Wednesday, May 17, 2017

9 MONTHS!!

Hi Fam Fam!                                                                                                          
First of all, I'm so sorry that my email deleted last week!! But I hope you all had a good week. Mine was pretty good. It was so good to hear and see you on Sunday! Skype calls are the best aren't they? So thankful for technology!
Thursday: Every Thursday our ward does a hot chocolate social, so we get to help with it! It is so nice to mingle with the members! They are so amazing, and they are like our family! We did some knocking this evening, and Sister Velez led it, which is so good! She did great. Knocking is always an interesting experience, you meet some great people. This evening we went with Patrycja to a YSA activity, and it was so fun. She met some people, and was able to talk to them, and I was able to meet one of my MTC teachers, Sister Hughes, friends, so that was cool.
Friday: We had our first lesson with our friend Debbie today. We haven't been able to teach a lot of people recently so it was nice to be able to teach. Haha this evening before correlation, we wanted to try tracking down some former investigators, but my maps are not working very well right now, and apparently Sister Velez' are starting to not work very well either, because we were definitely lost, haha but it was so funny!
Saturday: This morning we had our 4th lesson with our friend Alex. He is such a great guy. He is very intelligent, and has very strongly rooted beliefs. And in the lesson we both realized very quickly that he just isn't quite ready yet. And it was hard because all of us were trying not to get frustrated, but I was able to see that sometimes bearing testimony of what you know to be true is all you can do. Sometimes people are not ready to accept the gospel, but no one can ever take your testimony away from you!
Sunday: Today was fabulous. Guess why? I got to Skype you!!! Haha church was really good, Patrycja taught the lesson in YW today, and she asked us to help her. The topic was on patriarchal blessings and she did so well, it was her first lesson! After church we went and visited Alcina, she is doing a lot better since she got surgery. The first couple of days were really rough, but she is doing better thankfully. Then we came home, and I got to Skype you, which was so so nice! And then we went and visited Rafaella and her sons, they are members in the ward. They are Italian, and they are sooo nice.
Monday: Today we were on exchanges, and I was with Sister Walker. We were able to have a lesson with Heather, which was really nice, because she REALLY needed it. She has had a hard life, and is struggling with some things, but she is so strong. She is a fighter, and she is such a good example to me. I love beeing on exchanges with Sister Walker. She has become one of my best friends. It is so crazy how alike we are... so crazy!
Tuesday: We finished up exchanges today. It was so fun, I made all of the meals while they were here, and they were like "Sister Lund, you're going to make a great wife" haha, I actually am starting to learn how to cook, and it actually tastes good! 👏 👍 I learned a lot from this exchange. And so I am excited to put it into practice.
I cannot believe that I have been on my mission for 9 months! Time flies. This week has been amazing. It has been tough, but amazing! Last week in the email that got deleted I shared an experience that I had.... Those who know me, know that I am terrified of snakes. Like terrified. And when we went to do some service for a family in our ward, Sister Velez and I were inside painting their living room, and the Elders were outside doing yard work. And while we were painting Brother and Sister North, and the Elders came in holding something in their hand... at first I didn't think much of it, until I saw something slither.... it was a slow worm, which apparently is a lizard, but it looks gross. I was so terrified, and they all wanted me to touch it and I refused. Flash forward to the next day. We were at Patryjca's house, and the Elders go " Sister Lund, the Wrzeszcz family have an initiation rule, when missionaries come over..." and I was like "wait what?" And Patrycja stands up, walks over to this cage, and pulls something out of it. My heart dropped when I saw what she pulled out of the cage... A python. At that point I was like "okay really, could it not have been a slow worm" haha. Guess what... I held a python, and I actually conquered my fear. The reason I share this experience, is that sometimes God asks us to do things that seem hard for us (touching the slow worm) sometimes we do it, sometimes we don't. But then sometimes God asks us to do things that seem impossible to us (holding a python). But He always is there to support us, He always is there to comfort us, and He always is there to help us. He will never ever desert us, He will never forsake us. Sometimes we miss out on opportunities for growth (sometimes we don't touch the slow worm), and that can be hard because sometimes the hardest things that are asked of us, are the things that will benefit us the most. And you know what... it's okay that we make mistakes, it's okay that sometimes we don't grow as much as we want to, because we have a Loving Heavenly Father and a loving Savior, Jesus Christ. And they want us to grow, so they are going to give us more chances to "touch the slow worm" but sometimes it won't be as easy, sometimes we will have to "hold the python". But when we can do hard things, and we can see our growth, it is an amazing thing, and we can rest assure that God loves us and is pleased with our efforts, because we tried. This life is all about trying. Like daddy always says "step up to the plate and take your swings, you won't always hit the ball, in fact you will probably miss more times than you hit it. But that does not matter. What matters is that you stay at the plate and you keep swinging". I hope that this week, we will remember how merciful our God is. That it doesn't matter how bad we think we are, or how many mistakes we have made that we think we can't be forgiven. What matters is that we remember that we are sons and daughters of God. He loves us. This life is full of growing moments. Enjoy them! I love you all so much, and I am so grateful for you!!! Have a fabulous week. We got this!
Love,
Sister Lund



 Fred the friendly python

 Look at my cooking skills
 Exchanges with Sister Walker
My View.... heaven!!

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