5-12-2014

Hey y'all :)

Yep! Obligitory time passing comment! Really though; in 10 days, I will have been out for a year. A YEAR. That's completely bizarre to me. And even more strange, I will be hitting my year mark in the same apartment I was in when I first came out (due to us not having an apartment in my first area yet, and bumming with the Beverly Park sisters for the first 3 weeks of the mission). And I'm emailing all y'alls in the same library I was in when I first came out also! TIME WAAARRRPP...! It is true that I've been in the south most of the mish, so maybe that isn't so surprising...but my last mission wish is to go to Bellingham or somewhere up north at some point to finish things up. We'll see how it goes...

But I did want to share one thing that I've had impressed on me in the last week or so REAL QUICK before I start, and that thing is...that I've come to have a great appreciation of where I've been called to serve. At one point in my prayers this week, I just felt a deep sense of gratitude for being called to serve the people of Everett Washington rather than anywhere else on the globe. I've always felt warmly about my mission call, but that feeling kinda turned into a conviction and testimony this week, and that makes me happy. I know I really would not rather serve anywhere else, even though being English speaking is going to make me take some grueling language classes at BYU. :P Alright, moving on!

UPDATE:

We've been doing well! It's true that post-Carla's baptism I was a little bummed that we didn't have anyone else to baptize THIS Saturday (baptism really is a stinkin awesome highlight), but that's okay. We found 4 new investigators this week and took some definite strides in helping some other investigators progress, and we had someone at church this week! (which we were hoping for, but not necessarily expecting) So blessings all around!

PROFILE:

Name: Rosemary Mutchler

Relationship to member in ward: Wife to Les Mutchler, High Priest and consistent attendee

Characteristic of note: British accent! Preserved, even though she's been in the US for over 50 years.

Her religious journey: From Episcopalian to Mormon for 17 years to diehard Catholic

Bad Habit: taking our Dinner Doctrine card (bulletted list of all the Preach My Gospel Lessons) and going through point by point the things that "We" (the Catholic church) did not believe.

My response: scarcely concealed irritation (may have been hormonally influenced)

Her kind offer: Cookies and water, any time we felt like stopping by!

Sister Hale's response, once we were out of her presence: tears and frustration that someone who'd been in the church for 17 years had never gotten a testimony of the book of mormon, and was deserting to another religion that Sister Hale saw as considerably less palatable.

A weird request this morning: She called us, asking that 'next time we come over, if we would not discuss religion'. Strange only because we offered her basically no invitations to re-learn about the gospel, as it was pretty clear that she was not interested. ...*sigh* Anyway!

SPIRITUAL THOUGHT:

No time! Had a lot of fun reading all the introductory stuff in the front of the Book of Mormon. This was my favorite part:

"The record is now published in many languages as ajew and additional witness that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God and that all who will come unto him and obey the laws and ordinances of his gospel may be saved."

We get asked a lot why we have the Book of Mormon; isn't the Bible already enough? I read this also this morning, which is one answer to that question:

D&C 10: 52

"Behold, I do not bring it to destroy that which they have received, but to build it up."

If God and Christ are there and love us, they would be able to keep producing word, right? The Book of Mormon is literally evidence that that is true and actual, and that it has happened. It's at least worth a read if you haven't yet, I think. ;)

PICTURE:

INJUNCTION TO WRITE!

Really. Now that Ben is in Mexico, I literally get no letters. PATHETIC! I know my friends and family are better than THAT! If you are a lazy bum, just send me your address in an email and I'll get something to you (Catie, Dallin, Katie S--not sure where all y'all are now). If you're a really lazy bum and you don't want to look at Facebook for my address again, here it is:

Sister Hale

Washington Everett Mission

PO Box 13390 

Mill Creek, WA 98082

email:- bronwen.hale@myldsmail.net

:P ...Love you all!

Sister Hale