I wish I could say that this week was super exciting... and it was, just not in the traditional missionary sense. I had to put my adult skills and muscles to work this week fixing plumbing and rearranging furniture. All good skills for college life and beyond!
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| Packing up to move |
Last Monday we had our plans all ready for a 'hard week' of finding and tracting and to our surprise, we go the call from the Mission Office that we had to be 100% moved out and into the new apartment with a cleaning inspection/walk through by Saturday morning.. HA HA. We put on our jeans and went to work. Not the most glamorous thing in the world, but from Monday night to Thursday morning we packed, sorted, cleaned, and boxed things up. Man did the time go fast!! We had fun doing everything and occasionally took breaks to get food while cleaning. You can only breath in Windex fumes for so long... Ha Ha. We still occasionally saw an investigator or less active here and there during the week, but I really didn't feel like a missionary, but it was a neat experience.
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| Refueling after packing and cleaning |
I am actually grateful for all of the moving experience that I have gained in my lifetime. Little life experiences and tidbits of info on how to pack things and use less space efficiently really helped us out. We had quite a few laughs this week.
Thursday night came along and we left for Utica with some Zone Leaders and stayed the night. We got to see some of the other STL's in the mission and spent time with them. I have grown to love so many of the Sisters in the mission. I wish I could be companions with a lot of people. But so little time, so much to do. Fun and games were shortly over and we spent most of Friday coming up with ways to inspire and bless the missionaries in the area and to help them see that obedience and hard work do bring blessings. This upcoming transfer is so crazy. With 2 holidays, a bunch of meetings and special Christmas conferences, it is going to go by super fast. It has also been shortened to 5 weeks--instead of the usual 6-- due to not wanting to send home missionaries on Christmas week. So, we discussed everything made some plans and drove back. We were so tired from the week that we passed out in the back of the truck on our way back home. But, with some dinner and an early bed time, we did much better. I have never gone to bed at 9 or earlier my whole life. Lately, 9-9:30 has been starting to look like heaven! The idea of staying up till 11 or 12 is scary. Bravo to Missions!
Oh, other big info. President talked with me and I am getting transferred this week back to the Owego Zone where I first began my mission. I am going to be a STL in Horseheads/Elmira. Ha Ha. I am going to be 15 minutes east of Corning and I get to go on exchanges there. It is so weird! 10-11 months ago, I was serving there as a STL!! I know the apartment, the car and quite a few of the members already. Things are going to pick up for me because instead of having 2 Sister sets here, I will have 4-5 sets in the Owego Zone. The best part of the new area is that I have a Target right across the street from me! Whoohoo!
My new companion is super sweet and has 3 months left, so she knows the drill. The Lord knows what is best and I am grateful for the change. I have gained a ton of insights about the military and military life and all that jazz. After we got calls, we officially moved on Saturday and got it done in 2 hours. Woop Woop! Unfortunately, what Elders think is clean and what Sister's think is clean is not the same. We then had to clean our new apartment. It was slightly sad and gross. Ha Ha boys are nasty. We quickly put things away and started seeing people after a few days of 'cleaning/packing' duty.
Sunday was great, we had some less-actives come and our investigators came. We had a 'Linger Longer' so I could say goodbye to some of the members. I do care about many people in Carthage area, but I know that they are in good hands.
Well, that is about it. I'll end this week by a powerhouse quote from President. "You measure a man's faith by what he intends to do with it."
I know that the Lord is mindful of everything we go through. I know that he calls leaders to direct the Church in the direction that He wants it. I know that all things are spiritual (eternal). There isn't a temporal (Earthly) law given that isn't also spiritual... so whether it is about cleaning, same sex attraction and membership, the word of wisdom, etc., everything is carefully orchestrated by the Lord. The real test of this life is to not only endure the storms of this life, but to choose the right while enduring them. Persecutions may arise, but the "Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing. The truth of God will go forth boldly and nobly and independent till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done." The gospel is true, we just need to remind ourselves that we do't know everything and need to continue to fan the flame of our faith.
Love you all,
Sister Kylie Williams
