Monuments and Melodies: Transfers & Roger Bannisters

Olo?

Big news first: I'm leaving Whitehall. We got transfer calls on Saturday night and I was shocked that I was actually leaving, although the past few weeks I had the thought that I would be. I've been here for almost six months, so it's weird to think I'm leaving. It's hard. But I know that the Lord wants me elsewhere, so I'll go. What's really odd is that I'm only halfway through training Sister Maybury, so I was surprised that I was leaving before I finished training her.

Awesome news: Elder Shane M. Bowen (of the Quorum of the Seventy) came to the mission last week! It was the first time that I actually was able to meet a General Authority, and I learned so much from the conference. We had to be in our seats at Nazareth at 7:30 am, which meant we had to wake up at 5:30 am. But it was totally worth it. Before the meeting started, Elder and Sister Bowen wanted to greet each of us personally, and we were going to go row by row, but then he stopped us and asked for the Sisters to go first. As us Sisters started getting up, Elder Bowen said, "Elders, if you're wondering why the Sisters are going first it's because they're better than you." Hahahah. Okay, I don't include this to be prideful, I just thought it was funny.

Elder Bowen talked about a number of things, one of which was "false limitations." He talked about studies of a jar of fleas. If you put fleas in jars and leave it uncovered, they jump right out. But if you put fleas in jars and cover it, they'll eventually learn to only jump to the height of the jar. And when you take the lid off the jar, the fleas will still only jump to the top, and so will their offspring. This is because there is a false limitation that has been created. We often tend to create for ourselves "false limitations." As missionaries it can be:

"Nobody will talk to us in that area."
"That less-active family won't listen to us."

"The members will never come out with us because they're too scared."

And so on.

So how do we overcome the false limitations? Elder Bowen brought up Roger Bannister, the first person to run a four-minute mile. Back then, it was "scientifically proven" that it was impossible to run a four-minute mile. But in 1954, he did it. Within the following year, six people broke the four-minute mile. Roger Bannister created a paradigm shift for the world, and he overcame that false limitation. So as missionaries we need to pay attention to the miracles we see in our areas and in others' areas. Elder Bowen said to "look for the Roger Bannisters in the mission. Then we'll begin to see more and more Roger Bannisters appear."

This lesson isn't just for missionaries, it's for all of us. Think about the false limitations you've created for yourself. ("I'm never going to get a high GPA," "I can never be worthy to go to the temple," "My kids are never willing to help me," etc.) Now find a way to overcome them. Change your mindset and you'll begin to see the "Roger Bannister" changes in your lives. I testify of that wholeheartedly!

I love all of you guys, and I'm so grateful for your support. Keep up the good work, the good lives, and always remember to look for missionary opportunities in your lives. I was reading in Alma 17 this morning:
"My brethren, be of good cheer and let us go in search of the flocks."

Love you!

Sister Singleton