Christmas is in the air!! and it is so very very exciting! Last P-day we went on a little mini split with the German Sisters so that we could get gifts for our companions. It was basically spent planning Sis. Princes Birthday party tho haha. fret not details on all that will be later on. but it was the first wave of Christmas shopping that we did and it brought in the season of giving nicely. We visited with Sis. Hudson that evening. She is such a sweet lady, so sweet that I never thought that I would have ever met such a woman. She has been really struggling with her heath the past few weeks, so much so that she has had to take off work, weeks at a time. I really really worry about her health and pain levels. We went over with her and a couple (the harts) from the ward. We read from the Book of Mormon in 2 Nephi 4. And she pulled out that we need to "write down the things of our soul" and her and Sis. Hart went on about keeping a journal of gratitude everyday and when they do that that they have less spouts of depression or low times and that they are generally happier. I was dying inside a little, in awe at God. Because He knew that I had been focusing so much the last two weeks on doing this. It was so amazing to be able to testify of the blessings that I have learned so very recently.
Our ward and the wards in our building put on a huge nativity activity. They set up the whole gym with lights and tables and have people bring in their nativities. It is set up like a museum of all the different types of nativity scenes. We spent pretty much every spare hour setting up this event. like 20 hour of our week was dedicated to it. It was so so beautiful and worth all of the indecisiveness of the designated decorators. all of our Tuesday was spent setting up.
Last week on my split with Sis. Hasara we made contact with a less active via phone and had set up an appointment with her for Tuesday night. We went over there to her house with Harriet. This member is a single 26 year old who has created a career with the military and is pursuing her education on top of everything else. Our appointment was very interesting. It was a long appointment of 2 hours listening to all her concerns about life and the church. To summarize: She told us that "I know that I am happier and make better choices when I go to church, but I just don't like it." we asked why, seeing that there must be a hidden concern if she can see the blessings yet chooses not to have them. She said that first it was too early, then it was too late, our ward is to large, but there are not enough people in her demographic, that she didn't feel socially connected. She spent almost all the time we were at her house talking about how she saw that the gospel has blessed her but all of these weak excuses was all that she was able to come up with. She had the gospel of Jesus Christ at her fingertips and was flatly rejecting it. about 3/4ths of the way into this appointment, we get a call from Sis. Hudson. I took it and walked into the other room. Sis. Hudson had been crying and she was telling me that she had just watched the video that we gave her on Monday, "Joy to the World" and that she finished watching it and had been crying on her couch just watching the menu picture for 30 mins and that she wanted to call us and thank us for finding her. She said that she weak all over. I worried because of her health, and I asked her if there was anything wrong. She just said that she has been feeling so good after she watched that movie that she has felt like something had come over her. She told us that she just want to share that with someone, and that she was so grateful for us, and overwhelmed with thanks. She quickly said bye and closed with "I am going to watch it again!" I was standing there with the phone in my hand at awe of what just transpired. That here I was standing in this members house and her ignorance of what it means to have the knowledge of the Savior, after having a phone call that I will always treasure because of the pure spirit that Sis. Hudson shared with us, her gratitude for the Gospel and every single blessing that she has.
I want to paint a clear picture of the pure example of Gratitude that Sis. Hudson is to me. On Sunday, though she was still sick and not feeling well she came to church because she "couldn't stand the thought of missing church for the third week". I sat next to her in Gospel Principles then in Relief Society. Sis. Prince had been getting all sorts of little gifts from the members one of them being a sack of reses cups. She was passing them out. I snagged two cups and handed one to sis. Hudson. She looked at me like a child on Christmas day being handed the biggest box under the tree. She said to me that she had already had a candy that day. I was not expecting that response and said that it was okay that she could have another one. She looked at me with her big eyes that were a little watery and took the chocolate and said almost to herself, "I'll save it so that I can have a dessert in the middle of my week. Something to look forward to!" then she carefully placed her quarter sized reses cup in her bag and smiled to herself the rest of the lesson.
On Wednesday we had to go to Heidelberg so that Sis. Prince could plan out her themea with the other Sister training leaders. I sat in the other room with Sis. Wood, the third companion to the other to STLs and we were able to actually talk about our lives as the babies of such "strong mamas" The whole thing of me being there and us both reaching our point of not having anyone to talk to because not a lot of sisters know what that is like was just a miracle from God. It was the sweetest tender moment that I can look back on and see that It was exactly what Sis. Wood and I needed. just a moment of connection.
Thursday was Zone conference in Frankfurt. I love hearing from President and from all the speakers. Because of all the questions Sis. Wood and I were asking one another the day before. I had a reoccurring thought/ question float around my head. I had been really trying to seek it out, pondering it in just about every conversation I was having, seeking for the answer that someone would tell me. now don't laugh. but think about it "Who am I?" I think that this question really hit me because I basically spent two hours analyzing myself and trying to summarize who I am to this other sister. I was going down the rabbit hole of thinking that I was a pretty small player in the grand scheme of things and that yes I was important but a minor role in a movie important, a supporting actor status. As president spoke he switched one of his slides and went to the monday emails excerpts and my email was there. Not all of it but just the part that talked about Jessicas baptism. And then a few slides it was there again! It was pretty cool having what I wrote make his slide show, but the answer to my prayers and ponderings was un-measurable :) And thats not all folks.. I saw Blake Jensen!! It was soooo great seeing someone that knew me, knew me, and i wouldn't consider me and blake that close. It was actually really funny he saw me when he walked into the chapel and i was in the front and he made a big scene about the whole thing. We had 120 missionaries and President staring at us as we united in a hardy handshake hahahaha then i spent all of lunch talking with him and also with an Elder, Elder Miller that was from my ward in Shoreline Ward in Richland. It was so so great! Such a wonderful tender mercy, even if we were making a ruckus
After ZOKO we went and flashed mobbed the Frankfurt Christmas Market. We all sang Christmas Carols and handed out Joy to the Worlds. It was so great and a lot of fun! as any activity with 120 missionaries would be hahaha.
Here is an excerpt of Sis. Princes Email all about Saturday:
The next day we went to the Nativity activity at the church and mixed and mingled with all the guests that came through. We had the goal to give away all the "Joy to the World" dvds and while I was talking to people about the Book of Mormon, Sis. Wadsworth made that dream come true as she handed out 150 dvds next to our waffle stand! It was a mad house! On saturday, it ended and a lot of people were there to help clean it all up and it was all gone within two hours! It shocked me how something so big that took so long to put up can be cleaned up ten times faster. I had a meeting with the Zone Leaders afterward to start discussing where we are at in the zone and my companion was getting impatient that it was taking us so long. We had an appointment with Harriet and the other missionaries to celebrate my birthday, but we were going over to Harriet's house an hour early to help her make the food and cake for the little party we were going to have. One of the sets of missionaries weren't going to be there and so we were really in no rush from what I understood. We finally got to Harriet's at 1630 (30 minutes later than what we had told Harriet) and we walked in and low and behold it was a surprise birthday party for me! Streamers and balloons were everywhere and all the missionaries from k-town were there cheering and blowing noise makers. I was brought almost to tears, after I jumped two feet, because of the love and friendship. It was awesome! They went around the whole table and had toasts they made to me with their Kinder Punsch. The other sisters had made a cake with a dinosaur on it and then they brought out my gift they bought as a district. My companion had made note that I loved this dinosaur that was had made and painted that looks really abstract and cute and they all pitched in and got it for me. It is so cute! Harriet got me a pair of weights so I can workout more hardcore now and it was the best party ever. After we played "Settlers of Catan" and Harriet and I rocked it! The next morning, my real birthday, my companion made me crepes for breakfast and next to my plate were 22 chocolate roses. She had remembered that my dad always gets me roses for my birthday with the number of roses with how old I am turning. She had got a member to make them for me and it was so thoughtful. I felt so special and the whole ward knew it was my birthday and were so nice. It was the best birthday ever!
It proved to me in a moment of feeling down at the beginning of the week that God loves us and cares about the things we care about. He places people in our lives when we need them to cheer us up and remind us that we are special and important. It was a miracle for me to see all my friends come together and to be my family away from home.
It was pretty epic. I wont lie. And let me tell you planning a surprise party for your companion that you are suppose to be with 24/7 basically makes me profi at surprise party planning.
Yep that was about it folks. I love you and am praying for you daily.. I really mean that. :)
Mit viele liebe
Sister Wadsworth
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