Good morning, west coast!

Good morning, west coast!
(I can say that because I'm on the east coast.)

 

So first things first-- Saturday was totally Star Wars day, so I've attached a picture that fulfills my purpose as a missionary...

 

Now back to missionary work. Remember how last week I mentioned the lady who softened after we offered to help her with yard work? Well, this week we went back to help her, and it was quite an adventure. It took about two hours to mow the lawn, and since we only had one mower (which, I feel like I must point out, is quite normal), we took turns until the woman came back with the weed whacker parts. So I spent a great deal of time attempting to tackle the dandelions, which proved fun and challenging. Sister Munson kept mowing and I just weed whacked away. It was exciting. But the more exciting part is that  she had looked up a great deal of things on Mormon.org and was asking us a lot of questions. We were able to work and chat with her about the church and about what we believe, and it was a perfect opportunity to serve and teach. She is such a wonderful woman, and we keep praying that she will want to learn more about the gospel.

We also had interviews with President this week, which basically just means we talk with him about any concerns or problems we might have. And if you don't have any, then you're superhuman. But one thing that he did tell all the sisters is that over the next 12 weeks, 30 new sisters are coming in and that even if he had every "experienced" sister training, he'd still be three short. WHOA. (The phrase "experienced" is pretty loose, because technically I'm considered that and... yeah.) So in other words, it's going to get all sorts of crazy in the mission field. By July, over half of the missionaries in the field will have been out less than six months. What, what!

 

This week's lesson learned was diligence. In Preach My Gospel, it says,"Diligence is steady, consistent, earnest, and energetic effort in doing the Lord’s work. The Lord expects you to work diligently—persistently and with great effort and care. A diligent missionary works effectively and efficiently. Diligence in missionary work is an expression of your love for the Lord and His work." This week I was a little sad and less-than-enthusiastic about being a missionary, so the last line really stuck out to me. I realized I wasn't putting in my whole effort into the work, and therefore I wasn't showing my love for the Lord and His work. And since I really do love the Lord, I decided to go and put in my best effort. And guess what? It worked, of course! So this week's challenge is to evaluate yourself and ask: "Am I doing everything I can for the Lord? Are my efforts focused on His work?"

 

Until next week, Love,

Sister Singleton

 

The picture of me and the ice cream is because I've had a few people mention it to me via email/letters. So yes, I've tried the Liz Lemon ice cream. And yes, it's delicious!