Sister Fisher on Temple Square!

Friday, January 25, 2013

Transfer 5, Week 3: wonderful week of weirdness!

 
Hello Family and Friends!

 To answer everyone's question:  Yes, Temple Square was actually closed yesterday because of the freezing rain that caused 100s of accidents across Salt Lake City.  Weirdness.  They never have this kind of weird weather. And yes Mom, I slipped three times (Sister S says it was more...hahah) and my tailbone is bruised, but it's okay  …I'm sure it'll heal.

 When we were at the store last week for Pday, this random lady comes up to us and of course starts speaking Portuguese to us (they all recognize Sister S's flag from a mile away) and gave us her phone number and begged us to come to her house for dinner on a Pday so that her 6 year old son can meet some missionaries. We asked our Mission President--- AND HE SAID YES!!! :) So that was fun. 

 Also, the biggest news on Temple Square is this huge Musical Fireside/concert called "Music From Around The World by the Temple Square Sister Missionaries", put on by the whole Missionary Department in March, in the Assembly Hall.  In my interview with President, he asked about my family, my companion, and then asked me to play at the concert, and that "we are representing the whole Church". Ah. Wow. I don't think I have ever had that much expectations put on me in a performance.  For BYU Music School Juries, who am I representing? Me, my grades, reputation and scholarship. All selfish things. haha. When I have a name tag on and a violin in hand, who am I representing?  My family and the Lord. Wow do I love that.  So it's a big deal.  The Sister Missionary Choir, for those of us that are in it, is our assignment and we need to take it much more seriously.  So yeah. The Christmas concerts were cool, but this is a much bigger deal.   So that's been neat.  Neat to be able to use what I spent my childhood/teenage-hood doing and developing to now help carry out the work. 

It was neat… we had Elder Whitney N. Clayton (spelling?) from the Seventy and his wife come speak to us as our speakers at church on Sunday.  Wow are we spoiled.  It was so neat. Great to hear from them and the Spirit they brought. 

 It was cool because we totally ran into Sister S's old boss in Brazil who now lives in Utah (he's American) who brought his friend from college who is Swiss (I think?) to the Square to explain something. We said hi and talked for a bit, but then had an assignment to bring something to the Assistants, and then it was dinner time.  But Sister S said "No, we have to go get a Book of Mormon and go find them!!!"  So we grabbed a Book of Mormon and went and searched for them.  In the second place, we literally almost ran INTO them.  He was so surprised that we would give him a gift.  We were in such a rush that we had no chance to write anything in it.  But when we gave it to him, he asked, "Is it allowed for you to write your names and the date in the book?"  Oh it is allowed! Then the member (Sister S's old boss) asked if we'd show them the God's Plan presentation. Sure. We can do that ;) 

So all during the God's Plan (a 15 minute movie presentation) while they were watching it, we wrote our testimonies and some scriptures (and our names and the date of course) in the Book of Mormon for them! We testified at the end of everything, and he was very touched.  He said that he would show this to his children because they are still young and have a lot of things to figure out too.  It was cool.  When we run into someone in the world twice, it is not coincidence.  The Lord put us in their path for some purpose. Out of the whole world where they could be, of the billions of people, and you run into them twice by chance? I think not. The Lord works in mysterious ways!

 Another miracle of the week was one of our friends who we are teaching (I like putting it that way, it sounds a lot more natural than 'investigator'-- sounds like a crime scene).  I was about to email her again for the 3rd time w/o response the last few weeks, but then felt like I should call her.  So...I did.  You just follow what your head says because as a missionary, it's almost always the Spirit. Miraculously, she picked up the phone.  She told me that she had dropped her IPad and that it shattered and hadn't been able to get on the internet to check her email in a few weeks, and then she had misplaced our phone number so she didn't have a way to contact us!  And to think we were panicking because we thought some terrible thing caused her to change her mind. Tender mercy. 

The strangest thought for me is that there are only 2.5 weeks left of the transfer, and then I will be in my 6th transfer- which is when people start going Outbound. AH!!!! (But I know that I probably won’t [unless the missionary department says otherwise] because my Mission President assigned me to play in the concert in March). Oh and “Outbound” is when sister missionaries on Temple Square have the opportunity to serve in another mission, by another divinely inspired mission call, usually in other states for 1-3 transfers.  I've heard of people going to California, Seattle, Tennessee, Texas (a sister from Texas last transfer got assigned to another Texas mission..woot!!!) or D.C, or Florida or Mississippi.... anywhere the Lord wants you to be. Exciting and scary too!  We don't ever know until two days before the new transfer at Transfer Conference. You will have a short phone call home, and then you pack your bags and fly out a day or two later! ah!!! :)

Oh.....And.... HAPPY BIRTHDAY Grandma!!

Hope it is filled with joy.

Thanks to all who are still sending me cards and wishes!! Thank you thank you thank you!!!!

 Love,

Sister Fisher!