Discomfort Brings Growth

How has your guys week all been? How did the weekend go for everyone? Dad, BEST OF LUCK today on your new job. You will do so so great I know it! I'm so excited to hear how it goes! And mom and Garrett, you guys made it through your first week of school, Yahoo! How did it go? Cousin Austin's surprise birthday party looked so much fun, glad he could enjoy his 18th 😊

So as the title states, it has gotten a little chilly in Ohio this last week. I went to sleep on Wednesday night and it was pretty average of 75 or 80 degrees, and by the time I woke up and walked onto the deck at 6 am on Thursday morning, it was a mere 45 or 50 degrees. Then, everyday since that day, it has been windy and chilly, and I'm feeling that there will maybe be a snowfall pretty soon within the next few weeks. Where I am at in Akron, I am about 2 hours south of Lake Erie (which is connected to Canada), and so we get the wind chills and all of the Lake effect this time of year. I remember this time last year in Chardon and Kirtland, and it was so cold by the lake. I told myself I need to start bundling up more now, instead of just my white short sleeve shirt 😉.

Thursday we were able to have a very good scripture study with Sister Zook in the morning over zoom. And then Sister Demming called us up and said she had gone and bought some food for us, so we very happily went over to her house to pick it up. She is such a sweet lady here in the Wadsworth ward. Very grateful to have people like her here. 

We found out on Thursday that Wadsworth ward is now allowed to have up to 50 people at church every 2nd and 4th Sunday. Brother Johnson who is the ward mission leader, texted us and said that he and the Bishop want me and Elder Moss to be at both the 9:30 and 10 am sacrament meetings every 2nd and 4th Sunday! I have been here in Wadsworth for 5 months now and have been to church one time in those 5 months; prayers are answered :).

Saturday was super fun! I decided to have us drive down to the south east part of Wadsworth to a little town called Doylestown. We drove there and parked, and they had about one in every three houses having a yard sale, and so that was fun for us to be able to walk around and see, as well as they were having what looked like maybe Doylestown City Days (would be my guess), so they had street vendors and everything. Also, something I noticed was that at the Walmart here, they no longer have a taped off section where you're supposed to enter into the store, so I'm hoping that is a good sign and things are on the uphill slope with that :).

Sunday, we had Come Follow Me study with Sister Zook in the morning, and then we taught the McIntires who are super fun to talk to, and one other family we taught who I can't remember their names off of the top of my head. We then had the Mission Wide Devotional on Sunday night where we had Brother Carl Anderson speak to us. Brother Anderson lives in the Kirtland stake, and is their Stake Patriarch. From what I have heard, Carl has lived in Kirtland "almost" as long as there have been members in Kirtland . . . almost that long. So he is pretty knowledge for Kirtland church history, and gave a very powerful testimony when he spoke to us on Sunday night.

I have learned and feel like been able to grow so much these last 5 or 6 days. Serving a mission during COVID, during quarantine, and not being able to see and talk with members in person, and also not being able to really street contact people still at this point, has been discouraging and hard the last few months. I was reading though in my patriarchal blessing this weekend on Saturday, and it made me think of many times in my life that I have been asked to do something hard, and have been able to then accomplish it with people's help. I then thought of the Savior, standing and kneeling all alone in the garden suffering for what we are going through right now in the world, and walking up the hill to Calvary with him carrying His own cross. It led me to ask myself, "Am I doing all that I can to carry MY cross". The road of life has never been easy for the people of Christ, and we are promised that "there is much more to come. If we think the Restoration is complete, this is only the beginning"- President Nelson. I would like to invite and encourage all of us sometime this week, to read our Patriarchal blessings, and then say a prayer for how we can fulfill and accomplish things we want to from our blessings, and pray for strength to carry our load as well as the loads of others 😊.

Also, Elder Bennett who is the Area President of the North America Northeast region, is going to be doing a zoom virtual meeting tour with this mission this week. From Tuesday to Friday this week, we have a zoom meeting every day from 9 am to 10:30 and 11-12 on Tuesday and Friday. So I am super excited to be able to get to talk to the area President and receive training from him about the direction of missionary work going forward into the near future. I also believe we are getting 6 new missionaries this week, I could be wrong though. It's pretty much been an every week thing of new loads of missionaries coming to Ohio since about May 14 or 15!

From time to time, I will reflect on what I have been able to do as a missionary since August of 2019; this last week, I thought back to an experience I had probably about 9 days into the MTC. I was sitting in class, and I remember thinking, "The Lord called me on a mission, to Columbus Ohio, to serve and help those people as best as I could". Since that day, I have developed an even stronger sense of what that sentence means to me. Heavenly Father loves all of us, because we are all His sons and His daughters, who have come to this earth to have our mortal experience to learn and grow to become like Him. We are our brother's brother, and we are our Brother's keeper -- Because, aren't we all on this path together, and aren't we all "imperfect in the sight of God". That is my 2nd challenge and invite for all of us to do this week, is to reach out to one person who we feel could use our voice and spirit in their life. I promise the happiness and the blessings that will follow, are indescribable 😊😊

How is everything going at home? How did church go yesterday for you guys?? I'm so happy you guys get to go now too, and can have that blessing each month too! :) How did Salem Hills' Homecoming week go last week? I'm so happy that Daniel is having fun on Student Council this year, it definitely was and is something I love everyday. General Conference is in 2 weeks, which is super exciting! We will probably just watch it either at the apartment or at the church building on the computers in the family history center. 

I pray for you guys everyday, and hope that all of you are doing well😊 You guys are so awesome and incredible, and you all are moving mountains everyday with what you all are doing. I'm so forever and always grateful for you guys and your impact and influences in my life everyday 😊 I'm excited to talk to everyone today!! 

I love you forever and always!