I write this with mixed emotions today. Of course you all know by now that Hermana Dollahite is heading home on Wednesday morning after an incredible mission of dedicated service. I feel peace when I think of her future and know that the Lord always has great blessings awaiting his faithful missionaries when they return home, especially those missionaries who have served the way she has, with her whole heart. This picture shows us with those we've taught together and who have been baptized.
While I will miss her greatly, I am also very excited for the next great adventure in my missionary service! My mission president called me first thing in the morning on Saturday to tell me that the Lord has called me to be a trainer. I'm very excited for the opportunity and the responsibility. I know that whoever she is, she will be exactly who the area needs, not to mention me. It is also exciting, because she is only the second new sister in our mission since me (the other was right after me) so it will be really nice to have that fresh enthusiasm and excitement in the Spanish sisters faction of the mission again! (I feel kind of spoiled to get to work with her!).
This last week has been amazing. We have seen many miracles and we worked harder than ever. We have a lot of momentum going into this next transfer and I am excited to get my hands dirty (in a good way!). Church yesterday was really depressing, I'm not going to lie. I kind of felt like I was at Hermana Dollahite's funeral all day, which I guess it kind of was! Oh well, it was nice to hear how loved and appreciated we are, not to mention plenty of tears.
Two incredible miracles happened yesterday. First, the husband of a less-active came to church with his son. This is a man who has staunchly refused any offers of the gospel and invitations to church, who has never set foot in one of our buildings, and who truly had no desire to hear anything we had to say. Yesterday he not only came, but he came in spite of the fact that his wife had to work and he stayed all three hours! He still has a very long road ahead of him, but it would be such an incredible joy to see him baptize his son when he turns eight in a little over a year...I'm counting on it.
The second miracle was truly a tender mercy from the Lord for me, a symbol of truly how full-circle I have come. The first lesson I ever taught (attended?) in the field as a missionary was a convert who is wonderful, has a very sweet spirit, but also has some learning disabilities. She struggles to read, and can't write. In addition, she is morbidly shy and it is very difficult for her to stand in front of people. I remember in that very first lesson I had the impression to challenge her to bear her testimony in the next fast Sunday we had. She said no. We have continued to invite her to bear her testimony every month since, as well as the weeks between, but always it was no. This month when we asked her, again she said no, but she agreed to pray for the confidence to do it. As she was praying I received the distinct impression that she would be able to do it if she wrote her testimony down in advance and read it. We had been working with her on saying prayers for the classes, reading scriptures and passages aloud in class, and she was now quite comfortable doing all that.
At first when I presented the idea after she closed her prayer, she said she couldn't because she didn't know how to write. I asked her if she would think about what she wanted to say, and that we could come back the next day and Hermana Dollahite would write it down for her if she told it to us. When we went back she was ready to go, and seemed almost relieved to finally be able to share her testimony with someone, even if it was just the two of us in her little kitchen. She kept the paper we wrote for her and practiced it each day before Sunday.
Yesterday she would have been the first to the stand if someone hadn't beaten her there (We still have people fighting for the time on testimony Sunday!), so instead she was second. I wish I could describe the feeling of joy that came over me as she read her testimony. All of my fears and sadness about losing Hermana Dollahite and the feelings of inadequacy to be training were swept away, and I remembered what pure joy there is in missionary work! I looked around the room and saw many branch members, President Lopez, Hermana Jensen, and many others simply beaming with pride that Virginia was up there on her own sharing her testimony. It was such a sweet moment for me, seeing how far she and I have come since that first lesson we shared together.
While I do feel like I am losing a part of my family with Hermana Dollahite's departure, I know that my Largo Branch family is still here, and I need them just as much as they need me. I am so grateful that I will be able to stay here for at least 12 more weeks. (The training program is a minimum of 2 transfers.) I also bore my testimony yesterday, and as I looked at our packed little room (61 again) and saw all those incredible people looking at me with such love, I truly had manifested to me that this is where I am meant to be, and that the Lord really does have His hand in the details of our lives.
I testify to each of you that The Savior lives, that He gave His life for us, and that He wants nothing more than for us to turn to Him for comfort and peace. I challenge each of you to give your heart to the Savior this Christmas season. You will receive more than you can ever imagine, more than you can ever hope to give.
I love you all!,
Hermana Levanger
No comments:
Post a Comment