Hello To You All:
It's been an awesome week in the Great OCM located in the cute town of Marysville. I love it here. I really do. I can't believe tomorrow it's 11 months since I said goodbye to my old life and headed on this journey. I had no idea what the Lord had in store for me but I am ever so thankful I accepted the call to serve a full-time mission. It's been the HARDEST thing I've LOVED to do. What a blessing it is to serve in the Great OCM; no place could be better and time goes by way to fast...
Here is the happenings for the past week:
What a fun week with Grandpa K.☺️ Monday evening we went to the Snow’s and had a family home evening with them. It was such a fun evening. Tuesday we had a lesson with him at the Cottle’s. Saturday lesson with Sister Smith. Yesterday lesson at the Bishop Hiltscher’s home. And...HE CAME TO CHURCH. AH. It was such the sweetest thing to watch him walk in yesterday with his nice pants and button-up shirt, singing the hymns with him, and having him read clear and very loud...from the gospel principles book. He has one more lesson that we will be doing Tuesday and only needs to go to church two more times to be eligible for his baptism on September 3rd! We are too excited for him! Please keep K in your prayers that he can make it to church.
We started to meet with E’s boyfriend E, who is quite in a dilemma...causing him to not be eligible for baptism until February BUT he desire to change and be baptized so that's exciting! He gave us the greatest synopsis of what he read in the Book of Mormon the other day; more than I knew about the chapter! We will be meeting with E but at this time she cannot meet due to health conditions...which answer our questions of where she went and why we couldn't get ahold of her. So all is well with her.
C sorta...kinda..half-way dropped us this week? Not sure how to explain it lol. He said that he is going to live the standards of the church, he will live all of them and he just isn't ready to make that commit yet. Hopefully, through fasting and prayer, he will be able to realize the importance of this message in his life.
Don't know if any of you remember B...the rescuer for animals who is a less actives roommate? Well, we taught her the full restoration this week and she took it really well. Our relief society president, who is a convert shared her testimony of Joseph Smith and how she came to feel he was a prophet. B then said, "I have full faith that Joseph Smith was called to be a prophet by God." It was incredible!!! She has a lot of questions that we will help to answer but we have full faith in her! She accepted soft baptism too! After that lesson, the less active told us that B kept saying there is a reason why this came into her life and that she "wants to learn more about this Prophet Smith." Ah, we love her. Pray for her to receive a confirmation to be baptized.
This week was a bit of a tough one for me. Many of you may not know but about a year ago after I went through the temple, I was pretty depressed for about two weeks after. Who knows why I felt that way...but I did. This week that same feeling of emptiness and depression came back. All week it continued to get worse and worse...to the point where I did call Sister Daines. After a long talk with Sister Daines and taking her advice to put my shoes on, walk to the store to get dark chocolate, and cool off...I felt way better.
It's not a normal thing for me to feel that way....I'm usually a happy, upbeat, positive person. BUT It has helped me to have empathy to people I have met and taught on my mission. I'm able to feel such a small portion of what others feel and it helps me to understand them better. It's taught me a lot about my Savior. He literally felt everything myself or others have gone through. I am better able to understand that part of the Atonement. So despite the challenge, it's been a blessing.
Sister Daines later text us and told us to ".....choose a happy day!"
That line hit me hard. I decided that despite how I felt inside, I wanted to choose a happy day. I came to understand that despite challenges and concerns, we can find the beauty of the day. I love my companions example..she not only figuratively lives the line "stop and smell the roses" but she literally does. Every rose bush we see. I love it. The Lord has given us the beauty of the earth and it's our choice to open our eyes to the light of Christ. Despite the darkness around us, we can find light. "We can know with a surety when our lives are dark that Jesus Christ can transform that darkness into light."
I testify that the restored gospel of Jesus Christ can bring light into our lives despite the challenges we each face. I felt that within my own life and I promise you can too. The Prophet Joseph Smith truly restored simple truths to the earth when God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ appeared in the Sacred Grove. We bring light and truth into our lives as we read the Book of Mormon and apply it's teachings into our lives. The Church is true and the gospel is the only way to find true and everlasting happiness in this life. I so testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. Until next Tuesday...we have a mission activity next week so our zones p-day was changed to Tuesday. Thanks for all the love and support. Love and miss you all. Choose a happy day. Smell the roses.
XOXO,
Sister Detamore
1. Helping V and O clean windows
2. Helloooo Charles House
3. eLeVeN mOnThS
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