Dear friends and family,
I realized from my subject title it sounds like I'm dying haha. But no. I had a much better week than last week! Thank goodness!
So first off: shoutout to my mom for the cleaning tips! And thanks to my family for the letters this week! I love getting those letters on Saturday night :) Also, Justin: your handwriting in cursive is SO good. A lot better than your regular writing...haha ;)
I taught in zone meeting (it was my second time, but it was still scary)! We learned some great stuff at missionary leader council about obedience, sacrifice, and sanctification, and after much prayer and preparation, I feel pretty good about my parts on obedience & gossip.
The assistants to President Alba came to zone meeting, and one of the elders, Elder Bettridge, came up to me after and said, "Look at my notes."
Haha so the first time I spoke:
"Sister Decker. Obedience.
Throwdown."
Second time I spoke:
"Sister Decker. Gossip.
Throwdown #2"
Yup. But hey, the gossip has stopped and the obedience has increased, so hopefully our zone all took it to heart. I did it with love, though. I know we as servants of Christ can do better. We can do great things, sometimes we just need a little push in the right direction.
We also had interviews with President and Sister Alba and that was happy :) I love them so so much. They are such wonderful leaders.
The work is still going slow right now...all of our investigators are sick! But I understand, because I have been feeling sick too haha. I'm hanging in there.
Highlights this week:
We were sung to by two black men on two separate occasions. It was the BEST.
#1
We were contacting by the bay in Vallejo when I realized I dropped my favorite pen! So we backtracked to find it and ended up at a crosswalk with this black guy and his girlfriend. He saw our tags and immediately burst into song:
"I got the power
No no no
God's got the power
Oh-h-h
He got the power"
Hahahaha it was awesome. He had an AMAZING voice!
And #2
We were contacting in a park near RQ's house (he is doing great, by the way - preparing to receive the priesthood in a few weeks and also to do baptisms in the temple!!) and there were a whole bunch of people cooking some food. We walked over to talk to them and this one guy says, "Hey! Want some fried chicken and fish?"
We said, "Sure!"
So we go over and eat some DELICIOUS chicken and fish and are talking to them, and the same exact thing happened when the guy saw our tags. He bursts out:
"Praise to the Lord!
Oh
Praise to the Lord!
Sing it now
Praise to the Lord!"
Good times, good times. I love being here in Vallejo.
I was looking back from the beginning of my mission and I feel like I am a totally different person. Not in a bad way. God has been picking and burning away at this piece of coal and slowly transforming me into a diamond. It's going to take much longer than just a mission haha, but it's getting there.
Here's a few reflections from this week:
I realized I can do hard things. I can be a leader. I can always be more humble. There is always more to learn. Every soul is of great worth in the sight of God. I know Jesus Christ is my Savior now. I already knew that, but He is more real to me now. I know that missionary work is not just something we do when we have a badge pinned on our chest, but is something we covenanted to do when we were baptized. I know what it feels like to have my heart ache for someone who chooses the wrong, and what it feels like to have my heart rejoice when someone chooses the right. I learned that every companion I am with is so inspired. God knows who I am. God hears my prayers. He also hears our investigators prayers, our members prayers, the prayers of the homeless man down the street, the prayers of the struggling addict, the prayers of the faithful (or not so faithful) Catholic, Jew, Jehovah Witness, Lutheran, Seventh-Day Adventist, Baptist, etc. We are ALL His children.
There's also a lot more sadness in my heart, but it's a different kind of sadness. I wasn't aware of how many people are so far away from God until I came out here. But I also smile and laugh a lot more, because I am filled with hope.
I love you all! Keep your heads up and remember that God loves you so so so much!
Love,
Sister Kolee Decker
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