Well, another eventful week. It all started Tuesday night. Tuesday I was at a leadership council and so Sister Maness went on exchanges with some other sisters as Sister Edstrom (my MTC comp) and I carpooled to the meeting. On our way back, we got a call from our companions that one of the sisters had fainted and that they were taking her to the hospital so we should meet them there. We luckily were just passing what we thought was the hospital that the ambulance was taking her to and so we waited, but turned out they took her to another one in Boise. We met up with our mission president there and ended up having to wait for about 4 hours until they released her. She has diabetes so we thought that was the cause, but not quite sure what really sparked it. Luckily the sister is okay, but definitely not how I anticipated spending the rest of the evening. It was a great time though to spend with our mission president and get to know him better. I keep telling Sister Maness..."welcome to the mission!" haha. She's had a great introduction: snow and hospitals.
Thursday night, our investigator, Miary, had her baptismal interview by our mission president. It was such a spiritual experience. After he went through the interview, he brought Sister Maness and I into the room and we were all able to bear out testimonies to each other and many tears were shed. At the end of the visit, President challenged Miary to learn English because it would benefit and bless her as she became more involved with the ward and evening preparing for the temple in a year. Sister Maness decided to take advantage of this opportunity and so we're going to start meeting with her almost daily to teach her English. I'm so excited and so grateful for this woman's preparations and testimony that have gotten her to this point. She asked if weren't going to come by any more and we promised her that we would still come often and now we have even more reason t do so. Her baptism is this Saturdayand I am so excited for this unique experience as it will be in Malagasy and translated for us.
With this Christmas season, we've had a lot of success getting to visit with less-active members and inviting people to activities. One of the events was a live Nativity at the Star Community Friendship barn. This was the second time the LDS and Friendship Church have done this together and it's a great opportunity for different religions and the community to come together in unity as we celebrate the birth of our Savior. Three of the elders were volunteered to be the "wisemen" and another was the angel, while the rest of us joined in the choir. It was a great turnout as we had about five 10 minutes performances. The only downfall was that our toes were frozen by the end of the night. But there was hot chocolate and it was worth it ;) I love the Christmas season! We've been listening to a lot of Josh Groban and David Archuleta Christmas music!
Our schedules are getting filled with more teaching opportunities. We are continuing to teach Mary Jo and she has accepted the challenge to attend all three hours of church instead of just Sacrament meeting. Her biggest struggle has been doubting that she knows enough (even though she attends church regularly and has LDS family so knows more than most of our investigators!) and so we know that by also attending Gospel Principles and Relief Society will help her to learn more and feel more confident. We also had a less-active member and his non-member family invite us over for Christmas dinner so we're REALLY excited about that!
We had Zone meeting this week and were encouraged on a few commitments. One is that our mission goal until January 7th is to find 500 new investigators (about 2 new investigators per week per companionship). We are praying more than ever for these opportunities and know that blessings will come. We are encouraged to have one companion prayer a day that is just on gratitude. I know that by simply expressing gratitude, it helps us to focus on what we have already been blessed with instead of constantly asking for more.
At this time of year, as we reflect more on Christ, let us be grateful for what we have been given and for how He has blessed our lives. Reach out to your neighbors and loved ones more by letting them know you love them and doing an act of service for them. Whether it's delivering cookies or helping out in their yard. We all need to feel loved and wanted. Thank you for all your love that you have shown to me. I feel the prayers and thoughts every day. I know the miracles I see are not just chance, but a result of prayers and work. Let's lift each other's spirits as we reflect on the spirit of CHRISTmas.
Have a wonderful week!
Love,
Sister Wightman
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