This week has been SO CRAZY!!! Oh my gosh what a transition.
Well I flew it Arkansas on Wednesday morning! It was my first plane ride ever
and honestly... planes aren't really my thing. I don't enjoy them. But it was
better than driving! ;) We spent the night in the Loveland's home in Arkansas
and I would tell you more about that but... to be honest... that whole 24 hours
was a blur. I don't remember most of it. I do remember that he gave me a
picture of my new companion, Sister Sanders, and told me my first area would
be.... Springfield, Missouri YSA. I was PUMPED! I don't know that I've ever
been more excited for something in my whole life, honestly.
The next day we drove to Missouri and I met Sister Sanders.
She is literally one of the most amazing people I've ever met. I love her SO
MUCH. About halfway through the day she connected the dots that if I was from
Twin Falls, Idaho then I would probably know her MTC companioin... wait for
it... Sister Emily Bisch. I was so excited! We literally talked about how
awesome she is for the rest of the day! Springfield is the hometown of many
many things, Cashew Chicken, a HUGE Bass Pro store and Andys ice cream which is
far and away the best ice cream I've ever had in my life. It is also the home
of Missouri State. My apartment is interestingly located right across from
Missouri State and then on the other side we have a bar. It is an interesting
location for sure! But I love it. Somehow I managed to get here the week of
Spring Break which is problematic because most of the talking to people we do
is on campus, because I'm in a YSA ward and that also meant all of our
investigators were home for Spring Break. Basically no one was here. It's day
five and I still haven't taught a lesson yet, Sister Sanders says that we
usually teach a TON, they literally call it the promised land, just not during
spring break. But we decided to do some tracting. We have done a LOT of
tracting! Which is fun! I still get really nervous and Sister Sanders has to
help me out a lot but I'm slowly improving. However this has also brought a lot
of interesting experiences into my life for the first week of being here.
We went tracting on my first full day here and we ran into a
guy named Kenny... oh Kenny. We knocked on his door and he started talking to
us and was very quick to tell us that he is Pagan and had absolutely no
interest in talking religion with us. Okay, that's fine. We just tried to have
a nice conversation with him and then he looks at us and says
"missionaries... you guys are just awkward people." We were a little
surprised and tried to play it off. The conversation got more weird from there.
He told us that he was supposed to be a Roman Gladiator and that he was born in
the wrong time period, he said you could tell from his physique (his word not
mine). He also told us he is both a Libra and a Scorpio, I don't know how that
works but apparently it does. He told us that, conveniently, our astrological
signs are his two most intimate love connections *eye roll*. Kenny is also a stage
five sociopath! Needless to say we quickly ended the conversation and as we
were about to leave he said "You girls are the best missionaries to show
up so far. I would love to talk again. I help a lot of you guys out, I like to
talk because I show you guys a whole new perspective that you haven't ever even
considered before." I don't remember how Sister Sanders handled it but we
left. It was pretty funny.
We knocked another door of a guy and he was nice and talked
to us for a minute and then said he had to get ready for work. We left him a
pass along card and said goodbye, he closed the door and we listened to him and
his wife laugh the whole time we walked away. That was a confidence killer.
Then we knocked another door where the man literally answered, said "What
can I do for you?" and we made it through "Hi! We are missionaries
from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints!" and he closed the
door. That was discouraging too. We did tract one door where we met a girl who
said she would be interested to coming to church and activities but she didn't
come yesterday so I guess we will see how that works out.
We tracted again the next day and we tracted almost all day
long. The last door of the night was mine! I struggle with knowing what to say
to people. Anyway, I knocked on the door and they answered and immediately the
smell of pot flooded out and it took me a few seconds to recompose myself. I
started having a nice talk with the guy who opened the door and suddenly every
single word I knew left my brain. I couldn't think of one more thing to say and
then I looked to Sister Sanders for assistance and "help me" did
manage to escape. She took over and I was mortified. She said it was okay and
that I did good but hopefully I will do better next time.
The ward that I'm assigned to is fantastic though. I've only
met a few of them and I can't remember a lot of their names but they are so
nice. I had lunch with one of the investigators today and she is seriously
amazing. I love being here so much and I love being a missionary so much. It's
day five and I'm already feeling like it's going by really fast. I lay down at
the end of each day exhausted but feeling like I had no time that day. I wish I
had more spiritual stories to tell you this week but, honestly, it's been a
week of knocking doors. However, to end on a spiritual note. After the whole
"help me" experience and having very little success tracting I was
very discouraged and Sister Sanders said something that I have thought a lot about.
We had a member with us who said it was weird to want so badly for people you
don't even know, to listen to you and be so disappointed when they don't. I
said I totally understood what she was saying and Sister Sanders said
"Honestly, it doesn't bother me. I know at the end of the day, that I
knocked every door I could and that I tried. I could have a thousand doors shut
in my face. I could be laughed at over and over and I just know that there is
one, who is ready. There's someone that will listen to me and who will learn
and their life will improve so much because I was willing to be laughed at and
to have doors shut in my face." That hit me hard and since then I have
looked at tracting a lot differently. I'm not here to convert everyone I meet.
Most people aren't going to want to give me the time of day. But I just need to
have faith that 1. I'm planting seeds with every person I do talk to and 2.
There will be one. The gospel is such a blessing. I'm so grateful to be
planting seeds and for the opportunity that I have to see people the way Christ
does and just want them to come to Him. I love you all so much and I will talk
to you next week!
~Sister Lloyd
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