Hello all those I love so much!!!
I can't believe it has already been one week here! It already feels like I have been here forever (and I don't mean this negatively at all.) Sometimes I feel like I forget about the life I had before this one, or the things I liked to do then.
I was thinking this morning, that it already feels like so much has happened since I last wrote you! I was also thinking about what I wanted to tell you, and I just kept thinking that I am so happy. I am happy in a way that I cannot describe, and I feel this excitement all through my body. It has been hard, and in ways I didn't expect. I do feel like the harder days always come right after P-Day though, and I tend to forget about how hard those days were by the timeMonday comes around again!
So I always say this, but this e-mail will have to be super fast because I only have 10 minutes left to e-mail. Here are the details in really condensed form!
-So it has been super hot and humid here!! Last week, I would have sweat rolling down my face just after walking from my car to the apartment, and I felt wet all the time. I felt so bad talking to people on the streets because I just felt so gross all the time. (I don't know why I chose to include that detail in a really short e-mail, but there ya go!)
-We had a new expectations meeting with all the missionaries who came in with me last Tuesday. It was sooo good seeing all of them, and I realized how much I grew to love my MTC district. I felt so happy, and I realized that I really laughed for the first time in a week, while being with them.
-We had a lesson with a recent convert this week, and she is from China. Her English is pretty good, but there are still some language barriers. I read Ether 12:27 from here, and she started crying after reading it, because she knows she has so many weaknesses. She was so distraught, and I felt awful! We were trying to focus on how Christ will turn our weaknesses into strengths, but I don't think that got across. I was so afraid that I shook her testimony, but we have seen her a lot since, and she still seems very strong.
-We saw so many miracles, this week and had tremendous experiences with our investigators. Keren, our Jewish Investigator, is really progressing and is genuinely searching for the truth. We went to the visitors center with her on Saturday night, and it was a really powerful experience. I love her so much, and want her to be baptized, and not at all so I can say that I got a baptism. I just truly know that this will make her so happy, and I yearn for her to have the fulness! We also had another powerful lesson with an investigator named Reacha. She is African American and has a lot of sass. I love her so much and she has so much faith in Christ! She just keeps saying that she doesn't want to get baptized until her life gets calmer. We told her that this is actually probably the opposite of what will happen because it is a good thing that is bringing her to Christ, and satan doesn't want that to happen. We are seeing her again tonight, and I'm excited to meet with her again!
-Last night we kind of had a funny experience with an investigator at a fireside. He is not our investigator, but we just started talking to him during the refreshment time afterwards. He was so insistent on following the example of Jesus Christ and getting baptized outside, just like Christ did. He is upset that we go around spending all our money on building temples, but we won't build baptismal fonts or rivers outside. We tried to speak calmly with him, but he was really contentious, so he would not have any of it. I am a little worried for that man!
-We had a building leaders meeting this week, that a senior couple is teaching. It was incredible!! They talked about how a private victory precedes a public victory, and related it to how Gethsemane preceded Calvary. They also talked about the 7 habits of highly effective missionaries. They changed my whole perspective!!
I was blessed before I came out here that my faith in Jesus Christ would grow while being out here, and I can already feel that happening. I continually have to put all my faith and trust in Him, and He has blessed me abundantly. I love my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ with all my heart. I know without a doubt in my mind that they live, and I have come to know this for myself, through the Holy Ghost. I yearn to be with Them, and to bring others unto Them. I am so grateful for the strength I receive daily from the Atonement, for without Him, I have found that I am nothing.
I love you all so much, and I pray for each of you daily!!!
With all my love,
Sister Akin
I have to go but know that I love you all so much!
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