FAAAAAAMMMMM!!!!!
It's been too long! I have been giggling at your emails from the past week and a half. It is so fun to hear about all of your summer adventures. Woods, I'm glad the move went well. Monreals, giggled so hard at Fiona's Bridezilla story. And I'm ridiculously jealous of how cute Nat's nursery turned out. Mom and Dad, glad to hear you're compromising on organizing and learning Chinese. :) Elder Wheeler, I giggled so hard at your pictures. Why are you so funny?!
So do you want the biggest news first? We had interviews with President Packard last week- have I mentioned how much I love him? I really think I was supposed to come on a mission at this specific time because I needed him as my mission President. He is SO loving and trusts us and has the greatest vision for achieving Zion in this mission. And he has the most adorable Texan accent. So down to earth. I sat down in the interview, he asked me how everything is going (it's going well!), and then he asked me if I'm ready to train. (WHAT?!) Yeah, that's right. I'm not even completely trained yet. But it's funny... I don't feel nervous (maybe I should?). I just feel very humbled and loved and trusted with this responsibility. I am so excited to welcome a new companion and just love her! I'm also excited to be able to influence the culture of my mission a bit more. It is interesting how missionaries can find small ways to be disobedient and it's been difficult to try and influence others to be more obedient when I'm the "underdog". I voiced that concern to President and he said that this new responsibility will be a good opportunity to influence mission culture.
I also asked President how to find the balance between forcing people to be obedient and being an enabler. (Mom and Dad, I imagine you've struggled with this question as parents your whole life, but I hope you know that I feel like you've found the perfect balance for that!) To answer that, he took me to Alma 38:10-14. SO GOOD. "be diligent and temperate in all things" and "use boldness, but not overbearance." The part that stuck out to me most, though, was verse 12 "bridle all your passions, that ye may be filled with love." I feel like that verse means something new to me now because over this transfer with Sister Hollan, I've learned that whenever I'm frustrated with her or [insert any other negative emotion], I can't be filled with love for her, which I NEED to be in order to feel the Spirit. And without the Spirit, we can't teach. Like President Packard said when we first arrived here in Boston and he told us about his vision for achieving Zion, "Your companion is the work."
Speaking of Sister Hollan, I adore her. :) It has been difficult figuring out how to bond with her (because she hates hugging and any girlish nonsense), but I've figured out her love language (being silly) and we're great friends now. She even cried when I told her President is splitting us up. (So despite her zero-tolerance for girlish nonsense like crying, she DOES have feelings!) :) She'll be shotgun training in Franklin (just south of Boston) and she will rock it! And I'll be staying here in Brighton. So you can keep sending me letters here. (Thank you Nat and Nicole! Betas- I'm working on some replies to your previous L.A.N.D.s).
So Allison... kind of at a pause right now. We had a Skype lesson with her while she was gone this week (requirement was he had to do so at a member's house with a member) and we thought it went really well, but apparently she was offended by some of the member's comments. :/ So, not sure if the diagnosis is 1- Skype is a bad idea because you can't read people's body language, etc or 2- Allison and this member just aren't compatible. Kind of made us feel sick to our stomachs, but she recognizes that it isn't fair to let her feelings toward this member influence her feelings towards the church. So hopefully, she'll keep progressing. She's hopefully performing that musical number at a baptism next week for our Elders' investigators (Rosa and Jorge) and that will be a good experience for her if it all works out. And she still has the Salazars as her friends and I think they are an amazing influence for her.
Miracle this week! Sister Hollan and I were walking out of the Longfellow Park Chapel after helping our digital Elders with blog design/visual strategy (they're getting some Sisters this transfer) :) and a man walked right up to us and said, "Hello! My name is William. What church do you belong to? What is your church all about?" Sister Hollan and I were so taken aback because that NEVER happens that we could barely answer. He told us he's from Zimbabwe (I think) and he worked as a Baptist minister or something, but he's open. And then he was like, "Here's my information. Let's meet up. I want to learn more." We seriously walked away speechless. So, my new missionary gets to meet William with me first thing Friday morning. Oh, and then we're teaching a first lesson to Rosa and Jorge's daughter, Caty. How's that for her first day in the field? :)
No word on teaching Ivrose in Haitian, but Sister Hollan and I have been teaching some Thai girls English! That's been fun. I understand why service is higher on our mission priorities than tracting- you can be such an influence for good and make a much more powerful impression than just street contacting or knocking doors. Actions speak louder than words, or however that goes. :)
I love you all and am so grateful you're my family. I'm recognizing more and more each day just how blessed I've been to grow up in a loving home founded on the gospel of Jesus Christ. I knew it before, but my understanding of how priceless that blessing is deepens every day.
Love you!
Sister Wheeler
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