Firstly,
I just have to say I am still SO excited for this transfer!! I truly
love Sister Faka'osi and am learning so much from her every day. At
first I felt a little awkward because she's so quiet and I thought we
might not get along or be unified or whatever (because we were kabahay
for so long before) but the more I am with her the more I can see that
she really is just the nicest and most loving and understanding
companion. She is SO HUMBLE. And such a good missionary! She is teaching
me how to be an even better Preach My Gospel missionary. And our work
has been going SO well. We have found so many new investigators (about
12) since transfer day, and one even has a baptismal goal date already
(he was taught by elders previously when in college but never baptized
because he moved back here to Antipolo).
I am excited for all the new missionaries in our
district too. We had an AWESOME district meeting yesterday with our new
district leader, based partly on Elder Holland's talk "Remember Lot's
Wife" (one of my favorites) and partly on just having a positive
attitude, the power and authority of our calling as missionaries, and
how to really exercise our faith unto miracles. It was really fun. Elder
Nelson's question for the day: "What am I going to do this transfer
that I didn't do last transfer?" The answer that stuck out for me: I am
going to work really hard to build up this area, not because it is MY
area (the attitude I usually have) but because eventually it will be
someone else's area, and I want them to be able to hit the ground
running and keep going with all the progress that is taking place right
now. I really am not trunky (I don't think), but I have been
realizing/feeling more and more lately how little time I have left to do
all I can for these people. I just want to know that, even though I
will eventually have to leave, I can say that I have done all I can to
equip my successors and help them to get the most out of their time
here.
We had a really good member lesson last Friday with a
family that has been feeding the missionaries every week for ages but
never really participating in member missionary work. We read from
Preach My Gospel about How to Set Goals and talked about why we need
goals/vision (1 Nephi 17:18) and they responded REALLY well! They
committed themselves to pray as mother and daughter (the husband is a
seaman) and set goals for their family. We had another good member
lesson on Saturday with a family whose son is on a mission. We had the
goal originally to commit them to send him spiritual thoughts from PMG
in their weekly emails to him, but discovered that the mother is the
only one who regularly emails (he's been out for about six weeks now),
so that changed into a commitment just to email him! Even if he doesn't
have time to respond (the complaint of one of the sisters). As we
testified (as missionaries with a family at home) of the power of
families supporting their missionaries, it really hit home for all of us
there. The spirit was really strong, and overall, it just hit me once
again how important it is to teach people, not lessons, and how
important planning is, even for members who we see all the time. Having a
lesson that we had planned specifically for their family and their
situation was so much more powerful than just sharing a quick scriptural
thought about missionary work before rushing home. (Sorry if this isn't
the most relevant to all you non-missionaries, but I'm just kind of
spouting things that stuck out to me this week, and that was one).
In other exciting news, there are 3 kids who are
cousins/neighbors of one of our really strong member families (the
Martinez family). They were referred to us a couple of months ago and we
have been teaching the kids, preparing them for baptism. On Friday, we
texted our member to see if we could teach at their house and the
response we got was "hindi po" ("no")----because the mother of the 3
kids had decided that she wants to be taught as well!! :D So we were
able to go to their house for the first time and teach the mother. It
was just another miracle to see how the Lord really is working in the
lives of so many of His children and that there really is a right time
for everyone. :)
You may be wondering by now what my subject
line has to do with anything, since none of this seems to relate to it.
Let's just return for a moment to the first line of this email....
I have been thinking a lot, as I said, about a lot of
things. Mostly thinking back on all the experiences I have had on my
mission that have really changed my life and taught me so much about
what it means to be a true disciple and follower of Jesus Christ.
Last week, I accidentally stabbed by hand with the safety pin
that I've been using to hold my bag together (the shoulder strap is
getting a little sketch but I can't bring myself to spend the money on a
new one for just two transfers). It happened to pierce, unfortunately,
right at the base of my thumb on my right palm. At first it was like "Oh
shoot. Bummer." But then as the week went on, I started to notice
something I had never noticed before: HOW MUCH I USE MY HANDS FOR
EVERYTHING. And how frequently I use alcohol (hand sanitizer). I noticed
because it always brought a twinge of pain. As I was attempting to wash
my hair yesterday (yes, lathering shampoo hurts too), I thought of what
an interesting experiment/learning experience that was for me, and what
a cool symbol in terms of our relationship with Christ. They say "we
are the body of Christ" diba? We are His HANDS and feet here on earth.
To me, that stuck out, because I realized how important we are as His
instruments! It is awfully hard to wash your hair with one hand, let
alone none. I have a testimony that every single one of us is important
to the Lord's work! We missionaries (one "hand" if you will) might be
able to survive without the help of the members (the other "hand"), but
the result will definitely not be as pretty or as effective as it could
have been if the two worked together. We really do need each other and
the Lord needs every one of us on His team!
In the symbol of hands, too, I thought of course about the
Atonement of our Savior. How He allowed His perfect, loving hands to be
pierced by the nails that held Him to the cross as He gave His life in
our behalf. Those same hands that had brought light to the blind man,
raised the "sleeping" daughter, wiped the tears of the sinner, and
washed the disciples' feet. Those same hands that learned the
carpenter's trade, taught the learned in the temple, and brought a
faltering Peter to successfully cross the sea. In realizing how central
hands are to the things we do each day, it somehow became even more
powerful to me that Christ has chosen to retain in His the scars of His
eternal sacrifice. I feel like, for Him, His hands were more than a tool
for every day life, they are a living witness of His love for us and
all mankind. He used them for good during His mortal life, and they are a
symbol of His service throughout eternity.
I feel like there should be a deeper or more powerful conclusion to
this somehow, but I don't know what it is. Let's just leave it at the
fact that I have been pondering a lot this week, and I invite you to do
the same (maybe you can get out of this through the Spirit what I'm not
able to put into words).
All in all, as I stood in the temple this morning and reflected on
all the time I have spent there since I came to the mission (essentially
every other month, aside from my time in Morong), I realized how much I
really have changed in the past 15 months. I still feel like a kid, in
terms of the things of the world and having to go home and graduate and
get a real job still scares me, but in terms of my spiritual progress, I
feel like I've finally kind of "found myself." Ironically (as I should
have already known), it really is true that the best way to find
yourself, as Christ Himself taught, is to lose yourself in serving
others. I believe that no matter what form our service takes, and no
matter where we give it (as a missionary or not), what really matters is
our attitude toward it, and whether Christ is really the reason and
motivation for all that we do.
I am almost out of time, so I will wrap this up now.
I just want you all to know how much I truly do love and miss you, and
how happy I am to be here serving the Lord in the Philippines Quezon
City Mission as a missionary and member of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints. :) I hope you all have a FANTASTIC week!!! "Good
luck" and "have fun" to all those starting a new semester!
Love always,
Sister Emma Franks
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