Hey hey:)
Okay so here's the thing. Every
week seems to go by faster and faster!! And then everything is a
blur and I can't remember one single thing that we did the whole week.
Haha but we'll give a few good nuggets from the week.:)
We love when deer are in our front yard!....
I got a bug in my eye and crashed my bike...
So..... S. (I think I mentioned her to you a few weeks
ago?) She was walking on the street with her
kiddos so we just ran and got talking
with her! Found out she had met
with missionaries before then moved and lost contact...then we met her!
And her sister is a member working toward the temple. We've
been meeting with them and they are super sweet! They had committed to
coming to church last week, but then we never saw them. It was a
sad day. So we went by to see them later to see how we could
help...and they're like "church service was great huh!?" We're
like...what? Haha turns out they went to the wrong building!
We also had exchanges this week
with the Sisters from Darby. I was
with Sister Schwendiman here in Missoula and
she is killer!! I love her! It's her last transfer, she's
just about finished up. But it was SO amazing to see her on fire her
last few weeks! At one point, we were riding by on a busy bridge, and there was
a woman pushing a stroller so we got talking with
her! As Sister Schwendiman was talking, I turned and saw this big
huge moving truck with a trailer (the flat kind you put like a
tractor on) driving past us. As this guy
speeds by, his trailer swerves into
the bike lane where we were standing talking with this lady. I
saw it coming toward us for a split second and just thought to myself
"well, this is its. This is the end." Haha literally I was
terrified. Then all of a sudden, I don't even really know how to explain
it...haha but it like stopped swerving and just goes right past us, like
if we moved one inch we would have gotten hit. Haha we felt the wind
on that one! Haha as I watched it go by, as SOON as it passed us, it
swerved all the way into the bike lane again. wooho the Lord can
protect His servants! But anyway. That was fun. We were a little shaken up
after that one. (Mom is not laughing,
but mom knows all of those prayers offered
for her and all missionaries around the world helped with that one)
~tell
me something you learned on your mission that you did not know you would
learn....?
(we
sometimes send some questions to stimulate communication…tee hee missionaries
get so lost in their missions, as we would want them to, but asking questions
can stimulate answers J )
Oh gosh....everything?? Haha
Well first off, how truly difficult
word of wisdom problems are to quit! Literally. Everyone that
doesn't progress here is because of an addiction they can't quit...ugh.
But besides that...haha
I think one thing that I've been
learning a lot lately is about desire. There's a talk by Neil A.
Maxwell called "According to the Desires of our Hearts" from
October 1996 conference. But it's so good! I think we all should read it:)
But during mission tour a few weeks
ago, Elder Andersen said basically
something to the extent that
"if you desire something, you can have
it. Anyone who desires exaltation
can have it" and Ive been thinking
about this lots...the tie between
desire and willingness. If we truly
desire something, then we are
willing to do whatever it takes to get
it. If we're not willing to
sacrifice for something, then we don't
truly desire it. How many of us
missionaries desire to be obedient but
aren't willing to wake up at 6:23?
Or how many of us desire to be more
familiar with the scriptures, but
end up checking email or getting on
Instagram instead of gospel
library? Just the little things each day
that determine what we desire and
essentially, who we are and who we
become.
One of my favorite quotes from that
talk is "Therefore, what we
insistently desire, over time, is
what we will eventually become and
what we will receive in
eternity."
And I think it's so true. How many
times do I desire one thing, but my
actions show a different thing.
Then do I truly desire that?
Anyway. Some food for thought. I've
been praying and fasting lately on
what I can do...what little things
I can change that will stretch me,
but strengthen my desire and my
willingness. Gosh I love the
scriptures and the words of the
prophets.....learning how to become
better...I have soooo much to work
on....but step by step right??
Anyway. It was a great week! We got
to do lots of service this week! We literally got to play in a pile
of dirt. It was way too fun. Sorry, my emails are getting worse
and worse. Haha not gona lie, sometimes you feel
like so much happens in a week it's hard to put it into words...but
things are good! I can't even express how much I love serving s mission.
I do t know if it comes off in emails especially because they're
so scattered and random...
But just know I'm happy!
Families are forever and I'm so grateful!!
LOVE YOU LOVE YOU!!
W/<3
Sister Hodgson
The members here like to stock us up! they take good care of us!!
