So this week was pretty great.
On Thursday
we had a multizone conference, and it was honestly just fantastic. I
felt the Spirit so strongly, and I learned so so much about how to be a
better missionary. We were urged to use the Book of Mormon more. We read
a quote from one of the apostles that basically said that we can`t
start teaching our investigators until they have a Book of Mormon in
their hands. We hadn`t been using the Book of Mormon that much, but they
handed us giant boxes full of soft-back copies and we`re supposed to
use the whole box in a couple months. Not wasting them, but teaching
with them, and helping our investigators to progress by reading it. It
just helped me even more in my testimony of the Book of Mormon, and how
powerful it is in teaching and converting. We watched the story of
Parley P. Pratt, and his conversion. Basically, he followed another
church to New York, and there he met someone who had a copy of the Book
of Mormon, and showed it to him, and told him the story. Pratt was
intrigued, and once he got the book, read the whole thing in one night.
Then he new he had to find Joseph Smith and join his church. Isn`t that
incredible? He didn`t even need a missionary. Just that book was enough.
Not saying we don`t need missionaries, but we need to rely more on the
power that`s already been placed in our hands for us, instead of trying
to convince everyone that they need to get baptized. I loved it, and I`m
so excited to continue teaching more from the Book of Mormon.
And
now I have a funny story. So my old companion just went home this week,
so I new I`d be getting a new companion this change. So
on Sunday,
my comp and another sister from Matagalpa would be going to Managua
together for their final interview, and her companion, Hermana Near,
would be staying with me in Sèbaco. While we were here, Hermana Near got
a call from her zone leader saying that she was closing her area, and
she was going to have changes too. Basically, that meant running over to
catch a bus to Matagalpa so she could pack and say goodbye to some
people. And clean the house and take care of keys and everything.
Thankfully there are still Elders in her area, so we just had to hand
them the keys to the apartment and they`d take care of the rest. So, in
the middle of our running around Matagalpa, my zone leader called me and
said that Hermana Near and I were actually going to be companions!! We
both laughed, saying that we knew it. We both did have a hunch, but now
we knew for sure. That meant, also, that we didn`t have to take the long
bus to Managua to pick up our new companions, because we were already
together! We just had to finish packing and taking care of a few other
details before we came back here to Sèbaco. One of those things was
getting the keys to the apartment and her phone to the Elders in the
ward, and they were going to meet us at the bus station. But as soon as
our taxi (with a BUNCH of suitcases and bags) pulled into the station,
we had people yelling at us, asking us where we were going. We said
"Sèbaco," and so they just threw our suitcases on top of the bus and
yelled at us to get on because the bus was leaving. I hoped on with my
mountain of things and got settled, and I realized that Hermana Near
hadn`t gotten on the bus, and it started to leave! So I ran to the door,
and asked her what she was doing, and she reminded me that we were
supposed to wait for the Elders. I didn`t know what to do, so I told her
to get on, because that`s where our stuff was. So she got on, and
called the Elders and said that they were going to have to get
everything another time. They told her that that wasn`t possible, and
that we NEEDED to get off the bus. So we headed to the front of the bus
and told the driver that we needed to get off and we needed our stuff.
So all the guys were all irritated, so the let us off (and I bumped into
a bunch of people on that crowded bus...sorry guys. They were laughing
at all the stuff I had. Not my fault, haha). And they chucked our
luggage off the top of the bus, and also some random bags of plants and
flowers and things that were up there too, that they somehow thought
were ours...and then it left. We just stood there, thankfully near a
gas station so we could tell the Elders where to meet us, and felt so bad
for that poor lady who lost her bags filled with things she was
probably going to sell. But we couldn`t do anything about it...so we
left them there, hoping that maybe she`d think to come back and look.
I`m going to be praying for that, for sure. Al fin, the Elders found us,
took the keys and phone, laughed at how much stuff we had, and let us
catch the next bus that came by where we were. And then, settled on the
bus, a little calmer, we realized that we didn`t give the Elders the
rent money, or the number of the landlord. We`ll deal with that later.
Maybe they`ll find the number on the phone.
Then we got back to the house in TWO mototaxis, then started cleaning our crazy mess of an apartment.
And
that was my p-day. Crazy and stressful, but amusing. A day I`m never
going to forget, for sure. And we`re so excited to be companions, even
though saying goodbye was really hard.
I`m out of time, but
hopefully you all enjoyed my story. Lesson learned: Plan things out a
little better. But as missionaries, we sure do get pretty good at
winging it. We can handle ourselves here, right? ;)
Alright, I
hope you all have a great week. I didn`t get to watch the Christmas
devotional, but I hope you all take the time to watch it and enjoy it.
I`ll sure do my best to get a hold on it :) I love you all, and remember
to read the Book of Mormon! You WILL gain a testimony of how important
it is in your life, and to the church. I promise.
Love, Hermana Oliphant
