Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Transfer 1, Week 6: Wow new transfer
is right around the corner... and CONFERENCE!
Family and Friends!
This week as been a week of comfort and miracles and I
have definitely learned how important it is to be patient, and wait
on the Lord and His timing!
So at 6:15AM Monday morning all 160 sister missionaries
walked down to Temple Square for TRANSFER CONFERENCE. Unlike many other
missions where only those being transferred come, all the mission is invited for an early morning of
festivities, squealing and celebrating (all while the world is still sleeping
around us!)
Sister I (from Japan) who is also in her first transfer,
her trainer is being sent on her outbound to Arizona, and her new companion is
my trainer-- Sister C! Which is cool because Sister C speaks fluently
Japanese, so that'll be neat for her. As for me, my new companion will
return from her outbound (Alabama) and her name is Sister L from ITALY! Wow! So
I will be with an ITALIAN (a dream come true really) and we'll be doing a ton
of Italian tours and meeting people from Italy all the time. I'm really
excited! Change is ever abroad in the mission field!
I don't have a ton of time to write today (because we have
to move) but these are some of the tender mercies I experienced this
week:
1. There was this woman from Russia who was referred her on
the Square by her friend who I've tried to call 4-5 times in the last month and
on Friday. She never picked up the phone any of the times or returned any
of my messages. I said a prayer and told Heavenly Father that this call is the
last time I could call her and that if she wouldn't pick up, I'd never get to
share with her the gospel. So I dialed the number again with hope that'd she'd
be there, and on the second ring I finally talked to T. She is a beautiful
daughter of God who wants to learn more. Such a miracle for me.
2. That same night I received a call from an
Atheist man who was rather argumentative. It was hard at first to listen
to, but I just calmed down and asked for strength and patience. My voice was
calm the entire 30 minutes and when he realized that I wouldn't argue with him
but instead admit that "I don't know everything" he really calmed
down and actually wanted to listen to what I had to say. He didn't want
to learn anymore, but we had a nice conversation and I think he will think
about the truth that I taught him all because Heavenly Father blessed me with
strength in that moment and charity towards this very confused man. It was neat
to hear the silence that he had as I bore my testimony to him that I know that
God lives. I know that he is a child of our Heavenly Father who loves him.
Powerful moment.
3. I called the next day a wonderful girl (who had been in
the middle of the missionary discussions and stopped) who I managed to contact
once before, and have written, texted, called so many times since the beginning
of the transfer. I prayed for her each day. She never picked up the phone or returned
our calls or texts. I called her on Saturday and knew that it would be the last
time I could call her according to mission rules. I was so sad. I really wanted
to share with her the message that I knew would bless her life. When she
answered the phone, I wanted to cry. We talked for an hour and she is
interested in learning more and for me calling her again. She told me
that the only reason why she was able to answer the phone today was because she
felt like she should, and because she was in a car accident this
morning which prohibited her from going to work all that afternoon and evening.
4. I was talking to L (because we didn't get
a hold of her on Saturday) on Sunday morning and just seeing how
she's doing. Her son who is battling cancer, is not doing very well right now
and I know it has added a lot of pressure on her. So I was checking up on
her and the entire time I felt a nagging from the spirit to encourage her to go
to church again this Sunday.... but I really didn't want to add anymore
pressure to her in this rough time, for her to be doing more in her life, etc.
So we said goodbye and I hung up. The nagging feeling was still there. I felt
terrible. I thought to myself, well if she *really* needs to go to church
someone else will call her. Then it hit me like a lightening bolt: "That's
why YOU ARE THERE Sister Fisher. You are here to invite others to come unto
Christ and YOU are there to follow the spirit." And--- going to church
isn't a hassle, it's a privilege. It will HELP her in this hard time. And
so, I awkwardly called her back on the phone to her surprise and told her that
I felt really prompted to encourage her to go to church today, which she said
to my surprise, "I really felt like I should this morning too,
but I was debating back and forth if I should or not until you called this
morning. Now I know for sure that that is something I need to do
today! I will go for sure!" It's amazing how the Lord includes us in the
process, and we learn so much from being included.
5. I ran into wonderful people RIGHT in the moment when
things were particularly difficult, tiring, discouraging etc. It was so
absolutely exquisitely wonderful to see those who I saw this week. Thank
you for following promptings and saying exactly what I needed to hear, and be
where I needed you to be so we could run into each other.
What have I learned this week? Patience in the Lord's
timing. Yes Mom, I learned PATIENCE this week :) The Lord has a funny way of
teaching us what we need to learn. Definitely an inspired way for
sure though. This is HIS work. I am
absolutely positive of it now. He is
aware, and sometimes He has to show us that it is His work, and remind us that
it is not according to our timetables, but according to the timing and needs of
those wonderful children's plans that He has for them. I love this work. I love
being able to testify to people and show them what God has in store for them,
not just here, but in the whole lives that they have to come. He has a
beautiful plan for each one of us. I
feel privileged in begin able to play a small role in
helping others find out theirs. VIVA ITALIA!!! :)
I love you all,
Sister Fisher
P.S. THANK YOU FOR YOU LETTERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment