Stormy Week

This week has been interesting.  One thing that I did not realize before I came on a mission was just how hard being a missionary is.  

Anyways on Tuesday it was cold and rainy, but I received the package from Mom that contained my winter coat so it arrived just in time.  It didn't  rain very hard, but it was like a mist the entire day and by the time Sister Pierce and I came back to the apartment we were drenched and our coats weighed quite a bit more from all the moisture.  Most of our plans on Tuesday ended up falling through, but we were able to visit with one of the less active families that we work with.  

Wednesday was cold and windy, but it ended up being an alright day. We volunteered at Hills and Dales, and then went to the Mississippi River Museum to look into volunteer opportunities there.  We were supposed to have an appointment with Thora but that was cancelled.  (Kind of the story of this week.)  Afterwards we went finding and then had dinner at the Rasmussen's.  After dinner we dropped by another less active in our ward.

Thursday we did not have district meeting so we ended up walking, and walking, and walking, and knocking, and knocking, and knocking.  We did have our weekly appointment with the Zirker's so that was wonderful.

Friday we drove down to Clinton, Iowa for interviews with President and Sister Jensen!   When we got there our sister training leaders gave us each a coloring book and some crayons because they said they enjoy coloring as a stress reliever.  Anyways, I was the first person from our district to be interviewed and so President and I walked into the room and President asked if I was happy, and I just started to cry.  And I cried for a long time.  Everything that I had been bottling up and how I was feeling came out.  One of my downfalls is that I am so hard on myself and want to be strong and so I finally reached my breaking point and it happened to be with President and Sister Jensen.  It felt so good to finally be able to discuss exactly how I was feeling and the stresses that I am dealing with.  

Anyways, Saturday was a pretty good day.  We started out by having breakfast and mission coordination meeting at Brother Han's house.  Afterwards we had an appointment with James and Aline.  It was by far the best lesson we have had with them.  They are great and still solid for Aline's baptism.  We went over Alma 36 with them which is when Alma the Younger is telling about his conversion story to his son Helaman.  The spirit was so strong during the lesson and as we talked about the power of the Atonement and how much God loves each of His children and wants them to feel the peace and joy that comes from using the Atonement.  

Sunday morning we woke up and had a text from Bishop saying that one of the speakers was sick and asked if I would be willing to share a few thoughts and my testimony.  I didn't have much time to prepare since we had ward council and 8 and church starts at 9.  Aline and James were at church, as well as one of our less actives!  

Yesterday we got our first official snow where the ground was white.  We went shopping with the Sisters and then went and played basketball at the church with our district.  It was so cold last night as we went out, but we survived so no worries!

Anyways I hope you all have a wonderful week!
 
Love Sister Call