September 2 Letter

Dearest Family and Friends!

I hope this e-mail finds you well and I hope you are all having a great labor day! Thank you for your e-mails, prayers and love. I love you all!

Here is a quote from my journal that captures the week pretty well:

"Missionary work requires A LOT of patience. Things don't happen on your time table or the way you want them to. God is there and I know that. I know this doesn't mean that He has left or abandoned me. Far from it. I don't need a huge miracle everyday to know that, for I know He is blessing me with tender mercies and small miracles daily. It just doesn't go how you expect."  

I am genuinely so happy, but that was how I felt almost everyday this week. It really does not go how you to expect it to go.  You never picture that you'll start the week with 4, almost 5, progressing investigators, and end the week with 1 progressing investigator. I never expected either that I would feel this happy, even when it is hard and when it doesn't appear that we are having success. I truly love being here and I love the people I am meeting. I love the relationships that I am building with all of them, and I just want you all to meet them so much. I tell them about you, and I just picture you getting along with them so well. We talked to our sweet member and friend, Alma Jones, in the nursing home yesterday. She has dentures and she says that she needs a dentist to work on them because they have been bothering her. The dentist hasn't shown up to help there and its been months. I told her about you Dad, and I told her that if you ever came to Virginia, I would send you to her. I picture you two getting along so well! I picture all of you getting along so well with these people, and I hope I get to introduce some of them to you one day.  

Also, I got to go to the temple today! It was incredible! I love the new film so much, and I just loved the whole experience. I would not mind at all if this was the temple that I got married in one day. :)

Here is a quick rundown of the week!

Monday: We visited Alma Jones, in celebration of her one year anniversary of being a member of the church! We gave her a ring that one of our investigators had that was Alma's size. I mentioned this investigator, Jan, before and she is just an incredible lady. She collected a lot of fine, authentic jewelry but now that she has gotten older, she doesn't see a need for it anymore. She prayed and asked God to send her some women to give the jewelry to, when just a little bit after, an LDS family moved in across the street. She became good friends with the woman, and the woman referred her to the missionaries. She ended up giving all of her jewelry to the woman and to the missionaries, and she said that I am the last person to get the jewelry. Giving her jewelry away is a very spiritual experience for her, for she receives promptings of who to give what. She repeatedly tells us to that the jewelry is not from her - it's from God. 

Anyway, she showed us this ring that hadn't fit anyone else, and when she told us the size of it, we instantly thought of Alma. Alma absolutely loved it and she said she would never take it off. Alma is a sweet African American lady, and the ring was a brilliant amethyst color so it looked amazing on her - it truly was just for her.

Later that night we had a lesson with Maryann, a woman that we met street contacting the previous Saturday. We thought she was a golden investigator. She told us about how she had read The Book of Mormon and she instantly knew Joseph Smith was a prophet. She also said that she truly wanted to become Mormon, and she was sincerely searching. It was really fun teaching her that night, and we were so excited after our lesson with her.

Tuesday: One of those days where you aren't as productive as you think you should be able to be. It was a slightly frustrating day, and we just didn't feel like we got a lot of work done. I just feel like I as a missionary and our companionship has so much more potential than what we are living up to right now. I was still happy, but it was honestly a more difficult day. 

That night, we visited a couple who is less active and we had a really fun visit with them.  He is originally from Tonga, and they met when she went to work there. They met and decided the next week to get married! They have now been married for three years, and they are just the funnest people. He actually stopped us in the grocery store parking lot the day I found out that Marilyn had passed away, and he gave us each $20. It really meant a lot, especially on that day. He loves missionaries and he goes out of his way to do anything for them. They have the strong polynesian culture, and they make you feel so comfortable in their home. I hope to be more like them.

Wednesday: We had two impromptu companionship inventories on this day. It is harder than I thought it would be to be with one person all the time, but I really think it is good preparation for marriage! I just need to love my companion and not try to change her! 

Besides from that, we had lunch and a lesson with Maryann, our golden investigator, on this day. She instantly brought up concerns about paying tithing and giving up coffee, and she said that she had made her mind up that she couldn't become Mormon anymore. She also brought up some other issues about her life, and we think she needs counseling that we can't give her. We prayed about what to do with her after making the decision not to teach her anymore, and we felt very at peace about that. We love her and want to help her, but we just think she needs professional help that we can't give.

That night we also saw a family in our ward, the Babitz, whom we love! They are so funny and they also make you feel so comfortable. You would all love them if you were to meet them! It was the perfect way to end the evening!

Thursday: We had an addiction recovery training meeting this morning, which was really good. Our mission president felt inspired to have one of the senior couples teach this program to all the missionaries, and this was the third class we have had. They are really well done classes, and I receive revelation for myself and my investigators during these classes.

We then went to the Potomac Care Center, and helped with the activity for that day, which was manicures and music. I got to give a sweet lady named Joan a manicure and it was so much fun. She had such a sweet heart and the best attitude.

We had a lesson with our Jewish investigator, Keren, that evening. We love Keren so much!! We invited her to be baptized on a certain date, but she said that she didn't want to decide on a date until she knew for sure that she was going to get baptized then. It is so amazing to see her progress, and to see her faith in Jesus Christ grow. She is progressing so much, and she keeps her commitments! The only thing is that she won't pray in the name of Jesus Christ yet, and she won't attend church right now. It is against the Jewish religion to do both, and the Jewish judgment day is coming up very soon. She said that she would attend after the Jewish judgment day passed, but she doesn't want to do anything that might get her in trouble right now. :)

We visited Jan that evening and had a great visit with her. She is one of those people who I feel builds us up so much more than we build them up.

Friday: Weekly Planning Day! Weekly planning is very long, and always a little longer than I think it should be. It was great though!!

We saw a man who was less active in our ward. He is really concerned about the situation in Syria, and that was actually the first I had heard about it. I actually got a little nervous in talking about it, and I felt unsettled and worried the rest of the evening. I can now understand why they don't let us watch the news on our missions.

Saturday: We had another lesson with Keren! We watched the talk "The Grandeur of God" by Jeffrey R Holland. It is an incredible talk! I highly recommend that any of you watch it when you have time!

She also talked about the situation in Syria, and how she is really concerned for her family in Israel right now. She told us a little about her life in Israel, and it opened up my eyes a lot and made me feel very naive about the world. She said that when she was 4 years old, she had to hide in a bomb shelter for about 3 weeks and wear a gas mask. She talked about how every building had a bomb shelter, and how they had drills regularly where they practice running to them. She told us about wars that happened in her very own country and city. She also said how after living in Israel, she doesn't see how peace is possible until the Messiah comes. It has really been so interesting to teach her and to study about Israel. I feel so passionate about this subject and I want to learn all that I can about it.

After teaching Keren, we visited a lady in our ward who is confined to a wheelchair, but who also has the best attitude! There are just so many fantastic people here.

That evening, Keren made some authentic Jewish food for us and it was incredible! I genuinely want you all to meet her sometime, so much. I just love her more than I can describe!

Sunday: A day of tender mercies! We had two investigators come to church, which was such a blessing! One of them was a Chinese investigator, who brought his roommate. Then after sacrament meeting, I was standing in the foyer waiting for my companion, when a family walked in that we are teaching. He is less active and she isn't a member. They have two little kids as well. They are amazing people, and they are such a strong family. We met with her last Sunday, and she told us how she doesn't care about money or material things. She only cares about her family and their happiness, and this truly shows. We had a lesson with them after church, and it was great. I really feel like I was supposed to meet them out here and I just love them. It is amazing how quickly you grow to love people here. 

We then went to visit our Chinese investigator, and he wasn't home, but we met two Chinese people on the street, on the way to and from his apartment. Chinese people are actually very receptive and open to learning more I have found. 

That evening, we went on a walk with a less active member and his dog, and it was great. His name is Rick and we love him so much!

I am sorry that this e-mail wasn't crazy exciting this week, and I hope it wasn't depressing at all! I seriously am so happy and so happy to be here! I know that God lives and Jesus is the Christ. I am so grateful for the restored gospel, and for my Savior's Atonement. I know this is His work, and I continually strive to be an instrument in His hands.

Congratulations if you made it this far in the e-mail! I hope you all have a great week, and you feel Heavenly Father's love for you!

Love,

Sister Chelsea Marie Akin