This is a scripture from Mathew 11:28. It has been on my mind this week a lot, the idea of finding rest and relief in Christ. It´s as if He´s saying, ¨Come. You are hurt, or sad, or tired--come to me. I will take your burden, I will carry it for you. Just come.¨ And it is painful to think that, after all Christ did for us (suffering EVERY pain we´ve ever felt, every sin we´ve ever committed, and dying for us) that after all that, He still says, ¨Let me carry your burdens.¨ He deserves more thanks that what we give Him. Really, He deserves our complete obedience.
This week was an awesome, incredible week--but it didn´t feel that way. Here, as the sister training leaders in Alicante, we have to do exchanges with 9 pairs of sisters each transfer, and we have to travel to get to almost every one. Since there are six weeks in a transfer, that means one or more exchanges each week. An exchange lasts one day (we usually do it from lunch time one day to lunch time the next day). I (since I´m new to this area and don´t know it as well) go to their area and one of the sisters from that area comes here to Alicante to be with Hermana Merrill. They are super powerful experiences. Miracles ALWAYS happen on the exchanges, so it´s actually great for Alicante and for the Lord´s work....but it is exhausting. I enjoy traveling, and I LOVE that I get to see so much of Spain, but I always get to Alicante so tired afterwards, and we still have a whole afternoon of work ahead of us.
So, that´s what´s been happening this week. On Monday, we had our preparation day, and then worked a bit in the night. We found 3 new people to teach, so that was super miraculous. Tuesday morning we had a district meeting, and then we did an exchange with the other sisters here in Alicante. It was a lot of fun, and very tiring because we were running everywhere and super busy. The next morning was more of the same, and then at lunch time I went back with Hermana Merrill, my companion, and we worked the afternoon Wednesday.
Thursday morning was weekly planning, and honestly, it was not the best, because we were both really tired and had way too much on our to do list. but it was fine. We worked that afternoon and the next morning, and at lunch time I took a bus to Murcia for another exchange. I caught up on my Book of Mormon reading (I´m trying to read the entire Book of Mormon this summer) and made some calls. Murcia was really fun, but wow, HOT. It was 42 degrees there (in Celcius--I don´t know what it is in Farenheit but I was dying and got a bit sunburned). So, my time in Murcia was really fun, and the next day I got on another bus to come back to Alicante. That afternoon (Saturday) we worked here, and at like 10:20, right before we were going in, we met this guy in the park who had known the missionaries before. He said he would come to church with us the next day (!!!) and so we made plans to take him.
Sunday morning was church, which is always crazy. It´s hard, making sure all the people we invited come and that they enjoy it and make friends with the members and feel the Spirit and don´t feel weird and that they don´t get lost or anything...crazy. But four of our friends that we´re teaching came to church, and it was such a great experience for all of us.
Sunday afternoon was loooong...by Sunday, it always feels like you have the whole week on your shoulders (as my old companion said). It was a hard day, and we worked as hard as we could, but it was rough. Both of us were exhausted haha.
But, that night, our leader called us to have us report on what we did that week, and afterwards he said, ¨Wow, Hermanas, you two are incredible. You did so much, and found a TON of new people to teach...you´re an example for us.¨ That really struck me. This week, when we´ve felt completely exhausted and yet still worked hard, has been one of the best weeks of my mission, numbers-wise and work-wise. It was touching to me to realize that the Lord, in all His mercy and kindness, helped us to move His work forward, even though we couldn´t have done it by ourselves. I know that, in many of those hard moments this week, my Heavenly Father was sustaining me, so that I could be more than I am. I am so grateful for Him, for His help, and for this amazing work. I love being a missionary!
I miss and love you all!!! Have an amazing week,
Hermana Jones
This week was an awesome, incredible week--but it didn´t feel that way. Here, as the sister training leaders in Alicante, we have to do exchanges with 9 pairs of sisters each transfer, and we have to travel to get to almost every one. Since there are six weeks in a transfer, that means one or more exchanges each week. An exchange lasts one day (we usually do it from lunch time one day to lunch time the next day). I (since I´m new to this area and don´t know it as well) go to their area and one of the sisters from that area comes here to Alicante to be with Hermana Merrill. They are super powerful experiences. Miracles ALWAYS happen on the exchanges, so it´s actually great for Alicante and for the Lord´s work....but it is exhausting. I enjoy traveling, and I LOVE that I get to see so much of Spain, but I always get to Alicante so tired afterwards, and we still have a whole afternoon of work ahead of us.
So, that´s what´s been happening this week. On Monday, we had our preparation day, and then worked a bit in the night. We found 3 new people to teach, so that was super miraculous. Tuesday morning we had a district meeting, and then we did an exchange with the other sisters here in Alicante. It was a lot of fun, and very tiring because we were running everywhere and super busy. The next morning was more of the same, and then at lunch time I went back with Hermana Merrill, my companion, and we worked the afternoon Wednesday.
Thursday morning was weekly planning, and honestly, it was not the best, because we were both really tired and had way too much on our to do list. but it was fine. We worked that afternoon and the next morning, and at lunch time I took a bus to Murcia for another exchange. I caught up on my Book of Mormon reading (I´m trying to read the entire Book of Mormon this summer) and made some calls. Murcia was really fun, but wow, HOT. It was 42 degrees there (in Celcius--I don´t know what it is in Farenheit but I was dying and got a bit sunburned). So, my time in Murcia was really fun, and the next day I got on another bus to come back to Alicante. That afternoon (Saturday) we worked here, and at like 10:20, right before we were going in, we met this guy in the park who had known the missionaries before. He said he would come to church with us the next day (!!!) and so we made plans to take him.
Sunday morning was church, which is always crazy. It´s hard, making sure all the people we invited come and that they enjoy it and make friends with the members and feel the Spirit and don´t feel weird and that they don´t get lost or anything...crazy. But four of our friends that we´re teaching came to church, and it was such a great experience for all of us.
Sunday afternoon was loooong...by Sunday, it always feels like you have the whole week on your shoulders (as my old companion said). It was a hard day, and we worked as hard as we could, but it was rough. Both of us were exhausted haha.
But, that night, our leader called us to have us report on what we did that week, and afterwards he said, ¨Wow, Hermanas, you two are incredible. You did so much, and found a TON of new people to teach...you´re an example for us.¨ That really struck me. This week, when we´ve felt completely exhausted and yet still worked hard, has been one of the best weeks of my mission, numbers-wise and work-wise. It was touching to me to realize that the Lord, in all His mercy and kindness, helped us to move His work forward, even though we couldn´t have done it by ourselves. I know that, in many of those hard moments this week, my Heavenly Father was sustaining me, so that I could be more than I am. I am so grateful for Him, for His help, and for this amazing work. I love being a missionary!
I miss and love you all!!! Have an amazing week,
Hermana Jones
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