On Thursday, we had our regular planning session, but in the library. With the iPads, we have to save and sync our weekly planning. Unfortunately, this place is ridiculous and you can't use the computers or WiFi without getting a computer use pass (like a library card to use the internet, but you can only use it for a month). Identification is needed and everything. So I had lost those with my wallet. But we figured it all out with taking turns, then finally heading to the church building to finish syncing. So then we went to dinner.
When we got back the the car, the car doors were slightly ajar and my companion's iPad was gone. Another evening spent searching. That one wasn't very fun either.
So Friday night we got a new iPad on loan for my companion. The elders thought we were just a mess this week, which was kind of true. Such bad luck.
But we have had some good times as well. We did some service cleaning up a house. The family moved 2 months ago, but it is a disaster. They had to take out mountains of trash and furniture before they could even move in. Only a few rooms are habitable right now, there isn't much flooring, the walls are just boards, and the backyard is a mosquito infested jungle. So Friday we were there with some elders breaking a tub into pieces. I guess a full sized tub is too big to be thrown away. So we went at it with hammers and a crowbar. I told them it was made of fiberglass, but no one believed me until we were all itchy and covered in little shiny shards. Then we hosed the dirt out of the garage, broke down a bed frame, broke and moved a pool table, and went home to shower.
The next day, we were at a different house putting primer on the walls. We left that house a few hours later to go back to the disaster one. We spent a casual few hours sweeping, raking leaves, and cutting through poison ivy with a machete ( we were told it was poison ivy, but I don't know if that was true). Then, back to regular missionary meetings and teaching.
We are finally able to count two of our investigators as progressing. They didn't make it to church yet, but they are on their way. There is always next week.
I found a cool thing in our glovebox ( while I was being a passenger without a license) called Pursuit of Excellence. It is a little booklet the church came out with in the 70s with goals and stuff. It is really cool. In the intro, There is a quote by David O McKay which says
"Every noble impulse, every unselfish expression of love; every brave suffering for the right; every surrender of self to something higher than self; every loyalty to an ideal; every unselfish devotion to principle; every helpfulness to humanity; every act of self-control; every fine courage of the soul, undefeated by pretense or policy, but by being, doing, and living of good for the very good’s sake—that is spirituality.
Spirituality, our true aim, is the consciousness of victory over self and of communion with the Infinite.Spirituality impels one to conquer difficulties and acquire more and more strength. To feel one’s faculties unfolding and truth expanding the soul is one of life’s sublimest experiences."
We teach the gospel because it has the power to "enlarge [the] soul...to enlighten [the] understanding". It has the power to make people better than they every thought they could be. It is light and hope. And I have the privilege to share that all day, every day. I love it.
Have a good week!
Love,
Hermana Pace
PS I found my wallet this morning in the spot between the desk and the couch, where I put my shoes everyday. I don't know if it ended up there through carelessness or a miracle, but it made my day : )