MIRACLES & COOKING FAILURES [PART 1]

Thursday
April 10, 2014
I've been in the Kentlands area for about a week now, but it almost
feels like I haven't been there at all... we've been at the VC pretty
much every day since transfers. We were even there for all sessions of
conference! I may or may to be sort of sick of the VC (I want to
protest tights). Side-note: I've been told by sister marambio that
tights aren't required at the salt lake VC, which is funny because
I've heard that we have the rule because Salt lake said it was their
rule. DC summers in tights might be the death of me.

Even though we've been at the VC every day, I have had a little time
in Kentlands, and what I've experienced so far has been great! The
members here are amazing! So many home-cooked meals!! Sister chapman sent a FB message to sister martinis last week, asking her to send out an email version of the meal calendar. Sister martinis is in charge of our meal calendar, which I actually love, because as always - invitations from members are much more powerful and effective than
invitations from missionaries (especially when it comes to us begging
for meals). Sister Martinis fed us first and then asked if we had any
other offers. When we told her no, she sent out the meal calendar
again and the invitations came flooding in! We have had dinner with
members every single night since Sunday and have solid dinner
appointments up until Thursday! Miracles! I've said this before, but I
have a solid testimony that Heavenly Father is blessing my taste buds.
Turns out the cheeseburgers we ate had onions smashed into them and I
didn't even notice! And then last night we ate what's called football,
which is basically French bread stuffed with ground beef and cheese,
and I actually liked it! And I don't even like ground beef. It's so
cool to see the very simple ways Heavenly Father blesses us.

I'm finding the transition from YSA to a family ward to be a little
difficult. I was able to really relate to the YSAs, and now I'm thrown
into this area where I have two opposite age groups and I feel like I
don't know how to connect with either. The kids loooove sister
chapman, and she is so good with them. I feel like I often stand
there, unsure of what to say of do. I've always been that way with
kids, when someone else is there and has that good relationship, I
step back and fear that they will never like me. And then there's the
parents... How on earth do I relate to the parents? As sister Fifita
would say, "the struggle is real". I'm sure it will get better with
time and practice, and probably a lot more confidence. The past two
lessons we've had with kids went like this: sister chapman talking,
teaching, and being so great while sister Rowley sits there with
nothing to say.

Best night of my life!! We had such an amazing miracle today! We had
dinner with brother and sister Wang, who have been less actives for
years now. They were converts 1989 and have since fallen away.
Something happened at church that left them feeling offended so they
haven't been back since. The spirit was so strong tonight and I know
that everything we did and said was lead by the spirit. As sis.
Chapman and I were studying this morning we both felt impressed to
talk about temples tonight. I had found a Mormon message - the
blessings of the temple, and sis chapman had at the same time found
quotes in preach my gospel that talked about temples. It was so
amazing to see how from the very beginning The Lord was guiding us in
the direction that would best help the Wangs. Everything was perfect.
I've never felt more comfortable in a dinner setting as a missionary
than I did with the Wangs. It was somehow even more comfortable than
the dinners I had with any of the YSAs. Everything just flowed so
well, the conversation was enjoyable and there were no awkward pauses.
Plus the food was good :]  My love for the Wangs grew minute by
minute, especially as sister wang told us about their conversion
story. Our plan was to ask them about it, but she brought it up on her
own and if was just perfect! They had lost a son at a very young age.
He had a heart defect and after some major surgeries, he ended up
passing away. They experienced about 4 deaths in a 6-month time
period... It was those humbling experience that allowed them to accept
missionaries and the plan of salvation. They were found tracting and
quickly became friends with the elders. It was the temple and the
promise that families can be together forever that sparked their
interest in the church. It's that same message that allowed us to have
such a spiritual experience in their home tonight. Sis chapman had
never met bro wang prior tonight, so it was really neat for both of us
to experience that joy together as we saw how faithful both brother
and sister wang are. We knew they were inactive, but we weren't sure
how inactive they were. The food was blessed and the discussions were
very gospel related. It's very apparent that they still pray and they
even stated that they both know the church is true. We weren't sure
how inactive bro wang was, especially since he was the one offended,
so it made us so happy to see him initiate the prayer for dinner. He
is just the sweetest man, and sis wang is so darling. They haven't
been sealed in the temple yet, so that is what we're hoping to help
them with. I know that their son is helping us from the other side -
that was made very apparent to me tonight. I can't get over now
amazing tonight was and how guided we were by the spirit. I couldn't
stop crying! For reals though, I cried so much, it's ridiculous. Sis
wang does a lot of the talking, so when there was a pause I took the
opportunity to ask bro wang what he thought about the video. I knew it
touched him, because I wasn't the only crying. He was pretty open with
us and recognizes that they need to be more active in the church. He
was also willing to admit that he was offended and that's what is
keeping him from coming to church. We talked about the atonement, and
how Christ can help us even with things like this, forgiving someone.
We also talked about how the church is perfect, but the members are
far from it. I was able to share my experience when the LDS sororities
were shut down and I wasn't happy about it, but I had to eventually
learn that there was a reason for it. I never did discover the reason,
but I eventually learned to be okay with it and hand over that
unhappiness and even anger over to The Lord. He dealt with it so I
didn't have to. We helped brother wang better understand that the
atonement includes so much more than personal mistakes, and I showed
him that it was by praying about the LDS sororities that I eventually
moved forward. As we closed the night, brother wang said the most
wonderful prayer. He said that he knew they needed to be more active
in the church and asked for help in doing so. MIRACLE! As soon as we
said our goodbyes, we walked out and again I just started crying
again. I just felt so grateful to be here in Kentlands helping the
Wangs remember how much they love the gospel, how important church is,
and how they can become an eternal family. They were so excited for us
to come over and I think that's what made tonight so special. Bro wang
was really excited about sharing his favorite dessert with us and got
all the ingredients at the grocery store. Strawberry shortcake! Dad's
favorite too! Somehow we got to talking about the ward cook book, and
bro wang said he'd get copies for us. He has scanned everything into
the computer and said he will make us CDs with all the recipes. Ah,
today was just so good. Sister chapman and I have decided to fast
tomorrow for the wang family. It's extra special because it's our
temple day as VC sisters, so we will be able to add their names to the
prayer roll as well. I am so excited to go to the temple and think
about how we can help the Wangs reach that goal for their family.

We even had miracles leading up to our lesson tonight with the Wangs
that definitely invited the spirit to be with us unrestrained. We went
back to Carolyn's house today, as we do every week, only it was
different this time. I was very impatient with her when I first met
her, we go pretty much every week and clean her house for her. I was
sort of annoyed the first time because I felt like I wasn't doing
"missionary work". We were there for hours and it was frustrating to
be cleaning someone's house for them instead of teaching them to clean
in a way that would enable them. She had left the grossest dishes in
the sink and everything in her house was just a mess. We never
finished anything either, we would start cleaning one thing and then
she would ask us to move somewhere else. I had a lot of repenting to
do after that first time. I prayed to have more love for her though,
and it happened! Heavenly Father blessed me to feel that increased
love for her. We didn't have to clean as much either, so that was an
extra blessing. I started to see Carolyn the way Heavenly Father does.
I could see how tender hearted she was and how she just wants to do
the right thing. I could see how much she loves and appreciates us.
Those feelings I had for her that day helped me to talk to her more,
to actually care, and to help with a more willing heart. I definitely
believe that experience prepared me to be closer to the spirit for the
wang family.