September 13
Tuesday. Of course I went to work, worked a little more when I got back to the apartment, and worked after I ate dinner. No biggy. I'm that tough, yes I am. I am a strong pregnant woman. :P Haha. Sometimes I feel fat already and the baby is only about the size of a kidney bean, but whatever. I think it's because sometimes I actually eat enough to make me full, whereas usually I don't feel like eating at all BUT it seems like everyone tells me this is the most crucial part of the growing process, so I HAVE to eat. :P Oh. I did make a pretty great dinner, thanks to a crockpot recipe from Danielle, and it was a hit and I didn't even have to do that much to prepare it.
****
Anyway, that's seems to be the norm in my life so I don't really care to talk about it to much these days unless something pretty exciting or different happens with all that.
But, today seemed to be a reflection type of day for me... I was watching a short series on the Mormon Channel, Two Brothers Two, and it was just about, pretty much watching these four brothers grow up for a while. They go through typical middle and high school lives, a couple being popular, one being considered nerdy, and all playing a sport of some sort... The part that really stuck in my mind and in my heart, was the footage they showed of three of the brothers going on missions. They all went to foreign places, all pretty different... one to Chile, one to Cambodia, and the other to Latvia, in the Russian area. They all talked about how they struggled with the language and how that was a humbling experience for each of them, and also how they came to love the people so much. I didn't have to learn a language when I served, but I do understand the love you gain for the people in the mission area you serve, to the point where you just want to stay and continue to serve them. One of the similarities between the first two brothers (the series ended before the third came home), was they talked about how they kind of struggled fitting the new man in the old world... And that was something I definitely struggled with. I came home and my family all went their separate ways after two days, having to go back to work, and I was left to figure that out on my own. All my friends and myself all left our small town after high school, and lived elsewhere, staying there and working while in school and over the summers... so I didn't have very many people to spend time with afterwards. I kept myself busy working and spent a whole lot of time with a family that my family grew up with, many of their younger kids still at home. That helped, but of course it wasn't the same. I didn't know how to... be. Luckily I was able to be an EFY counselor that summer, two months after being home, and that helped with the transition because I had a co-counselor, who was similar to a companion, and I had "investigators," KIDS to teach!
Along with that, one of them talked about how they didn't want to become "casual." I feel as though that was a fear of mine and it kind of came true, sadly. When I came back, I was so excited to meet the missionaries, work with them all the time, and to help them teach people about the gospel and to continue to watch the changes people make in come closer to Jesus Christ. I was with the missionaries all the time, when I wasn't in class or studying, which I didn't study as much as I probably should because I was with them more so.
As time passed, more so when I was in my last year of college, I was dating and focusing on making sure I was ready for graduation and took all the classes I needed, and trying to find jobs before I graduated, I didn't spend as much time with them. I feel like it wasn't just one event, but many people gradually got to know the missionaries less. I don't think it was the fault of the missionaries and not us being at fault entirely, as well. I don't really know what happened, but I tried to figure it out. One fear I had with graduation, was that my missionary opportunities would drastically decrease in numbers because as I worked, you can only say so much about religion at work (but I did make sure people knew pretty quick I was LDS and no one really treated me any different because of it). But when you are in school, you have new people to talk to every semester, with multiple classes you can meet people in, and many opportunities to study with those people, sometimes being in-charge of the location, and bring them to the institute. :)
I am happy to say though, I am doing my best to keep in contact with many of the missionaries who served here, and I also talk to many of those who have come and gone, who did and didn't join the church. They, the missionaries and converts and investigators, have all been examples to me in some way or another. It's a wonderful and truly incredible opportunity to work with the missionaries in your area, as well as have the opportunity to be one.
I miss Canada and more so the companions and presidents I worked with and the people I met and served, so so much. I think about them everyday, and have yet to allow a day to pass, after returning, without thinking about the mission.
Missionary service will change you and everything you do, if you let it. Some people allow that to happen even without having to go formally serve, which I think is pure talent since I don't think I could serve to the capacity I do without having served as a full-time missionary.
And it wasn't so much that Canada, the people, or my companions and presidents changed me. It wasn't that my circumstances changed me. It was the Savior who helped me become more like Him, and His Spirit. And yes, everything else helped me. It all helped me be in the right place in my mind and heart, to make the changes I did and have, so I can feel of His love more strongly, and so I can more fully do His will and someday return to Him.
I hope everyone has those moments of reflection, of self evaluation, and of recognition, of that relationship they have with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
It is truly amazing the progress we make in the life, with Him by our sides, the entire way.
Tuesday. Of course I went to work, worked a little more when I got back to the apartment, and worked after I ate dinner. No biggy. I'm that tough, yes I am. I am a strong pregnant woman. :P Haha. Sometimes I feel fat already and the baby is only about the size of a kidney bean, but whatever. I think it's because sometimes I actually eat enough to make me full, whereas usually I don't feel like eating at all BUT it seems like everyone tells me this is the most crucial part of the growing process, so I HAVE to eat. :P Oh. I did make a pretty great dinner, thanks to a crockpot recipe from Danielle, and it was a hit and I didn't even have to do that much to prepare it.
****
Anyway, that's seems to be the norm in my life so I don't really care to talk about it to much these days unless something pretty exciting or different happens with all that.
But, today seemed to be a reflection type of day for me... I was watching a short series on the Mormon Channel, Two Brothers Two, and it was just about, pretty much watching these four brothers grow up for a while. They go through typical middle and high school lives, a couple being popular, one being considered nerdy, and all playing a sport of some sort... The part that really stuck in my mind and in my heart, was the footage they showed of three of the brothers going on missions. They all went to foreign places, all pretty different... one to Chile, one to Cambodia, and the other to Latvia, in the Russian area. They all talked about how they struggled with the language and how that was a humbling experience for each of them, and also how they came to love the people so much. I didn't have to learn a language when I served, but I do understand the love you gain for the people in the mission area you serve, to the point where you just want to stay and continue to serve them. One of the similarities between the first two brothers (the series ended before the third came home), was they talked about how they kind of struggled fitting the new man in the old world... And that was something I definitely struggled with. I came home and my family all went their separate ways after two days, having to go back to work, and I was left to figure that out on my own. All my friends and myself all left our small town after high school, and lived elsewhere, staying there and working while in school and over the summers... so I didn't have very many people to spend time with afterwards. I kept myself busy working and spent a whole lot of time with a family that my family grew up with, many of their younger kids still at home. That helped, but of course it wasn't the same. I didn't know how to... be. Luckily I was able to be an EFY counselor that summer, two months after being home, and that helped with the transition because I had a co-counselor, who was similar to a companion, and I had "investigators," KIDS to teach!
Along with that, one of them talked about how they didn't want to become "casual." I feel as though that was a fear of mine and it kind of came true, sadly. When I came back, I was so excited to meet the missionaries, work with them all the time, and to help them teach people about the gospel and to continue to watch the changes people make in come closer to Jesus Christ. I was with the missionaries all the time, when I wasn't in class or studying, which I didn't study as much as I probably should because I was with them more so.
As time passed, more so when I was in my last year of college, I was dating and focusing on making sure I was ready for graduation and took all the classes I needed, and trying to find jobs before I graduated, I didn't spend as much time with them. I feel like it wasn't just one event, but many people gradually got to know the missionaries less. I don't think it was the fault of the missionaries and not us being at fault entirely, as well. I don't really know what happened, but I tried to figure it out. One fear I had with graduation, was that my missionary opportunities would drastically decrease in numbers because as I worked, you can only say so much about religion at work (but I did make sure people knew pretty quick I was LDS and no one really treated me any different because of it). But when you are in school, you have new people to talk to every semester, with multiple classes you can meet people in, and many opportunities to study with those people, sometimes being in-charge of the location, and bring them to the institute. :)
I am happy to say though, I am doing my best to keep in contact with many of the missionaries who served here, and I also talk to many of those who have come and gone, who did and didn't join the church. They, the missionaries and converts and investigators, have all been examples to me in some way or another. It's a wonderful and truly incredible opportunity to work with the missionaries in your area, as well as have the opportunity to be one.
I miss Canada and more so the companions and presidents I worked with and the people I met and served, so so much. I think about them everyday, and have yet to allow a day to pass, after returning, without thinking about the mission.
Missionary service will change you and everything you do, if you let it. Some people allow that to happen even without having to go formally serve, which I think is pure talent since I don't think I could serve to the capacity I do without having served as a full-time missionary.
And it wasn't so much that Canada, the people, or my companions and presidents changed me. It wasn't that my circumstances changed me. It was the Savior who helped me become more like Him, and His Spirit. And yes, everything else helped me. It all helped me be in the right place in my mind and heart, to make the changes I did and have, so I can feel of His love more strongly, and so I can more fully do His will and someday return to Him.
I hope everyone has those moments of reflection, of self evaluation, and of recognition, of that relationship they have with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
It is truly amazing the progress we make in the life, with Him by our sides, the entire way.
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