Monday, January 13, 2014

January 13, 2014

Week 42

Dear Family and friends... so this email I hope makes a little bit of sense... I'm pretty much copying and pasting my letter to the mission president onto this email with a few minor changes, so hopefully you all can figure out what's going on. [Kendall has to report to her mission president each week as a Sister Training Leader]

This past week was transfers. I'm in a new area, in a new zone, with a new comp. We had mission leadership council on Thursday and we talked mostly about desire. I learned so much about my desires and what I need to do to change them! I need to want to do the hard things on a mission... I need to want to do them because the Lord wants me to do them. As I put my own desires on the sacrificial alter, I can ask the Lord to fill me with His desires... and by doing this, I'll be aligning my will with the Lords... and this is the thing I've been trying to do for this past week... give up my own desires and do this work with enthusiasm because the Lord wants me to. The Mission Leadership Council really changed me. I feel like there were certain things that stood out to me that were absolutely essential for me to hear. Being about half way through my mission, I needed to be shaken up a little bit and called out to repentance. In the last transfer (don't get me wrong, I've been working hard!) but I don't think I was truly giving my whole heart and soul to the work. I'm so grateful that I've been given this new opportunity to start anew with new expectations for myself. I was really struck with the idea of consecration. I realize that lately I've been being a good missionary or even a great missionary, but I haven't necessarily been a fully consecrated missionary. I want so badly to be absolutely 100% dedicated to the work during this short time that I have as a missionary. I, in fact, have started a 40 day fast of 8 things that I'm putting on the sacrificial alter! One of them being eating sweets. Another one being guesses and desires for future transfers. These are 2 examples of things that I'm wanting to get rid of completely for the next 40 days so I can focus more fully on the work. The greatest desire of my heart is to give my ALL to this work ... without running myself into the ground. "Oh that I were an angel!" I have this Alma desire to be super human so I can be 100% consecrated and FULLY dedicated to the Lord!

Sister Montesinos is great! She's super sweet and really normal and nice, which I'm grateful for :). From what I can understand, her last transfer wasn't a super productive transfer for her. Well that is not how it is anymore, especially with me being on this consecrated missionary kick. I LOVE Łódź though! The branch is great and SO loving towards me! The city is definitely NOT as bad as everyone says and I actually really love Lodz and think it's really pretty! I'm also so grateful to live in a big city again! There are SO many streets to explore and people to meet! I'm really excited for this transfer and am expecting miracles to happen here!

Sorry it's so short, we have less time than usual. I don't have time to think of a funny moment, but don't worry, I'm still laughing :)

Love,
Sister Blake

Below is a picture that Elder Lanham sent me of the woman Kendall help teach and whom Kendall referred to in her last letter that got baptized just a couple days after Kendall was transfered. Elder Lanham, who was one of the Zone Leaders Kendall served with,  is in the photo with Sister P, Kendall's old mission companion from Wroclaw and their companions. Elder Lanham and soon to be baptized Sister are in all white and are ready to enter the pool which will act as a baptismal font. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints believes in the restoration of full baptism by immersion, like was done when Christ was baptized by John the Baptist.
Kendall sent this last week and forgot to post: We got an article about us in the local newspaper online! I know it's in Polish, but you can go on Google translate :) a few people have actually said to us: "oh ya, you guys were in the newspaper!" So mission accomplished!
Love,
Sister Blake
Here is the first part of it so you can see what Polish looks like, but for the whole article, click on this link:
Dwie mormonki z Salt Lake City, gdzie znajduje się główna siedziba Kościoła Jezusa Chrystusa Świętych w Dniach Ostatnich, przyjechały do Katowic na misje. Na ulicach miasta opowiadają przechodniom o swojej wierze i nauczają, jak dzięki niej można osiągnąć spokój i szczęście.

Siostra Blake ma zaledwie 21 lat, ale już pracuje jako misjonarka dla swojego Kościoła w USA. Należy do zgrupowania mormonów, jednego z najpopularniejszych wyznań w tym kraju. Mormoni wierzą, że Bóg porozumiewa się z ludźmi poprzez żyjących proroków, a jedną z najbardziej kontrowersyjnych nauk ich Kościoła jest doktryna o dosłownym pokrewieństwie człowieka z Bogiem.


 https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v1/url?u=http://katowice.gazeta.pl/katowice/1%2C35063%2C15144533%2CPrzyjechaly_z_USA_nawracac_katowiczan___Bog_tak_chcial_.html%23ixzz2p9W9UjIO&k=wlPCrglRP6kzT4RbABWMaw%3D%3D%0A&r=AlaQxylf4ESQYV8nCHYV5qar%2Fdha4wpoq0FZfLtI%2Fpo%3D%0A&m=6d4ib44hK1eRGSt6XuBYiFd4J6kctOv2d17fRuQQKuA%3D%0A&s=54e64d01f4f34a815c3555e702206351f1714d4b13562d6d0b60cb26bbf7cf4a

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