Hi!
Sometimes I don't write on my blog. Good thing it's MY blog.
I'm doing super well! I LOVE MY MISSION!!!!!
We had a Sister's conference this week at the mission home. It was AMAZING! I love Sister's conference! At the beginning of my mission I was weary of them, weary of other Sister Missionaries and having to sit there hearing them talk about feelings while I could be out working and finding people to teach. But Sister Clark's Sisters' Conferences are the BOMB DOT COM.
We got massages this time! professional massages! Granted, it was only 10 minutes each, and by the time she got to me it was only 5. But still. It was an amazing 5 minutes. We also got to go to the temple and share our testimonies.
We also had a counselor from LDS family services come and talk to us about the stresses of missionary work. We have had a LOT of emphasis and training lately about depression and anxiety. Apparently it's something a lot of missionaries struggle with. I'm so grateful that I don't! I mean, yes I take anti-depressants, and I'm grateful for them. When I don't take them I am even more tired and sluggish, and I can't focus as well. But I don't get the mopes or anxious about things, and I'm beginning to see how prevalent that is in mission life. There's a great article about it in this month's Ensign.
Brother Meers, the counselor who came, said something that is so true. He said "missionary life is the best kept secret of the church."
He's right! It is so hard! A lot of people, mostly members, see missionaries as kind of floating from teaching appointment to teaching appointment, without a care in the world. That is far from the truth. First off, because of the white handbook and the nature of our work and manner of preparation, many of the coping skills we have are no longer an option (watching TV, napping, long shower, alone time, music, books...). There is rejection, isolation, disappointment, sorrow, the list goes on. I don't know how, but as I grew up, mostly in my 20's, I feel that I've developed an emotional and spiritual sovereignty that sustains my spirit and helps me help others. Do you see what I'm saying?
Of course I get grumpy sometimes, but I found out how to fix my grumpiness--Hershey's chocolate and some quiet time. Just a little.
We have this awesome investigator, Fransisco. He's 18 and from Mexico. He speaks little to no English. So it's hard to communicate with him. My Spanish is pretty good, don't get me wrong, but there are still lots of little things I don't know how to say. We are teaching him English. But here's something I realized with Fransisco. We're always saying stuff like "when can we have our next appointment?" and "why didn't you come to church?" and "sorry, we don't have much time today."
Granted, he's an 18 year old boy who doesn't have much to say anyway, but I realized that that's pretty much all he hears from us. And when we come for lessons our interpreters are usually on a time crunch so we get straight to the lesson. Can you imagine being 18, in a country where you don't understand anyone, and by yourself? I decided to ask him about his family last night (via text)(did you know missionaries could text? It's an amazing tool for missionary work) and he has 12 siblings, and he only talks to his one brother in California. He needs a mom! He needs love! I've been treating him like a friend, like a punk kid who has a testimony (he read the book of mormon in a month!) and knows what he's supposed to do and just doesn't want to do it sometimes. But he's just a little boy! I forgot about LUCE.
It's so easy to forget about LUCE.
Peace and Love,
Sister Mcdonald
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