Monday, September 8, 2014

9/8/14 - Every Missionary Has A Story About a Dog...Pit Bull and Wolf Dog



 So, a funny thing that happened this week.  We were knocking yesterday night, and at every gate you need to bang a little and whistle, to know if they have a guard dog or not. So we do that, nothing happens, and its later so it’s pretty dark. We knock on their metal door (people call them the holy ghost doors or confession doors since they are full of holes so they can see you but you can’t see them). Anyway, a younger woman opens the door and we introduce ourselves, and the first words out of her mouth are "don't move." uhhhhhhhh...... okay? We stand there frozen on her porch for a solid 3 minutes, when she returns and explains that she had to put her pit-bull away. WHAT? The Lord protects His sister missionaries.   She's not interested, but as we turn to leave, she gasps and we turn around, and there is this Wolf dog right in her yard that must’ve wandered in after we left the front gate open. So she ushers us into her house to sit by her 3 yr. old while her husband chases this thing out!!! Can I say again, He protects His sisters!  And yes, STL-sister training leader- is fun, you get to serve with a lot more missionaries. Tomorrow we are doing inspections for all the sisters apartments because we are having General Authority Elder Carlson coming to the mission Wednesday. Turns out he was a general in the army, and so he's gonna be intense!
So here are some people from this week:
Dorinda: Older lady who had a stroke a while back. Can't move her right arm or say anything besides "choy-choy". She understands everything. So, we've decided to teach her sign language…tender mercy for me and for her.
Ricky: He is still set for baptism. He actually was asking us if he could push it forward, so that’s cool:) Only problem, he really doesn’t know this is the ONE true church. He believes our teachings, he comes to church every other week, he wants to follow God. But it’s amazing how essential having a testimony about the Book of Mormon/Joseph Smith/priesthood authority is what sets us apart..... so, working with him on that=)
Eskamillas- amazing members. Husband-YM president, wife is YW president. Had us over for FHE with their teenage son, and we got to play Scum and Apples to Apples!! Man, we all said it felt like home to be playing card games.
Jason Scarabin- Less active we met with. Coolest guy ever, swapped a ton of mission stories! His daughter is adorable! What’s the problem? His wife hates religion (okay, we've dealt with that before no problem) The problem is- he doesn't want to go to the Celestial Kingdom...... He knows the doctrine deeper than we do. He "gets" it. But obviously, not enough. It’s another "Jim" -(excommunicated member in West Hills)... You just gotta love them and realize why it’s so crucial to have the spirit, cuz it can touch them in ways you can't.
Sister Reuben- Met on exchanges in Burbank ward. Turns out she's a CODA (child of deaf adults). Suuuper cool talking/signing with her. Her husband has not gone to church, but we made hamburgers for them, joking the whole time, they were both so cool. And during dinner, I just felt the spirit, and told him straight up that church is a commandment from God and he needs to go. Coolest moment ever=)

This week I really have felt yoked to Christ. Matthew 11:28. At the end of this month I am halfway through my mission, and it sometimes feels like I have so much to become, and if I fall short, how can I, as a leader, help others grow?  But the spirit is an interesting thing. You don't lose the weight of the burden, but you are given a deeper desire and a bigger perspective to know it’s not your hands, it’s His.

Love you all!
Sister McNeill

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