I'll do my best...
So on Tuesday, I
went on exchanges! I stayed here in Council Creek and Sister Mortenson from
Forest Grove 2nd (we live in the same apartment as those sisters, so it
literally took .2 seconds to exchange) came with me for the day. She is a new
missionary, but has an amazing knowledge of the gospel and has a powerful
testimony! It was fun to be with her and get to know another sister!
In reference to the
title of my weekly, I have officially been a missionary for ONE YEAR! I can't
even fathom the fact that for the past 365+ days without fail, I have been
wearing a name tag on my chest.
I love how my name
tag signifies so many things. It represents the name of my family. I want to
make them proud. It represents the name of the Church, and most importantly, it
says the name of my Savior Jesus Christ. It amazes me that my name tag doesn't
have my actual first name on it, because while I am a missionary, the last
person I am representing is myself! I am representing my family, the church I
belong to and my Savior Jesus Christ. Who better else to represent?!
I feel privileged
and honored to be one of His called representatives, and I know that throughout
the course of my mission, I have felt His power as I do my work as a
missionary.
I've reflected a lot
about this past year. It's been a year since I've been able to physically see
my family. It's been a year since I've been able to watch a movie not made by
the Church or take a nap during the day. It's been a year since I've been able
to what I want when I wanted to.
But....
It's been a year I
wouldn't trade for the world. A year of diligently studying the scriptures and
seeing my testimony grow and be more grounded because of it. A year of
introducing myself to hundreds of people and talking to them about the gospel.
A year of stressing about the people we're teaching and how we can help them to
better live the gospel. A year of stretching goals that have pushed me farther
than what I thought I could handle. A year of tears, sweat, sad moments and
joyous ones and every emotion in between. A year of some of the hardest things
I've ever gone through, and a year of the greatest joy I have ever felt in my
life.
I sure love being a
missionary.
So a big highlight
of the week: Aurora was baptized.
It was an amazing
experience and we are so so grateful for all the hard work that the members put
in it to make it such a special experience for her.
My favorite moment
of the program, other than the actual baptism of course, was when Aurora shared
her testimony at the end. She started off by saying that she didn't preplan
what to say, but that she would just tell us what was in her heart.
Aurora has been
wanting to be baptized for over 4 years now, and within the past couple months,
received permission to do so because she would be turning 18. She was so
excited and her lessons were always my favorite, but she said that the night
before, she had some doubts and fears of if she really wanted to do this and if
she was really ready. She said though, that when she took the step of faith to
come, every fear and doubt was washed away and that she felt the Spirit so
strongly.
I got a little
teary-eyed during that testimony and it confirmed my witness that the gospel
truly can change lives.
Aurora was so
prepared for the gospel, and it honestly wasn't anything that I did that
converted her to the gospel or helped her beyond measure to be baptized- she
was already ready! I am thankful though, for the opportunity I have to know
her, because I'm pretty sure that I learned more from her than she did from us.
Another cool
experience:
We've been teaching
this older woman, Francine, who has some struggles about accepting a baptismal
date because shes been baptized previously.
We've been wondering
how we can best help her and we realized that she needed to gain a testimony of
the priesthood and how it has been restored.
We asked a couple
brothers in the ward to come and visit Francine with us so that they could give
her a priesthood blessing. It was cool because Francine had some mutual friends
with them!
The priesthood
blessing they gave her was so powerful and afterwards, she was speechless
(which is super cool because she has no problem saying what is on her mind). We
left quickly afterwards and asked her to ponder on what she had felt, and a few
days later during our lesson, she said that the Spirit she had felt during the
blessing extended all throughout the day. It was amazing!
I love this gospel
and the absolute privilege and opportunity I have to share it each day. It is
an honor to be here serving my Heavenly Father and representing His Son, Jesus
Christ.
Thank you all for
all your love and support. Have a great week!
Love
Sister McCown
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