week 58

Dear family,

I really have no idea where to even begin. This week was without a doubt the craziest week of my life and I wish I could explain it all... But I know I can't. So instead here's like twenty different short stories that sum up the week.

1. There are 168 hours in a week. This week I spent 100 of them with Sister Huber and 68 with Sister Felt. I'm not sure who my companion is anymore.

2. We went a deep cleaned a sisters apartment as they had failed a cleaning inspection. Five trash bags, one dried up dead frog, one live albino frog, and five hours later... Their apartment was looking pretty decent. It was intense. Thank you mom for not only making us clean, but teaching us how to clean the right way. I'm spending my days now trying to teach others do the same :)

3. Sister Huber and I are over 22 sisters out of the 49 in the mission. We're running around like chickens with our heads cut off. It's a blast. 

4. It's a seven week transfer. It's going to be a long one. Sister Huber and I work with the assistants to do a 24 hour training for missionaries every Tuesday to Wednesday. So sigh that and exchanges.... I'm only in area for half the week. I'm starting to feel like Mad at the end of her mission. 

5. There are now three sets of sisters in the Tampa 2nd Ward. The last time this happened, sister Huber ended up in the hospital. Prayers for sanity? So far, all is well. However we are expecting big changes in the coming week.

6. Let's not count how many frostys we ate this week. Wendys seems to be our stress reliever. 

7. Book of Mormon the musical: this was our life this week. Hundreds of pamphlets, cards, and copies of the Book of Mormon later... We are all sleep deprived and have the stinking songs stuck in our head (the music played outside the theater). We proselyted outside of it almost every single night this week. The show didn't get out until 10:30, so sleep just hasn't been happening around here. It was such a cool experience though and so interesting to see the type of people that were going. After asking one woman if she wanted to take a picture with us she yelled, "No! I'm an ungodly heathen!!!" And went into the show. Well right after the show, she came out and apologized to us. She was so fascinated with what we do as she could tell the musical exaggerated quite a bit. As we talked with her she said, "I apologize. Can I get a picture with you now?" As we went to take a picture her husband said, "you're a heathen, there is no hope for you!!" She barked back, "These girls have hope for me!" She took a Book of Mormon and told us she would read it.  

I think that is one of the greatest things that we get to give to people... Hope. We talked with so many people these last couple days that all have ties to the church in one way or another. Everything that we have to offer weighs solely upon the Book of Mormon which is where our hope comes from. We gave the book to members of the cast that have been doing it for over a year and have never read the book. They all accepted the challenge to read it. The key is reading it, really wanting to know if it's true. It solely matters where your heart is. 

I read Grandpa Sackley's talk this morning and I thought this quote was perfect for everything that I've seen over the last week:

I also want you to know that my life was changed more than forty years ago as I read the Book of Mormon. There is nothing on earth that has influenced me more profoundly than my testimony of this sacred record and the work to which it belongs. It has burned within my soul over the years with ever-increasing brightness, and I find great joy and satisfaction in walking in “newness of life” in my search for the “more excellent way.”

Love you!

Sister Mal