Letter #50

Mon 2/24/14 2:20 PM

So this past week was quite the roller coaster. Monday was quite the adventure... We had a really great lesson with one of our new investigators. He had a ton of questions (which is the best) and was really interested in learning about eternal families. We taught him about The Plan of Salvation and he is praying about The Book of Mormon. It was such an awesome lesson! We then went to our next appointment (they bailed on us) so we got back in the car to leave  and guess what?! We couldn't move. We had gotten stuck in the mud! We tried to get ourselves out for about 40 minutes and finally decided to call the Elders. They didn't answer. Ha! So we tried again. Still the car wouldn't budge. The tires just kept spinning. We then decided to knock on a few doors until the Elders called us back.. When they called they said they were just leaving Myrtle Point which is about 25 miles away from where we were. When they got there we tried pretty much everything-- the car just kept sinking deeper and deeper.  (too bad Trevor wasn't there.. He knows how to get out of just about any kind of mud- Haha! I miss that jeep! ) We finally called one of our members to come pull us out..  We also had dinner with a Recent Convert and his wife on Tuesday. They are the sweetest couple! The whole time we were in their home they couldn't stop talking about how excited they were to go to the temple for the first time! We couldn't help but be excited with and for them :) Later we got a very astonishing phone call. One of the less active ladies we are working with in the ward had somebody call us and tell us that her husband hung himself. He wasn't a member but he was the nicest man and I had talked to him quite a bit.. I was very shocked when we got the call and it made my heart just sink. That's been really rough for me, especially because it brought back some of the feelings I had when Matt passed away and I still feel like crying sometimes but it made me even more grateful for the knowledge that we have of The Plan of Salvation and the peace and comfort we can receive in times like these. Anyways, we had a really good district meeting on Friday and it made me think about the kind of missionary that I am and the missionary that I want to become before the end of my mission. This Thursday will mark 1 year of being in the mission field! I cannot believe it. Sometimes I feel like I'm living in a time warp. The weeks are flying by and I honestly don't know how I feel about it. I feel like there is still so much I need to learn and so much growth I still need to make and I feel that I am nowhere near where I should be and it's really frustrating........ 

We also had a really great lesson on the Atonement in Sunday School at church yesterday. Something that was said is that we need to use and apply the Atonement every hour, of every day of our lives, not just in times of trial. And I love that. Jesus Christ took upon himself not only our sins but everything that we have and ever will go through. He's already performed the Atonement for us and it is up to us, our responsibility to use it to the fullest.
On Saturday we had a Stake Cultural Activity on Saturday which was really fun! They had a Chili Cook off with a talent show and GUESS WHAT?!?!?! We missionaries in the Stake decided last minute that we were going to perform as well. Some of us previously learned the Tongan Hakka from a training a while ago and that's what we did. We of course changed the words to make it relate to missionary work but it was way fun and everyone there loved it! (Somebody might have posted it on Facebook already) We shall see. Anyway, that was kinda how my week went. Lots of ups and lots of downs but all is good. I hope that you have a great week and know that I love and miss you.

Sorry this e-mail is all over the place. There are so many thoughts and feelings going on in my mind and heart right now and it are hard to put it all into words.
I love you.

Love,

Lyndsie

P.S. A member made us Manti Chicken last night for dinner.... I thought that was your special recipe! Made me feel like I was at home... weird nostalgic feelings.