Hey howdy hey! Happy fall ya'll! ;)
So Monday night was roooouuugh stuff saying goodbye to
Sparta. It was very hard for me to say goodbye, and in return, I had no idea what I meant to these people until this day. The
hugs, tears, gifts, promises to keep in touch and thanks for changing
lives. I guess it was hard for both of us to leave each other!
Charles and Dewanna. They are getting baptized in Sparta October 4th. |
We drove to Paducah Kentucky together, and I was relieved to still see all the trees and beauty there, that I had left in Tennessee. The only difference is Paducah is waaaayyy bigger! It's actually been quite the adjustment. In Sparta all we had was a walmart and a sonic. Here we have every fast food place you can think of, and even a mall! Also, there's not just white people here! Hahaha! It's so cool! I love the diversity :)
This is the Tucker's bird, Rufus. I had to say goodbye, too. |
Sister Kohler! I know she will do amazing things in Sparta |
Sister Smith, my new companion |
My team won the tracting competition, and as a prize I was
given a Chuck E Cheese coin. It's now taped in my journal ;) haha. We went out
for ice cream after. Somehow Sister Smith and I got peer pressured into
drinking hot sauce with them. Please don't ask. Also, aged pepper is about as nasty as aged hotdogs. Bluck. But the
icecream was good!
On splits with Ellie and Kyla, rewarded ourselves with ice cream :) |
My final miracle is a little more personal. There has been some... issues... With the missionaries and the church leaders in the Paducah ward. As I heard the stories, I became more and more fearful about how this was going to affect the work here. I fasted that Sunday that the leaders' hearts would be softened, or that something would happen so things worked out. During church, I met the leaders with caution, but found that I immediately took a liking to them. That night, we went to their house for dinner and established a good relationship and had a great time! I was so surprised that I felt this way, because the things I had been told made me expect a lot worse! I started thinking that maybe the leaders didn't need to change or have their hearts softened, maybe we missionaries needed to change and have OUR hearts softened. I developed a game plan and talked to Sister Smith about it. I know she has dealt with some things here that I haven't, so she's currently a little more weary, but I have a LOT of faith that things are going to be okay. That night at home, Sister Smith told me how she really feels like between the two of us, some things are really going to change for the better here in Paducah. I told her I could feel it, too. There's an energy of anxious anticipation in the air. It's a positive energy. It's the kind of energy that makes miracles. It's the energy of change.
Change is the purpose and central blessing of life. This week I have really studied how we can change, and why it's necessary to be able to return to live with God. I think of Heavenly Father, and how he created our spirits. He has knows us for eternity, so he knows us better than even we know ourselves. His vision of what we can become is a whole galaxy compared to our spec of dust of an idea. Before Heavenly Father created our spirits, we know that we existed as intelligences. There is some small piece of us that does not belong to God, it belongs to us. I think of how everything we tend to sacrifice: time, talents, tithing, etc. is merely a return of what we have been given. Therefore the only thing that is of serious worth to give, is ourselves. Our WILL. I know that the only way to truly change for the better is to use our will to invite in light. We are an accumulation of everything we have ever said, thought, felt, heard, seen, and done. We are ever evolving, ever CHANGING creatures. When we do something good, we take a step forward on the path of light. When we do something bad, we take a step in the path of dark. Kind of like a fork in the road--the further down one path we go, the harder it is to take a leap to the other. That is why the more we make good choices, the easier it is to not make bad choices. As we give ourselves to God, the spirit can more fully enter into our hearts. Doesn't it make sense to allow the artist who can see you, paint your portrait, rather than your own blind incapable hand?
"He will create of you a masterpiece, you will
create of you a smudge" (the 4th missionary)
I know that this transfer is going to include a lot of change. I know it can only be done as we give ourselves to Heavenly Father and allow him to mold us into something far more useful and beautiful than what we ourselves could think up. I can't wait to see Heavenly Father change this mission, change Paducah, and change me.
I know that this transfer is going to include a lot of change. I know it can only be done as we give ourselves to Heavenly Father and allow him to mold us into something far more useful and beautiful than what we ourselves could think up. I can't wait to see Heavenly Father change this mission, change Paducah, and change me.
Love,
Sister Hochstrasser
p.s We found a pile of junk and being the cool
missionaries we are, decided to stand in it and act dramatic, lol. On the left is a picture of me in a golf shirt. One of my favorite people has her own golf clothing line. She gave me this shirt as a goodbye, and requested I send her a picture in it.
Write to me!!! (DearElder.com, an email, or a hand written letter!)
Sister Jennifer Hochstrasser
Tennessee Nashville Mission
105 West Park Drive Suite #190
Brentwood, TN 37027
jennifer.hochstrasser@myldsmail.net (can't email you back due to time constraints on my computer, but if you write me, I can write you back)
Write to me!!! (DearElder.com, an email, or a hand written letter!)
Sister Jennifer Hochstrasser
Tennessee Nashville Mission
105 West Park Drive Suite #190
Brentwood, TN 37027
jennifer.hochstrasser@myldsmail.net (can't email you back due to time constraints on my computer, but if you write me, I can write you back)
No comments:
Post a Comment