Monday, July 18, 2016

Are You the Sister Missionaries? (July 18, 2016)



 This week was really neat! We had exchanges, interviews with President and there are some new things that are going to be applied to the mission here, which I'm really excited about.

Monday was 7/11 and it was a blast! We got done with everything really soon and so I got to practice the piano and we played volleyball for a while. A member took us to get slurpees and we dropped them off by a couple of the elders who were sick and didn't get to do much for pday. We met some neat people as well. That night, we were walking home and came across a man crying on the bench. We walked by and my heart broke for this man who was clearly in an incredible amount of distress. We didn't stop because we thought he might need space but about three paces later we stopped dead. "We have to go back." As we were turning around, we see him quickly stand and call, "Wait are you the sister missionaries?" We quickly answered and asked if there was anything we could do to help. Turns out he was just stranded here. There was a job lined up for him that fell through and when he went to visit his sister, she apparently has moved and he doesn't have any food or money. We called our ward mission leader and got him addresses for food banks and then he said, "I used to be a Mormon you know." I ended up asking him what turned him away and we had a really in depth conversation about what made him leave. We eventually had to run home but he thanked us for talking to him and asked if he could meet up with us again as well to talk more. It makes me so sad to see those that know, that honestly truly know the truth, and let things blind them. He was such a neat individual who was so so loved by his Heavenly Father but that's the hard part. We can't make him do anything, we can't force him to come back.

Tuesday we had a similar experience. We We had a super awesome time with one of the YSA members who came out with us for a couple hours tracting mostly and then that night we were walking to visit a less active when a guy calls out to us, "Wait! Do you guys have any literature? You're missionaries right? Do you have anything I can read, I've been in a really low place for the last little while." I only had one English pamphlet left, and after giving it to him we talked for about an hour on the street. He has met with the missionaries before, he's been confused lately because he's searching for something but just can't find it. He likes the things that he's heard but he's also pushed away by it. He reminded me a lot of myself in a lot of different ways. Some of the things that he has struggled with and the different things that he is trying to decipher. It made me grateful once more for the gospel and the Atonement of Christ. Because of this gospel, I can find the answers to those questions. But again, I was reminded how critical agency is in this life. We have to choose it ourselves, we have to be able to open our hearts and our minds, turn our entire will over to Heavenly Father so that he can lead us, guide us, and shape us into what he knows we can become.

Wednesday we met a neat guy named Connor. He was pretty hippy but incredibly kind and listened to all that we had to say. We taught the Restoration, (a little brokenly because it was in English and I know it much better in Spanish) but he said we could send other missionaries over sometime.

Thursday we had interviews. President asked me to really focus on involving the members from the English wards in missionary work and on Friday, during exchanges, we began to put it into action. We stopped by some members, called the bishops of the other wards and got lists of people willing to help in the English wards as well. It's only the beginning but I'm so excited to see how this area is going to grow!

There are a couple of talks that I would really recommend.
"The Missionary Next Door"
"The Sarah Fulcher Case Study"

I love this opportunity to serve!
1 Nephi 9:6

--
Sister Jaycie Baird
Washington Yakima Mission
 

 After interviews! (yes my hair did change again. If you give Hermana Baird scissors..)​

  I dunno, we were early for church and everyone else was in classes..

 I guess it would look a little weird for anyone who passed by.

  She didn't tell me we were supposed to make faces..
 
 So we did it again ^.^

  ​One of our investigator friends has begun to work in the apple orchards. It's a constant cycle, cherry, apple, peach, pear, apple, cherry, etc. Although they have larger snakes that they put there to eat the rats, rattlesnakes are a common occurrence and he says they kill one or two a day at least. This particular one was 7 years old.












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