Here is Jess’s 1-17-14 letter – she actually sent it
this morning and I just happened to be on my email, so we were able to chat
back and forth for about ten minutes and it was so wonderful. I actually
got answers to some of my questions I had asked her in previous letters! She sends her love to everyone
and is so grateful for the emails, letters and prayers in her behalf. As
a mom, I second that and say thanks a million!!
This week has been so much fun, but still crazy. Just
starting to get into the swing of things. The days go by so slow, but now I
look back and it’s weird to think I only have 3 more p-days then I’m outta
here. The first district we were with in our zone was English speaking, so they
left us on Tuesday to head up to Idaho!! Awesome;) Our new district that we are
with are all English, though one girl is really good at sign (go figure). So,
before we leave we will go through a total of 3 different districts in our
zone. Cool cool.
So, Elder Bednar came and talked to us Tuesday,
and being ASL, and needing a translator, we got to sit front row. Two
sisters in our district actually got called up by his wife to speak for a sec,
super cool! Man, when those apostles talk you can just feel the authority and
power when they speak, super super cool! He answered questions that he had been
asked when he came to the MTC Christmas Eve last year. I really thought it was
cool how he told us missionaries to stop asking for miracles, because if you
do, guaranteed you won’t get any. He spoke about faith and works need to be shown
first. He mentioned when the Israelites were carrying the Ark, and they were
promised that they could pass through the river, and it wasn’t until the
Israelites’ feet were wet before the water departed. He blessed us missionaries
as an apostle of the Lord that if we have humble faith and work diligently, we
will have eyes to see and ears to hear the small and simple tender mercies of
the Lord. Not miracles, but mercies.
One kind of frustrating thing is that using
scriptures can be a challenge in lessons. Unlike other languages, you cannot
write ASL, and a lot of Deaf people have a hard time reading English. And, as
far as cd's, they only have the Book of Mormon on cd's with a person signing,
so forget the Bible. It can be frustrating, because a scripture can tie so good
with a person's life, but because I have to try and interpret and explain the
verse in sign, it rarely has the same impact. So, watching the Book of Mormon
cd is my new language study goal!! My teacher said if I watch half an hour each
day, I should finish it in close to four months! Whew hooo bring it on!!
=)
Love you all! Stop waiting for miracles and look for His
mercies!
-Sister McNeill
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