Dear all,
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I've had a great week here in my new area (Scripps Ranch, Penasquitos.) I'm in my 3rd trio of 4 transfers. I gues Heavenly Father thinks I need another set of eyes on me. :) Well, it was hard to switch my brain to my new investigators here in SR and to leave my beloved friends in Green Valley. It's worked out though. The Sisters in Green Valley will do amazing things there. I love my new companions. Sister Ah Chookoon is from Samoa and she is such a great leader. She has been here in SR for 2 transfers so she knows the area/ward well. She is a hard worker and really wants to do Heavenly Father's will. Sister Turner is from British Columbia, Canada. I love Canadians, so it works out perfectly. ;) She is an excellent missionary and is really in tune with the spirit...she's a great example. It is going to be a great transfer!
Christmas was so great, despite how weird it was to leave the house w/o a jacket. We had a very simple Sacrament meeting for Church but the Bishop shared something really inspired. He said that the Savior is only the Prince of Peace to the extent we lay our burdens at his feet. It was a perfect message for the day. We spent Christmas and Christmas Eve eating with members and planning for our area. We were given so many boxes of See's Candy Chocolates that we had to put it all on the top shelf of our cabinet so that it wouldn't be so easy to access. haha! I'm learning so much here and I know that I have a lot of learning to do here that I couldn't do anywhere else.
We work on the Marines Base a lot. There are some really great young families that we are teaching. I've met a few and felt right at home because they remind me of people back at home...some of my close friends even. I love how the spirit can work through us and teach people exactly what they need even though we have no idea what part of our message is piercing their hearts.
I've been thinking a lot about what I want to accomplish while I'm serving here in SR. I spent my entire personal study prayerfully setting goals and making plans. Then I have prayed asking for help to get closer to my goals. Praying works! I asked for help with each of my 5 goals and throughout the day I was able to progress in all 5 areas. I was able to see how I got closer to my goals by the end of my day. It was so cool! I love that I have these things I'm working on that I think about throughout the day and I constantly have something I'm striving for. One of my goals is to be a divine companion to both the Spirit and to my companion(s.) It was so cool to see this in play yesterday.
On my first day in SR, we talked to the maintenance guy and asked if we could stop by and share a messge with him and his family. He was really nice and seemed excited for our visit. We went over yesterday to see him and nobody answered the door so we went back down stairs and to the parking lot when Sister Turner said, "maybe we shoud try Joe's neighbor." We all stopped and thought about it. In my head, I thought a lot of things and one of them was that maybe we should just try next time but then I asked her if she was still thinking about it and she said yes." So we all turned around and although none of us knew what we were going to say (because we don't tract in our mission) we pranced up the stairs and for whatever reason, I just felt really calm about the whole situation. I knocked and then a young lady came to the door and we just explained that we were there to see her neighbor but he wasn't home and so we thought we should knock on her door. We asked her about her Christmas and then about her religious beliefs. She was really nice and open. She said she would have to ask her parents if we could stop by again and share a message. We exchanged contact information and something inside me thought to ask if she had time for us to share a message right then for 10 or 15 minutes. So I did, and she said, "sure." It was not the answer I was expecting but we went in and prayed and asked her more about her faith. Then we shared a little about the Plan of Salvation and Heavenly Father's plan for her. It was so cool to testify to her and to help her feel of Heavenly Father's love. I'm pretty sure she felt something. She said she didn't have any questions but that she had a lot to think about. Just before we ended we testified of Heavenly Father's plan for her because we honestly didn't know why we were there. She then told us that right before we knocked she was sitting there thinking about what relgion she felt she was. We closed with a prayer and left her with a Book of Mormon with a commitment to read the introduction and to pray and ask Heavenly Father if He wants her to meet with us. We didn't get a specific return appointment but we feel confident that she will want to meet with us again. If we hadn't gone back to knock on her door last night while her parents were away we may never have gotten to meet her. Heavenly Father has a perfect plan and he lets us play a part in His perfect work if we will but listen to the promptings we have to do good.
I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know that he did all that he did because he loves each one of us and not for any other reason. I know that the amount of help we get from him is in direct relation to how much we put at his feet and how much we are willing to yield to the spirit when it tries to comfort and lift us. The Savior lives. He has called a Prophet to lead and guide us in these days because he loves us all no matter what year we were born nor where we were born. He loves us equally and he wants to lead us back to our Heavenly Father.
Love you all!
Sister Hudson
P.S. Today is my 5 month mark...isn't that WEIRD?!
