were definitely not expecting it! haha, we had
a lot of fun with frogs that night!
On Sunday night I extended my first
official baptism invitation! We've had a competition this week to see if
the Elders or Sisters in the East Jax Zone can get more invites. Sister
Hale and I were teaching a sweet, elderly African American couple we had found
in the potential investigator sheets. Between all of the woman's stories
we got in a pretty good restoration lesson. I guess we didn't quite get
the whole "proper authority from God" part into their minds though
because when I asked if they would be baptized she said "I've already been
baptized!" This is a pretty common answer in the South. So, no
go on a baptism quite yet, but we have a return appointment and we're so
excited to meet with them again!
Can I just say I LOVE serving a
mission in the South? Basically EVERYONE LOVES Jesus and is willing to
talk about their faith. It's a great conversation starter. I'm
really trying to work on bringing up the gospel in conversations, and I think
it's going to keep getting easier. I encourage ALL of you to do the same!
I've been reading the book Power of the Everyday Missionary! It is
wonderful!!! It teaches how simple missionary work can be, and testifies
that each one of us is capable of sharing the gospel. I would definitely
recommend buying and reading it! What better gift could you share with
someone this Christmas than the gospel of Christ? We're praying for a
"White Christmas" full of baptisms in the Florida Jacksonville
Mission, and I hope each of you will pray for opportunities to share the gospel
as well.
Have a blessed day!!!
Love, Sister Murray
