Transfers and Trials

Feliz lunes!

This week has been so fun! We got our transfer call on Friday night.  We are being whitewashed with Elders, so there won't be hermanas in Arcadia anymore.  From the mouth of President Brough: "We need to get those sisters out of the 'hood." Haha! And with that, I will be going to Paris, KY, and my new companion will be Hermana Starling from Utah! Hna. Swapp is going to Shelbyville where she will serve as a Sister Training Leader. Go, Hermana!  She will do a fantastic job. I am a little nervous to go to a new place, but it's nervous excited, not nervous anxious. :)

Monday: Sister B from Jeffersonville, IN took us all around today for P-day. It was such a good time. We got to go shopping at TWO Goodwills. Heyo! We ate at a small Korean restaurant. Mmmmm, so delicious. Sister Bserved part of her mission in Korean, so her recommendations were well received :)  Funny story. We were out looking for some less-actives, and we were stopped on the street talking to some people outside. I saw a woman taking out her recycling, so I asked if she needed help. It ended up being Y and E's mom, A! We had been teaching Y and E about two months ago, but we had to drop them. The lesson was rocky at first because she was upset about what we had taught Y, but after we explained more and bore our testimonies, her heart was softened. It was beautiful to see. 

Tuesday: One of the best days here. We got to help Sister H tie a quilt, and I was so happy! As my mom is reading this, she's probably dumbfounded because I would always complain about it when I was young. We didn't have quilt frames, and the material was fleece. The needles were dif-i-cult to pull through, but we did it! It was so much fun, but I got really trunky thinking about my mom. Hermana Swapp had the idea to bring Meet the Mormons to watch. E watched the entire movie with us! We were all pretty shocked, but very grateful. Later, we had dinner with a family in the ward, The J. After dinner, we taught them how to study the scriptures.  It was a really neat lesson, and they really appreciated the ideas we gave them. It never hurts to ask for suggestions from others about how they study. I've learned so many new ways just while being a missionary. 

Wednesday:  I had a really powerful personal study this morning. I read from a devotional address by Elder Bednar given at BYU-I. His talk was about grace and the enabling and strengthening power of the Atonement. The Atonement redeems us from death, but it also gives us strength, and when we access the Atonement in trying times, we need to act and not be acted upon. We need to ask for the strength to endure, not for our trials to be taken away from us. When Nephi was bound by his brothers, he asked for the strength to break the bands, not for him to be freed. He was able to break the bands. This was something that brought me a lot of comfort. Prayers are answered by the added strength we are given. 

Thursday: Our lesson with Sister H and E was INCREDIBLE. E was very active in our conversation and took the time to listen to us talk about temples. There has been a significant difference with him and his interactions with us. We hope he will give us the opportunity to teach him more. 

Friday: We had a really really good Zone Meeting. Elders Jolly and Weeks taught us about being ourselves, but being our BEST selves. We are still people. We all have experiences and talents from our pre-mission lives that will benefit others as we share them. It's difficult at times to remember that, but it's important that we do. Even if/when we're not missionaries, we have lived a life that our Heavenly Father wants us to share with others.

Saturday: The busiest day here so far. Holy cannoli. We had another lesson with A, the mother of Y and E. We read the introduction to the Book of Mormon and committed them to read together and pray to find out if it's true. Next, we went to help Dawn Rene pack up her future son-in-law's house. After that, we visited Sister Hansgen and Ed to take them their My Family books. E is interested in family history. Woooo! Our last stop for the night was helping our favorite Sister G move boxes from her attic. Her house is 150 years old and AMAZING. What a wonderful day. 

Sunday: We had lunch with the M family. We showed "Mountains to Climb" and talked about how to access the enabling power of the Atonement. It was so neat when Sister E started talking about Elder Bednar's devotional talk because I had felt impressed to share the message of it, too! We love the M's and will miss them dearly. It was sad to say our goodbyes to everyone in the ward. 

This is my favorite quote from this week. Thank you, Abby.

"Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in multiple doses applied simultaneously. When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more (see Prov. 3:11–12). He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding, and compassion which polish you for your everlasting benefit. To get you from where you are to where He wants you to be requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain."

I love you all so much. I invite you to pray for the strength to endure your trials instead of asking for the trial to be taken away. Trials are evidence of the Lord's trust in us. 

Loves, 

Hermana Boyson

Zone meeting with these clowns :)

LOVE this cute family. The Mushala's.