"I Don't Know WHY We Love You, But..."
March 7, 2012 email
Thank you all for the letters. Actually, it has been Mom, Jessi, Sheana, Troy, Brennan lol [he's 3 years old], Jasmine B., John V., and Sister Selfaison. Thank you!
Girls going on missions: It is the most selfless thing you will ever do. I have hardly had time to write in my journal, let alone personal scripture study. Your investigators consume your thoughts constantly; and when you DO have time to read something you want, it's usually for the benefit of your investigators in order to explain something better. Being prepared BEFORE your mission is more crucial than ever! That means standard works of scripture and PMG [Preach My Gospel].
I LOVE my companion, Sister Sessions. However, when we do laundry together, things seem to disappear. Funny story: After running 3 miles in 25 minutes the other day at gym (yes, you can say it, I'm a beast), I realized I had carried Sister Session's sock in my shirt the WHOLE TIME! Dat's nasty, dude.
Thank you all for the letters. Actually, it has been Mom, Jessi, Sheana, Troy, Brennan lol [he's 3 years old], Jasmine B., John V., and Sister Selfaison. Thank you!
Girls going on missions: It is the most selfless thing you will ever do. I have hardly had time to write in my journal, let alone personal scripture study. Your investigators consume your thoughts constantly; and when you DO have time to read something you want, it's usually for the benefit of your investigators in order to explain something better. Being prepared BEFORE your mission is more crucial than ever! That means standard works of scripture and PMG [Preach My Gospel].
I LOVE my companion, Sister Sessions. However, when we do laundry together, things seem to disappear. Funny story: After running 3 miles in 25 minutes the other day at gym (yes, you can say it, I'm a beast), I realized I had carried Sister Session's sock in my shirt the WHOLE TIME! Dat's nasty, dude.
TENDER MERCIES! Elder Keller, from Gilbert, AZ, reminds me of Cody [her brother]. His mother sent him the John Bytheway talk on the 5 scriptures...! So I read it and wrote it down! Fantastic! Also, last Sunday [March 4], I ran into Sister Anna Schlant an hour before she was going to perform at a farewell fireside for the missionaries who were going to leave this week. She sang My Kindness Shall Not Depart From Thee. If you find a video that has that song, post it, please. [See link below.] I LOVE that song, and she sang it SO WELL! |
I feel super bad because I had planned to do something for her before SHE left, but there has not been enough time. I have been getting better with stress management, though. The other day we had a stress management class. It was on a very bad day for both Sister Sessions and me. We BOTH were sitting there while our district was explaining how they relieve stress. All the things our group suggested were things we had no time to do because we have kept very focused with service to the ones we love, such as studying and preparing for lessons. After class, Sister Sessions slipped a note to me that was so heartfelt; and although we were both still frustrated, I was grateful she was selfless enough to get us back in good spirits. We hurried back to our bedroom and ate Reese's eggs and laughed. It was THE most therapeutic thing EVER! Reese's eggs and laughing... now, THAT'S how you relieve stress! There still are bad days and hard times, but Sister Sessions and I are so thankful for each other. Dear family, please use the blessings I'm sending home. I don't need them right now...smiley face. I have my amazing companion, Sister Sessions.
Mom, thanks again for the picture in the frame [Greg Olsen's Lost No More http://www.gregolsen.com/lost-no-more-9230]. It helps me remember that we really are gathering His sheep and inviting them partake of Living Water and the Bread of Life.
Mom, thanks again for the picture in the frame [Greg Olsen's Lost No More http://www.gregolsen.com/lost-no-more-9230]. It helps me remember that we really are gathering His sheep and inviting them partake of Living Water and the Bread of Life.
WE GOT TO HEAR ALEX BOYE FOR SUNDAY NIIIIIGHT! Love black men, especially black men who can sing. He is HILARIOUS! Rachel, you would have loved it. It was the FIRST time he had performed and spoken at the MTC... BOOYAH! He sang a song at the beginning and then talked for a long time. His pianist was hilarious! He would play dramatic music or happy music during his story. (Look up his "I'm a Mormon" video on Mormon.org. It's tight.) He had a lot of good advice and analogies. He described a time when a cleaning lady got mad at him because he had asked her why she hadn't cleaned his hotel room. She pointed out that HE was the one who put up the "DO NOT DISTURB" sign. "So," she said, "I do NOT disturb!" He asked us, "Do we sometimes spiritually hang a DO NOT DISTURB sign out front when Christ comes around to clean our room?"
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Speaking of black people, we get to teach a girl named Lawana. Sometimes in the TRC [Teaching Resource Center], the volunteers are not actors. They really are not L.D.S. members. I think this is so with Lawana. The second lesson went very well because Sister Sessions connected very well with Lawana. Black people are so tight! They tell you how it is and say what they like! When talking about the Atonement, the spirit was SO strong, Lawana would look away and force back tears. When she would look back at us, she looked a bit annoyed that we were making her cry. Hahaha. At the culmination of the lesson, we were telling her how we loved her and she was saying, "How do y'all love me? You don't even KNOW me." Sister Sessions was promising her she did, "Even ask Sister Nelson, I couldn't WAIT to teach you today." I was confirming that she did and added, "I don't know WHY we love you, but..." (OH NO!!! WHY did I just say it that way?!) "I mean--you're an awesome person, Lawana." She STILL won't let me live that down. Hahahaha. I tried to redeem myself by saying that we can't explain how we love her, but we have been praying for her and thinking about her; and when you truly ask the Lord for the help of someone else, you feel a tiny increment of the love He has for that person. At the end, I apologized; though she was still teasing me relentlessly. So I asked, "What's your favorite dessert?" She said she can't have that stuff, so I said I'd bring her some prunes. HAHAHA! BAM! Right back at ya, girl. LOL.
While teaching, I often just want to jump out of my seat, shake their shoulders, pour out my soul, bear my testimony, and explain that I know the church is true--it has changed my life just as it can change anyone's life! But I can't... (I freeze in place, drop my shoulders and arms in obeisance, and smoothly sit back in my chair.) It's not about me and how I feel. It's about them. They need to know for themselves that it's true, and they can know that it's true. Not know IF it's true but THAT it's true. Do you want to know WHY I know it's true? I have obeyed all the commandments the best I can my whole life, and I have come to know of the doctrine of John 7:17. There isn't anything more beautiful than being able to expand in knowledge because I don't have to worry about living the doctrine worthily. All I need to worry about is deepening the meaning of the gospel for me
[Obviously, she timed out on her email because it ended just as abruptly as that. She continued in a letter dated the same day. Continue reading on the next page. Stay tuned for the "Sisterhood of the Traveling Skirt"]
While teaching, I often just want to jump out of my seat, shake their shoulders, pour out my soul, bear my testimony, and explain that I know the church is true--it has changed my life just as it can change anyone's life! But I can't... (I freeze in place, drop my shoulders and arms in obeisance, and smoothly sit back in my chair.) It's not about me and how I feel. It's about them. They need to know for themselves that it's true, and they can know that it's true. Not know IF it's true but THAT it's true. Do you want to know WHY I know it's true? I have obeyed all the commandments the best I can my whole life, and I have come to know of the doctrine of John 7:17. There isn't anything more beautiful than being able to expand in knowledge because I don't have to worry about living the doctrine worthily. All I need to worry about is deepening the meaning of the gospel for me
[Obviously, she timed out on her email because it ended just as abruptly as that. She continued in a letter dated the same day. Continue reading on the next page. Stay tuned for the "Sisterhood of the Traveling Skirt"]