First, Happy B-day Dad!!!
So much has happened this week. It was absolutely packed with craze and confusion and fun. I guess I will go in chronological order.
This past week our worst nightmares were confirmed. Our Relief Society is very near the border of apostasy. We have had several issues of Women being rude and gossipy, and many sisters have been offended and very recently gone inactive. We have been trying to work with and teach the RS President to have lessons with the spirit and a more loving, and unified RS, but our last meeting with her was just overwhelming. We informed her that we visited with a sister who was offended by the horrible lesson given a few weeks ago about not wearing pants in church. The poor sister does not own any skirts and is terrified to return to church and be blasted again so she has just stopped coming. When we suggested to the President that perhaps she was offended and that we should seek to bring her back, we were startled by her response. She told us that if this sister didn't have a strong enough testimony to take criticism then we were better off with out her. We told us how she feels that we as sisters should be instruments of God to chasten and remove those members who are "lukewarm" or weak in their faith. She then proceeded to give us a list of other sisters and families who were offended in RS and why is was so good that they were "removed" for our congregation. Seriously. That is what she said. It was so disheartening to hear, because sister Krout and have worked so hard to bring these sisters back, we had no idea that we were working against our leaders. It frustrates me that people can have this kind of outlook. I do not feel comfortable bring members into a ward that is so stubborn and unaccepting.
In light of all that, RS conference was amazing. President Monson really addressed the topic of judgements and tender love. I feel that we can all learn from this. I have definitely seen a need for improvement in my life.
Sister Krout and I also undertook the lofty task of doing our yard work. I sometimes feel so abandoned and helpless. We have a beautiful home that we live in, but we also have an enormous yard and absolutely nothing to take care of it with. We have no weed-whacker, rakes, nada. So it seems rather difficult to take care of our yard. Finally, we sucked it up and begged one of our neighbors to borrow her weed-whacker. (Puerto Ricans have no concept of lawn mowers. They with trim enormous FIELDS of grass using only weed-whackers). It was a huge task. The people who lived in the home before us were complete slobs (Hence the cockroaches). So wee had to shovel out tons of sludge from the front yard, pull up wads of weeds and uncover tons of overgrown grass. (Dad you would be so proud of me using a weed whacker) It was interesting. As we were working we had 5 families come out, sit on their porch and just watch us work. The whole time they were just telling us that we were doing everything wrong and saying, "Ay bedinto, pobre Americanas."
Other interesting event I was invited to what the missionaries have termed "Scout Camp". A special training meeting which President Alvarado has been giving every 2 months or so. President Alvarado is an interesting leader. He was a motivational speaker by profession previously and he loves to put on a show and everything is last minute. I was informed Saturday night that I would be going to a 2 day training and staying in the mission office with all of the other sisters on the island. Sister Krout stayed in Juncos with Sister Turaga since they will be finishing in just a few weeks. So arrangements were made and I was put with Hermana Aldana a mini-missionary who is actually a member of the Juncos ward. Ilia, I am sure I have talked about her before she is our best friend in the ward. All the sisters spent the night in the office building in a small room with bunks, 3 showers that were frigidly cold (I don't even know how you find water that cold in PR). It was so fun to just socialize and sleep with all the sisters. During the day we just had lectures by President Alvarado (which where extremely entertaining and performance like) . I would say that the conference was both the best and the worst experience of my mission. It is extremely difficult for me to adjust with Pres A and his planning skills. Everything is spur of the moment and hype and psyche and show and fluff. Also we were hardly fed anything at all. And if I was starving imagine how hungry those boys were. But I know despite the imperfections and very strange proceeding of the meeting I did learn from the spirit. Mostly I learned from the new Preach My Gospel Videos that just came out. They are amazing. There just moment when things just clicked and I thought, "this is what missionary work is really about. I can't believe I have been missing that all of my mission." I just had so many "Aha" moments. I really learned and grew.
I pray that I can forget myself, by worries and just serve. I pray that I may be sufficiently humble and patient. I am nervous to pray for humility because I know it can come to you in really painful and difficult trials. But I know it is necessary. I pray that I can learn to be humble by my own will.
I love you family! Markie, you pictures are SOOOO cute! Dad great job on sharing the gospel. Mom, I love you and know that you have been a great blessing to the Northridge Ward and will certainly bless our new ward in Peru. The home looks amazing.
Hermana Palmer
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| Sister Maddock, Mijangos, Palmer, Aldana, and Thornton |
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