Thursday, March 17, 2016

Rockford Diaries Week 11: 'Lazarus, Come Forth' - November 17th, 2014

Mis Queridos,

I have aptly chosen this subject today because this is the experience I go through every morning when my alarm goes off. Someone once said you get use to waking up and 6:30am every day, and you do, meaning that though your body wakes up, but what they don't tell you is that it feels like you're rising from the dead. The longer I am on my mission, the more exhausted I get. It's not the lack of sleep really, it's just exhaustion. I am out the moment my head hits the pillow most nights, and when the alarm goes off in the morning, I feel like I am being called forth from some deep place where souls reside once they leave their bodies. Life is good. 'Aight no rest for the wicked'.

So that being said, this was quite an adventurous week. We had some crazy experiences. For starters we had zone training and interviews with president Fenn. So when President Fenn walked in we knew right away he was mad about something. So we were all pretty nervous. It turns out it had nothing to do with us, but he was still all fired up, and guess who was in line to be interviewed first....yours truly, so that was exciting. :) I love President Fenn, in my interview we were talking about something and he said, "Well that's a personality flaw you have". Awkward. But then he said, "Don't worry, I have the same flaw, you and I are the type of people who are always on to the next mountain, no time to rest or appreciate what we have accomplished". Well if President Fenn and I have similar flaws, I am in good company, because he is one of the best people I know. It was a pretty good meeting. We have awesome leaders in this mission. 

So also this week, I had a really cool experience with this less active family I really love. We have been working with them a lot and the wife is amazing. So strong, but the husband, well he isn't quite there yet. But for the sake of propriety, I won't go into so much detail, but we had a lesson with them this last Friday, and things are coming to a point in their relationship where is the husband doesn't shape up, the wife has got to leave. So we had this lesson with them and it was so powerful. The most powerful lesson I have ever had on my mission. Everything I said I know for sure came from the spirit. I have never felt so strongly the authority and power of my calling. I said things, that I wouldn't have dared say if I wasn't under strict obligation of the spirit. It was an amazing experience. I know that I am a representative of Jesus Christ. I know that I am doing his work, and when I prepare myself and am worthy, the Holy Ghost can do amazing things through me. I felt like Jacob when he says, "I this day am weighed down with much more desire and anxiety for the welfare of your souls than I have hitherto been, Yea, it grieveth my soul and causeth me to shrink with shame before the presence of my Maker, that I must testify unto you concerning the wickedness of your hearts, But, notwithstanding the greatness of the task, I must do according to the strict commands of God, and tell you concerning your wickedness and abominations" (Jacob).  

Then we had this crazy experience yesterday, where once again I almost died. So, we were driving, and we were stopped at this light, when suddenly and we're not sure how, we had rolled into the middle of the intersection. I'm not sure what happened, neither of us even knew what happened, we both felt like we had an out of body experience. It's hard to explain but it was really weird, the only reason we even recognized that our car had moved is because I looked over and saw headlights about 10 ft from my side of the car, and they were quickly turning into me. Somehow we moved through the intersection to the other side without even a scratch. Both of us were extremely calm, too calm. It was like everything had just happened in slow motion literally, and like we were more of spectators then actual participants. It was a super strange experience. I know for sure we were being protected by angels, especially because the whole experience felt like a dream. Neither of our minds could actually grasp on to the reality of what had just happened. That car should have hit me. But we shouldn't have been in the intersection and we were. It was weird. I don't know if that makes much sense, but we just felt like there was some forces at work there and we were in the middle of it. 

Well I am learning and growing. The mission is good. Life is good. My companion is so great, she reminds me so much of Hannah. They make similar faces, and have similar reactions and such, so as you can imagine we get along great. We are working hard, trying to change Rockford, trying to make it the promised land, and it is coming little by little it is definitely coming. Pray for this place please, and these people, I love them. 

I love you all. Transfers are next week, so we will see what happens! I hope you have awesome weeks!! Fight the good fight. And just to sum up how I feel about the millions of excuses I get from people a day, a quote from Brigham Young, "You can justify yourselves right down to hell!". The end. 

Xoxo,
Hermana Simmons

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