So Monday night i finally met the legendary brother and sister Ebbert. Brother Ebbert is the ward mission leader and i have heard from EVERYONE who has served in La Crosse about them :) They are as wonderful as expected. He tried to help us cut our bike lock that's holding my bike hostage. We tried two different kinds of cutters and a saw and no luck. I found it pretty funny and was laughing like the whole time. Well now we know though that if you have one of those locks ain't nobody steeling your bike. I went on splits for the first time :) That was weird. Sister Xiong went with sister Countryman to visit a less active and the book of mormon class, and I went with Sister Hanks to visit some less active ysa (Young Single Adults). We had an appointment with one named Jessie and i was able to carry the conversation for about an hour. I was so impressed and surprised with myself being able to do that. It totally seemed like i was an extrovert when I'm not. When people ask me I've started labeling myself as an introvert disguised as an extrovert. I think that was one of the reasons why i needed to come on a mission is to learn how to talk to people and carry conversations without things getting awkward.
So I am now the designated driver :D No, sister Xiong didn't get a call telling us to switch, driving just really stresses her out so i volunteered to drive if that would help her. I don't mind driving. But crazy things happened with our car. We walked out of our apartment on Wednesday to go to an appointment and we had a completely flat tire! So we got our jack and temporary tire out of the back and I changed the tire. Jim, our adorable neighbor whose super old and basically our adopted grandpa, came out to see if he could help. I knew basically what to do, but it was sweet having him there. When we took the tire off we saw that there were two nails in our tire which had caused the flat. The tire couldn't be patched because of the placement of one of the nails so we spent off and on all day going in and getting a bid on new tires and then calling our vehicle coordinator elder Checketts back and forth as he got approval from Salt Lake for us to get them replaced. And remember how my bike is stuck on our bike rack? Yup, that meant that we were walking for the rest of the day. Man I was exhausted that night. Probably makes top three tired nights on the mission so far. So we got everything fixed with our tires and while we were getting them fixed the technician was able to cut our bike lock for us! YAY!!!!! My bike is now free and in our apartment :) Very happy about that.
On Wednesday our district had interviews with President Forbes. That was really fun. We got to see the Winnona Elders, Elders Pierson and Kemberling, and i got to meet Elder and Sister Beck for the first time. We had really good training's from Sister Forbes and Elder Pierson and Kemberling. These were the longest interviews i have ever had though. It started at 10 am and we left at 1:40 even though they still weren't done. It was funny The people giving training's ran out of things to say so we opened it up to things that we had been studying lately and it was awesome. I loved being able to learn and teach each other. So i had my interview with president and it went well. My mission has made me such a cry baby though. As soon as i talk about anything I'm struggling with or my faults i start crying. President gave me some good advice to focus my prayers on gratitude and i have been striving to do that and I think it's helping. He probably thinks I'm emotionally unstable now though hahaha. He said several times "you're gonna be fine" and i was like I know i am, i just have to rub a little dirt in it, there's opposition in all things and without trials there's no growth.
After interviews we went and had lunch with Sister McGuire. She's adorable and is just filled with love and you feel that she really cares about you. She told us of her conversion story and the spirit was really strong. It was cool as we left I realized that that was the first experience I've had where i knew that I am going to miss lacrosse when I leave. I also had my first experience being in a lesson where I don't speak the language and have NO idea what they are saying. I just smile and nod and wait for sister Xiong to translate from Hmong to English hahaha. It's weird. I'm sure i would get really frustrated not understanding if i had been called to speak a different language and this happened all the time for now i just thought it was really cool. Also when we play volleyball on Saturdays usually I'm the only white person in a sea of Asians. It's weird being a minority, i don't think I've ever had that happen before. Also during volleyball i realized one of the elders, elder Lao reminds me of Derek. He's quick to say it was his bad even when everyone in the room knows it wasn't, he plays hard and always tries to make it easier for others. That was a cool comparison i saw :)
So also yesterday i think I've found what brings me the most joy in missionary work. Being in the right place at the right time and speaking with the spirit to address the needs of someone you hardly know. KNOWING that you are being an instruments in the hands of god makes me very happy. We were able to have two experiences like that yesterday as we met and talked with two less active ladies. Sister Sayre and Sister Youngblut. Sister Sayre was adorable and we are hopefully going to see her again very soon. Sister Youngblut originally wasn't going to invite us in, but she did and we had a very good and lengthy conversation about life and her adorable dog. His name is Jackson and he's probably one of the largest dogs I've ever seen. He's a bulldog and weighs 120 lbs. Don't worry i have pictures :) He is so cute and sweet. The coolest part about visiting sister Younblut, besides her dog ;) was that at the end she said that she believes things happen for a reason and that we were supposed to go and see her that day. Experiences like that truly fill my heart with joy.
First's of the Week:
First time eating Ice Cream cake :) (unfortunately it didn't meet my expectations)
First time changing a tire completely by myself.
Spiritual Thought of the Week:
So I read Helaman Chapter 5 this week and it BLEW MY MIND. I spent the entire hour we have for personal study on that one chapter. I just wanted to share something I learned from that chapter.
In verses 6-12 Helaman is basically giving his sons life advice and telling them the important things to remember and do to have a happy life. He told them to Keep the commandments, be good and do good/ serve others, don't be prideful, have faith in Christ and his atonement, we are saved by grace after all we can do, and continually strengthen and rely on your testimony. I've heard the Book of Mormon compared to the ultimate parenting guidebook and it really is. I know last weeks spiritual thought was similar but the Book of Mormon is filled with how to raise a strong family both together and with god. The teachings of the prophets (Book of Mormon and Biblical) and the teachings of Christ, coupled with diligent parents willing to put the effort into teaching and implementing these teachings into their families leads to happy homes and strong family relationships. I have a very strong testimony of this. That is why god has given us the scriptures and commandments, so that through them we can become better and more like his son who is our ultimate example.
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