Sunday 7 July 2013

Sacramento--July 2, 2013

So President and Sister Lewis gave us a little time to email you and let you know that we landed and traveled safely to the mission home. Everything is great! While we were waiting for our bags in my peripheral vision I saw a man standing behind me, not a missionary, and a felt that I should talk to him. I was a little hesitant but I finally just turned to him and said "and how are you today, sir?" Well he was wondering what we were all doing there and how missionary work worked.  He also expressed that he was in Sacramento to visit his father who is of failing health. I gave him a pass along card with the address of mormon.org on it and a picture of the temple. I told him that he could find some help and answers from the website on that card. He sincerely said he would take a look and had pleasure talking to me and another random Elder who was there. I wish I could have talked with Michael (that's his name) longer but then my bag showed up and I had to grab it and catch up with Hermana Jensen and Elder Carter. I hope that he finds what he is looking for to help him through this difficult time and that his interest in us as missionaries is satisfied through further seeking. Maybe I needed to be on that plane just to talk to Michael. Maybe my visa was delayed just to help him come closer to Christ. I desperately hope my attitude won't change but right now I feel that if Michael was the only reason that I needed to come to Sacramento, that I would be okay with that. Maybe that's even a little of what Christ felt while suffering the Atonement.... Food for thought.

Everything will be wonderful here. There are Spanish areas, so I'll probably be speaking while I'm here. Also we are a bike riding mission here in Sacramento! This will be beyond hard for me as I'm not really a bike rider, but I know I can do it!

Please don't forget to apply one act of missionary work in your lives. Unless you have an urgent appointment, I encourage and ask that you go to lds.org right after you sign out of this email and watch a talk again or review what was said in that broadcast. There's no time to lose. There're too many blessings waiting for you and others you touch. There are too many waiting and not knowing. Please, even if you don't select something from the broadcast, just do an act of missionary work today: answering a question of mormon.org, posting something on Facebook, having a chat with a friend, going out with the missionaries (I can't speak from experience yet, but I know we love it when members come and they help tremendously!), or whatever you want. Don't quote me on this but I'm pretty sure Preach My Gospel says that members constitute 50% of our effectiveness as missionaries!! HALF!! It's all you! Go make it happen!

I love you SO much!

Hermana Arntsen

No comments:

Post a Comment