This week has been exciting, stressful, and strait up CRAZY!!!!!
On so many different levels and for different reasons.
To start off the week Heavenly Father humbled me.
That is an understatement. Don't get me wrong its not like I was super prideful, He just has a way of answering prayers in a very unique way.
Well last week I mentioned that I had gotten a parking ticket. And it wasn't a lot thank goodness. It was $68. However for a missionary that is a lot. So I used the rest of my "emergency" funds to pay it. Which would have been fine except July was a five week month and I had some additional expenses come up which used the rest of my monthly allotment given by the mission.
This was a problem because I was going to buy food for this past week with my now non-existent emergency funds. So last P-day I wasn't able to buy groceries. Any other week this would have been fine. Except this week my side of the fridge was literally completely empty except for one bell-pepper, a half of a cucumber, two slices of bread and juice. Luckily in the cupboard I had one pack of top-roman and a couple snack packs of cheese crackers a member had given me from Culver city... basically a mini meal and a snack for the week.. yeahhhh...
I was like okay I'm just going to be VERY "healthy" this week and fast a lot. So I prayed to Heavenly Father for a way to let me find a way to have meals this week since our members in our ward are super busy and don't usually have time to have us over.
Tuesday morning we miraculously had a member meal for lunch and I was like yes! A meal for the day! (Thank you Sister Anderson) And for dinner I had my cucumber and Sister Merciales had made some extra rice and shared with me so that was fine.
But then Tuesday night it was 9:30 and we were finishing daily planning and we got a knock on the door. It was Sister Lago and Sister Foutz and they came in carrying bags of groceries and gave them to me. I was so confused. They knew I was low on food for the week but it wasn't a huge deal or anything. Then it hit me that it wasn't P-day so it couldn't have been them that got the food. At there meal that night with la familia Olivarez, a family from the sister's Spanish ward, they were given some extra tamales and said something along the lines of oh great we can give these to Sis. Petersen. And when they asked why they said I was running low on food and so they gave them some extra tamales for me. But then to go even further that night the Olivarez's showed up at the visitors center with groceries for them to give to me. I was speechless to hear this. I had never even met Sister Olivarez and had only met Brother Olivarez briefly a couple times at the visitors center and wasn't really able to communicate much because of my poor Spanish. I was overcome with gratitude and humility. Tears of so many emotions came over me and all I could do was pray in thanks for this miracle. I knew that this wonderful family didn't have a lot, yet they were willing to give what they didn't have to someone they didn't now but knew was in need. Heavenly Father truly takes care of His children and answers our prayers in incredible ways. The next night The Olivarez family came to the Visitors Center and I just hugged Sister Olivarez and tearfully thanked her. Miracles happen.
Then Thursday was the most stressful, exciting, overwhelming, yet way fun night I will probably EVER have on my mission. I hope so anyways. So we went to dinner with our investigator Irmagard, but it ended up being SO much more. Irmgard is incredible, super fun and exciting and we just love her. Take into consideration that we have to be home at 9:00pm okay. We met her at her house in Beverly Hills at 7pm so she could drive. We rode with her (in her super cute cherry red Mercedes Benz convertible) to go to dinner.
However, instead of taking us strait to dinner as planned, she drove us downtown Los Angeles for an hour and a half being our "personal tour guide" and explaining EVERYTHING to us. Which would have been great except it wasnt in our area boundaries and when we said this she was just like "girls girls, this is Los Angeles you have to see the beautiful Architecture and beauty of the city!" Then she headed back so we could all go eat dinner.
So this entire time I am trying to be happy and stay positive yet on the inside I am freaking out and we're texting our zone leaders letting them know we aren't going to be home until later and trying to call sisters in the bathroom to figure out a car for Malibu but there wasn't any service in there so we had to text a million people to find a car for them. I got to the point where we were just like ok we have to enjoy this or we're going to explode from stressing out. So we ordered and my meal could have paid for my groceries for two weeks which we were also like AH! about but Irmgard just said "girls girls enjoy! I come for good food not for prices!" So we did. I had the best dinner I have had on my mission. We enjoyed and we were right in front of the mechanical bull so we got dinner and a show! Yeah be home at 9pm right? ha. We kept saying we needed to leave because they would close the gate and she kept saying "girls girls dont worry! you'll be home on time!" (thats an hour after we're already supposed to be home) We ended up getting home at 11:30 pm! I was exhausted! And we still weekly planned for the next day! SO CRAZY!!!!! But SO FUN! Post mission I'm coming back and riding the bull! ;) for reals though!
Friday we had district meeting which is always great! I love our Westwood Zone! We have a new zone goal for August and its Harry Potter themed, which is fun but it was the theme my first transfer in my old zone but they're doing it way different so it'll be cool to see. If we reach our lesson goals for the week we get to pie someone in the face, but if we dont.. we get pied in the face... not happening! They're the best!
Then we had a lesson with Irmgard at the VC that night and it was actually our best and most productive lesson we have ever had with her. We went over the Doctrine of Christ and restated our purpose. we explained to her again about our area boundaries and if she would like to take us out of our area (not the mission boundaries, just our area) that we would have to do it on a P-day and plan it ahead. She was happy with that and said that she was excited for the next time we could go out! haha oh we love her!
Saturday I had a baptism! in South Carolina! 18 year old Meredith came to the VC in May with her Aunt who is the only member in the family and we gave her a tour. I have kept in touch with her via the Teaching Center and she got baptized on Saturday!!!!!
We have really been trying to make our key indicators this week and so praying to do so. At the start of yesterday by looking at what we had so far for the week you would have said there was no way to make our goals but we did! We've been praying to make them and fasted for it yesterday too.
Yesterday Irmgard and Ben came to church for the first time! Ben only came because his naighbor and recent convert Ernie's car broke down and needed a ride. But he still came! He only stayed for the first part of sacrament but that is still so much progress for him.
Testimony meeting was so special. The Spirit was so strong! I bore my testimony. We decided to call and text some members yesterday afternoon and go on splits for two hours to see if we could miraculously make our lesson goals and not get pied in the face this week and we did! We found two young awesome couples that could go with us. Divide and conquer! I had two member present lessons with our investigators Sarah and Ben. And Sister Merciales had a lesson with a referrals son who is interested now and now had a baptismal date for August 25th! Miracles!!!
Yes this week was one of a kind that's for sure! People think it would get "boring" doing the "same" thing everyday. But it is FAR from the same. It is just incredible how the Lord works and ho no matter what we are doing or where we are He is here for us to help us through it!
THANK YOU YOUNG WOMEN FROM THE DAPHNE, ALABAMA WARD!!!!!!!! I OPENED YOUR PACKAGE THIS MORNING AND IT WAS INCREDIBLE! IT SERIOUSLY MADE MY WEEK! I LOVEEEEEEEE IT! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!
Love,
Sister Jordyn Petersen
Sister Jordyn Kealoha Lani Petersen
California Los Angeles Mission
1591 E. Temple Way
Los Angeles, CA 90024-5801
No comments:
Post a Comment