To all of you who have been young missionaries, you already know this...but to those of you who are unaware: sometimes a more experienced missionary is asked to "babysit" a younger missionary for a while. That was my luck this week...
On Tuesday we had a pretty good day, with a good number of lessons taught, and things accomplished.
Wednesday we had nothing scheduled, but we felt really good about filling up our time and getting things done. We were not as lucky as we thought we would be. We went tracting for 3 hours in close to 100 degree weather...and had a grand total of 4 doors open. Not 4 lessons or good experiences....ONLY 4 DOORS OPENED!!!!! But we were very proud of ourselves because we kept extremely positive amidst the whole thing. The worst part of the day was when I thought Sister Patrick would pass out from heat exhaustion. She doesn't sweat much, so she has a really hard time regulating body temperature. There was one point where I just told her we were done, and I wanted her to keep walking forward towards the car. just go slow and don't do anything but plod along. I then ran all the way up the hill to the car (she could see me the whole time,) got it going, cooled off, and then came down to get her. We sat there with cold air blowing on her until we could get her back to a slightly normal shade of pink (which was kinda hard to do when she was INCREDIBLY sunburned) but I am very proud to report that I have not had a serious sunburn yet (at least while serving in Farmington.)
Thursday was a CRAZY day. we had a mini zone conference in the morning to say goodbye to President and Sister Jones. It was the most spiritual meeting I have been to since I started serving. President wanted to give us some final counsel, as if we were in our final interviews with him...and it was great. It was nothing I hadn't heard before, but the spirit was so strong and it felt like a channel to the heavens had been opened up to all of us. I was a boob and cried through the opening song...but I will use the excuse that President's teary face set me off. Then during the closing song, Sister Jones ran from her seat in the back into the arms of President and they just held each other and sobbed while the rest of us tried to sing. After Sister Jones made it to the front, and we saw the extreme pain on her face, the room was no longer filled with strong missionaries, but a bunch of crying babies. It's amazing that any music came from us at all. When the closing song was over, someone started God Be With You Till We Meet Again...which is normally a song I can't stand...but in this instance it was PERFECT! We had interviews with President one last time, which was great, because he was able to answer some of my deepest questions about missionary work, and how the Lord views my offering.
But right after interviews, we had to hit the road and fly down towards Gallup so that we could do an exchange with the sisters there. They were having some troubles and needed a break. Sister Patrick would serve in Gallup for 2 days (with a sister she was sure hated her guts) and I would be with the greenie here in Farmington....aka I was on babysitting duty. We worked from Thursday afternoon until Saturday afternoon with our new companions. My babysitting experience helped me to recognize the changes that have occurred in me and how silly I was when I came out. I know, I know, I'm still really silly...but I'm not as bad as I was. I was so thankful to have Sister Patrick back, because she and I get along so well, and we push each other to be better, and she helps me to think on a much deeper and more spiritual level. She helps me to see the world in a more realistic and yet spiritual way. I feel so good when she is around to help guide my thoughts and ponderings.
On Thursday when we made the switch, we met in Toadalina!! WOOT!! I have officially been there. Cool. Then on Saturday we switched in Sheep Springs. On the way home, Sister Patrick and I went via Shiprock, and were able to pull over and take some photos there. Loved it!!!
Saturday night we were able to make it back in time to go to the going away party for President and Sister Jones. It was nice...but we really didn't want to leave because it meant that this was actually over. Well....um...I don't have much left to tell...
Love, Sister Wilkins
photos:
Me and Sister Patrick and President and Sister Jones
Me and Sister Patrick at Shiprock
and us again on a very windy day.
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