My new companion from Honduras - Sister Ordonez
Well, it's been a fast week! We have had some great
experiences this week. It is so nice to have a normal missionary schedule (as
normal as it gets for temple square)! I have on average 3 hours a day to be in
the teaching center....and 7 hours on average on the Square.
There have been times when I felt as Margret Judd did as a
17-year-old who crossed the plains with her family. "Oh, the monotony of
camp life! How delighted we all were when we started on our journey for good,"
she lamented. One of the greatest battles I have struggled with is doing the
same thing every day on these 35 acres. But
I have found joy as I have been able to focus in on the ONE. By sincerely
listening to every soul I have found that I can escape the hum drum of never seeing
nature or being in a members home, or just out and about in the outside world.
Although I am not a mother yet M. Russell Ballard gave this
counsel to mothers, "There are moments of great joy and incredible fulfillment,
but there are also moments of a sense of inadequacy, MONOTONY, and frustration.
Mothers may feel they receive little or no appreciation for the choice they
have made...... I hope all of you dear sisters, married or single, never wonder
if you have worth in the sight of the Lord and to the leaders of the Church. We
love you. We respect you and appreciate your influence in preserving the family
and assisting with the growth and the spiritual vitality of the Church." The
Lord is preparing me, and I know that I am of worth in the sight of the Lord. I hope all you mothers feel and know that as
well!
Yesterday we had a miracle. We were at the map desk and
there was a lady just looking at the map of Jerusalem so I contacted her with
the old, "Have you ever been there before?" approach. She said she
hadn't. We ended up finding out she had
gone to the Church office building on the 26th floor and some church host had
given her and her husband the whole spiel. She asked me if there was a way she
could buy one of our Books of Mormon. I of course gladly gave her and her
husband a copy. She kept talking about the special feeling she has felt in Salt
Lake City. I explained to her that that feeling is the Holy Ghost and the
reason it is so prevalent here is because there are some many people here that
have truly committed themselves to the Savior Jesus Christ, and how as members
of the Church we take the promises we make at baptism seriously. We invited her
to look for that same feeling as she reads the Book of Mormon. Missionaries
will be visiting her after she returns home and we will be calling her this
week. She wanted to see "The Testaments" so we sent her off knowing
we would never see her again but satisfied that we had shared our testimonies.
These kind miracles happen every day. That is what keeps me motivated to open my
mouth and help the ONE. Monotony is a small price to pay.
Thanks Mom for being the best Mom I have ever had! You have
always made me feel important...I need that! Thanks for listening to me sing to
you all that time...and being my fan:) I am so excited to see you and Dad this
week! It will be great! Come with Questions!
Hurrah For Israel!
-Sister Reynders
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