HELLO LOVELY PEOPLE (': what a week! Sorry this is so late we went to the zoo as a district for our district active. I feel like I have so much to share but I'll try to keep it short. First off, 8 MONTHS.
What?! I feel like I just got on a mission and now I've been out 8 months. It completely blows my mind how fast time is going by. This, again, has been one of the hardest things I've done BUT one of the best things I've done. I LOVE MY MISSION. I always think to myself what my life would have been like if I didn't choose to serve. Boy, would I be missing out. I've learned so much on my mission. I've come to understand who Jesus Christ is. I've come know that the Book of Mormon is true and have had many incredible experiences with it. I love OHIO. I love the companions I have had. I love the areas I've served in. I love the Daines. I love the people I've met. Wow, I just get emotional thinking about my mission. I'm starting to realize how fast it goes by and it's scaring me. Thank you to every one of my friends and family members who set the example of serving missions to me. I owe this to you all! I'm thankful for the beautiful family I have who have been such big examples to me. I'm thankful for my friends who lived righteous lives and were a light in my life.
Ahh...I'm just blessed by my dear Heavenly Father (':
Tuesday we spent all day knocking. We reached the last house and it was 8:45 pm....this house was huge. So huge we didn't know where the door was. We met S and J. They were the first people the whole day who would allow us to share the Hallelujah video. We began to testify after and John asked some good questions. We asked if we could bring them a Book of Mormon and share more. S said she was too busy and probably never would get around to reading it. I was prompted to testify to her that the book of Mormon can help her as a mother and will bring a sense of peace into her life. After that, she said that we are welcome to bring her a book of Mormon in the next week. We have an appointment to meet with them this week! It was such an incredible experience. We have been praying all day to reach our goal of two new investigators and the last door we knocked on was our answer! God really does want us to achieve our goals and I was able to witness that this week.
The other day we were doing just serve hours at a local pantry. While we are serving there we had a lady come up to us and ask if we could say a prayer for one of the customers. We were able to stand in the circle and say a prayer for the sweet lady we met. Because of this black name tag on my chest, I was able to have this intimate experience with complete strangers. How thankful I am for that. It was such an honor for them to ask us to do that.
We are teaching a less active family, the Carsons, who started coming back to church about 1.5 months ago! We are teaching there 9 yr old, A, and we set a baptismal date yesterday for June 18th! We are pretty excited for her! Yesterday we had a lesson on temples and the spirit was so strong. We discussed how they can be sealed as a family and it made me realize how special eternal families are. I know that the temples are the House of The Lord and what an honor it is that we can attend the temple!
Friday we had an incredible zone conference. It just struck me how real Christ is. He isn't some far out object or concept. He is a real human being just like you and me! He lives with a body of flesh and bones; He is ever so close to us. He knows us personally by name. The spirit testified this to my heart and soul. I was overcome with emotion of understanding that I have a personal Savior who understands me. He knows I'm not perfect but He does know I'm trying to do my best. But the incredible thing is that He isn't just my Savior, He is YOURS too. How comforting is that? We each have someone who has been where we have been, where we are, and where we are going. He can lead us as long as we allow Him to do so.
That night we went out to work. We parked in the dirt of an abandoned building and behind it was a guy on the phone moving tree branches. I had this feeling that we should talk to him but there wasn't an easy access to do so. I decided inside my own head that hopefully he would be there so that when we came back to our car the end of the night we could talk to him. As we were walking away to go tract the street we had in our plans something told me I needed to go back. I immediately turned around and started to walk towards him. Awkwardly yet bold, we waved to him and stood there waiting for about 5 minutes for him to get off the phone. We began to talk to him and before you knew it he
(J) was sharing personal stories about how he came to know who God was and personal experiences/hardships he's been through. We hadn't even told him we were missionaries and he said that we were a sign from God. He kept telling us that he felt like God had a plan for him but he didn't quite know what it was yet. We're able to testify of the book of Mormon and the restoration. We then set up a return appointment for tomorrow night! What a neat experience for me. It's such a sacred opportunity to learn how to follow the promptings of the spirit as I serve the Lord.
I am so thankful for the past 8 months. I have learned and I have grown. I know that the Lord is shaping me into the young woman that I need to become. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I know that each of you can receive an answer for yourself by reading it and praying about it. I know that Joseph Smith was visited by God the father and Jesus the Christ. We have the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ on the earth today. I so testify in the Sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen. Until next Monday..
XOXO,
Sister Detamore
Helped at a funeral luncheon and they gave me flowers!
8 months!
Flowers
ZOO Trip
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