Well has my life sure changed. The two newbies survived their first week together. Hermana Jarman and I sure are changing things up...for the better here in Bernalillo. As I said before we are both 2 transfers out and the poor little thing(I mean little like my size) has the worst pitbull bite on her calf. I will try to send pictures. It is pretty bad..but she got the stitches out today so we are on the uphill. Now we can walk hopefully. We've been just going about every day trying to be creative and Heavenly Father has really blessed us. The transition of suddenly having the responsibility was interesting...considering I don't know exactly what I am doing yet...but we are learning so much. Transfers brought lots of emotions, there were lots of reasons to be worried. Will we be able to understand what these people are saying, will the people understand us...who will I turn to when I can't find the word. How will we find new investigators she can't walk?? How am I going to clean the wound without passing out...the list goes on as you know. I am a CHICKEN usually. We arrived at the transfer site, Hna Jarman ran out the doors with a huge smile on her face and gave me this huge hug..Hna Cope walking up with all her stuff just stopped in her tracks and stared at her leg. I couldn't look..eventually I did. And now Im totally used to it haha. Not going to lie..I was freaking out a little.
On a more comical note, I found a way to still get my exercise in. I got my hands on a wheelchair and every morning this week, Hna Jarman wraps herself in a Dora the Explorer quilt hops in the wheelchair and we run down the street and back. Quite the show for the lamas and camels:) We are going to try to get some weights so she can work out her arms while I push her. If only people were out at 6:30AM! Quite the site to see.
Our first days were an adjustment for me. A good lesson, learning to accept change...and learn from it. We have so much to learn from eachother. I know there are so many reasons that Hna Jarman and I are together right now in the area that we are. Here is the thing. Bernalillo has been knocked to death. Every week we would take in a progress report to our ward mission leader full of new investigators. The thing is, none of them would progress. Something different needed to be done in this area. And so that is what we are doing. We are relying on the members more than ever. We are using the Thomas S. Monson approach which I know has many versions where you teach members a short lesson on the Restoration then give them a paper where they can right down names of people they know in school, work etc...we are using that in conjuction with the branch's 40 day fast. Hna Jarman is amazed at the support of the branch here compared to down south. It is all I know. But it is different now. Things are working out with members unlike they did before. Maybe because we are seeking them out more.
If there is one thing I am learning is the Lord calls us in our weakness...and he qualifies us. Every day I come home and realize how many mistakes I made. How many things I probably could have done better or said better. And never ever before have I learned to rely on the Lord like I am now. It is incredible. Heavenly Father truly is at the head of this work. I know He is. I had a couple of rough days with the realization I was in charge until Hna Jarman got to know the area...and we really didn't have too many potentials...and we couldn't walk/tract. So we turned to the members which has turned out to be a blessing. Yesterday we had a lesson with a 15 year old girl and her Grandmother. They are both very catholic, and so we brought a lady from our branch with her 16 year old daughter. We watched The Restoration but it only worked in English for some reason so the Grandmother didn't understand it. Afterwards we asked Indi (her Grand-daughter) to tell her Grandma what happened in the movie. She explained in the most perfect words and Spanish I might add. We were all like...WOW. The Spirit was SO incredible. Then the member went on to bear her testimony of her conversion from the Catholic Church...it was so cool. They just could relate. We've had lessons with members before, but never like that. Where it was just so clear the Spirit taught...we didn't. When we left the member just said, there is something special about that girl. Now we have to somehow help her understand the difference between baptism in the Catholic Church and Baptism in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Power and Authority. The story of our lives:)
Hna Jarman is such a little firecracker. Although our Spanish may be pretty beginner, our skills still developing, and our physical state slightly debilitating. We have SO MUCH desire. And little Hna Jarman has so much FAITH. And that is what it is all about. I know good things are to come. I don't know when, I don't know how. But we are just trying to listen and do our very best. The Lord will make up for the rest. Just like it says in 1 Ne 11:17...I know God loves ALL his children but I do not know the meaning of all things. Someday we will know. But for now. On with FAITH right.
Complete trust no matter what happens.
I love you all and hope you have a great week. Remember when all else fails...say a prayer. That is what i've been doing. It's actually better to start it out that way, but you know what I mean.
Con todo de mi amor,
Hermana Holland
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