Oh, You know. Being a Missionary of the Lord and All....

Monday, September 18, 2017

Alexandria, Virginia

Greetings, loved ones.

This week was exit. (that's the abbreviation for "exiting", right?) (do you get my joke?)(...because it's funny.)

Tuesday was filled with adrenaline. We went heart attacking all over town! And by "all over town," I mean that we went to two houses. One of the houses we attacked had a giant glass door. We had to be sneaky, sneaky. After we successfully vandalized their property, we went to do service for M*. She had about ten billion bags of laundry to get done, and the laundromat was down the street. How someone can have that much to do, I don't quite know. But we put smiles on our faces and were willing to help. But then we didn't actually end up doing laundry. No. We spent two hours talking about how the guy living with her was actually the devil in disguise and how his teeth shine when he smiles. Seriously. Two. Hours. Then we went to the R* family's for dinner and hurried to a less-active member's, S*; she's from Ghana and she is the cutest lady ever.  Her kids are in Ghana, and she hasn't been able to see them for years and years. We love her. 

 

Sister Morin and Sister Kleven with three sisters who remind me of my aunts. I miss you guys!

 

On Wednesday, we had District Meeting. But we had to leave early to pick up the Elders to take them to Target because no one took them on P-day. So, we sat in the car and actually did the homework we were supposed to do before District Meeting. We were sneaky, sneaky, so the District Leader never even found out. But the game that we played for "comp unity" was interesting! So, your companion would place a little squirt of whipped cream on their wrist, fling their arm up so the delicious whipped topping would fly off their arm, do some swan dives, and then delve into the other companions open mouth. That's how it was supposed to go, anyway. We were doing it, and two other companionships flung their whipped cream on me. So, I was pretty much covered in the sticky substance. I vowed to practice today with Sister Morin so that we could be the best companionship. Then we snuck into some lockouts because we're awesome. And we tracted into F*! Do you know what that means? I didn't. So, I asked him. And he said it means "First Name Unknown". Isn't that incredible??  I think so.  Here are some photos of District Meeting and the whipped-cream companion-unity game:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SISTER MORIN!! We had dinner with the B* family that night, and they just had a little baby! Sister Morin was sad that we weren't allowed to hold her, and I was like "Yeah, bummer.", but on the inside I was like "I don't have to hold a crying baby while the parents watch me super awkwardly!" ...and it was good. They agreed to let us come back to teach them the Restoration the next time we go to dinner, so we were happy! The wife is not a member and has some pretty valid concerns, but she's at church every Sunday and reads The Book of Mormon with her family and raises her children in the church. We just want to be her friend! We LOVE the B*family as they are awesome. Then we went to find a bunch of less-active members and introduce ourselves, and we found P*! She's a Jehovah's Witness now, but she was so sweet to us. She wants to sign up to feed us and wanted to give us money so that we wouldn't starve. We talked to her for about an hour at her doorstep, but it was a really nice conversation. We reluctantly tore ourselves away from her to go see C*, another less-active member. And I really wish we had stayed at P*'s. You know why? Because C* was the witch in Hansel and Gretel. We were almost lured into her abode, fattened up, and eaten. She was so, so nice but so, so creepy. And then we started to leave, and she reached out and grabbed Sister Morin's hand. I was ready to use some karate moves. Or run away. Either one. After we were free, we hurried and skedaddled on our way. And then we gave S* a note. I don't know if I told you, but S* dropped us last week, and I was heart broken. I was so excited for her to be baptized! But I understand that's not where she is right now. I'm just kind of cranky-poopy. Anyway, one of Sister Morin's friends wrote S* a note a few weeks ago bearing her testimony, so we casually slipped it in an envelope and left it on S*'s doorstep. And then ran away. 

Happy Birthday, Sister Morin!

We had a flippin' busy day on Friday! We went to a lesson with F* (ha), and he was very interested! Mostly in finding the similarities and the differences between the Muslims and the Mormons, but he was listening nonetheless! Then we went to a lesson with J*, who has fabulous hair, and taught him the Restoration. And then he taught it right back to us. Better than we had to him. Then we went to lunch with a less-active member, and she took us to Panera Bread, and I got a deliciously made sandwich. Then we sat and talked with G* a little bit, and he expressed a desire to take us to IHOP because he knows they don't serve alcohol there. Cute little G*, looking out for the Mormons. And then we went to another less-active member, A*. She has a serious smoking problem. So, we had planned on sharing a message about the Word of Wisdom and being like "A*. Get your head in the game. Smoking will kill you, and God says it's a no-no", but when we got there, she was SO angry about her doctors and was cussing up a storm. We were pretty scared to bring up...well, anything really. So, we didn't. At that time. Later, after we had been talking for forever, we got the courage to address our concerns. And she invited us over to watch a session of General Conference with her. And then she started to cry because she said she felt the Spirit so strong when we were in her house. It was nice. 

 

On that note, can you believe that General Conference is next week??? When Maura was in China and said that it was something that she missed a bunch, I was like "Yeah, it's going to be fun.", but now I understand! It stinks that I won't be there with you!! I didn't realize how much I'm going to miss the cinnamon rolls and the orange juice and falling asleep on the couch until this last week. And now I'm sad.

Not much more happened. Missionary work and all. Here are pictures of us practicing our skills for the next round of whipped-cream and companion-unity. Game on!

 

 

Anyway, I love you and I miss you.  

There was something that the District Leader told me that I found incredibly inspiring.  It was: "Don't dwell in the 'shoulds' because they'll should all over you". *slight bow*Think about it. 

Love,

Me

 

PS: Here are more pictures of us with people that we love who live in Virginia: