Week 37

Hola, familia!

This week we had a ton of meetings, so I don't have a lot to write about. We had sister Ferre's exit interview, district meeting, a Spanish fireside, service, and we got to go to the Mesa Easter Pageant twice. Plus a lot of packing and cleaning. We got to go to the Easter pageant once in English and once in Spanish, and we will probably go one more time in English next week. It was a lot different than what I was expecting, but I really enjoyed it. It is basically a play/musical about the last week of Christ's life. It was a huge production. I got to see a few people I haven't seen in a while, one sister who was my companion for a day in the MTC after her companion left to the field (remember a million years ago when I was in a trio in the MTC so I was the shuffle girl?). It was so fun to get to see her and talk for a few seconds! I also got to see some people from my last area and a lot of missionaries I have served with in the past. It was fun to be outside and enjoy the spirit that is always present when people are testifying of Christ. 

Sister Martinez, me, and Sister Ferre

As for transfer news, Sister Ferre is now home, along with my first companion Sister Martinez (shout out to Chloe and Paula), which is super weird. I got to drop off sister Ferre at the mission home, so I also got to say goodbye to Sister Martinez, which was super sweet. I am staying in my area, but my companion doesn't get here until tomorrow so I’m in a companionship with Sister Villalta (who I live with - her companion also doesn't get here until Tuesday). The house is super empty and it just feels like a really long exchange. 

The best part of my week by far was that one of our investigators who had never come to church came this week (probs just to hear Sister Ferre's talk…but, hey, she came)! She cried the entire sacrament, and I got to hold her hand the whole meeting. It was a little presh, not even going to lie. 

Sister Ferre's last district lunch at our favorite taco shop

We also had a really cool experience the other night. We were on our way to an appointment and we all the sudden got a really bad feeling like we shouldn't go there. We pulled over and prayed about it and another name popped into our head so we started to go there. Then that felt wrong so we took a detour to another house but he ended up not being home. Throughout this whole process I just felt so sick. I hate not following our plans, I felt unsafe not having somewhere to go. It was dark in downtown Phoenix and I was getting all jumpy. It was the first time I have ever not wanted to be in Phoenix; I was almost on the verge of crying. After that man wasn't home, we decided to go to the house we had originally thought of when we prayed. Because of our detour we ended up going a different route, coming to the house from east instead of the west side entrance. We turned onto the street and I saw a man sitting on a wall wearing an A's baseball cap. We kept driving, and I just felt like we needed to talk to that man. We pulled over and walked back to him. He immediately hung up his phone call and started to talk to us. We got to share the Because of Him video and talk to him. He said that that was exactly what he needed, and that he had been really struggling that day. We shared our testimonies and he said he really wanted to go to church. He lives outside of our area, so we don’t get to teach him, but when we got back to the car I just started bawling. I just felt at peace that we had found the person we were being guided to that whole night. It made me realize how much God is aware of every person. That man needed to be told that God loves him and that everything was going to be okay. God loves him and sent people to him to make sure he knew that. I felt so overwhelmingly grateful that I got to be an answer to a prayer and was able to help someone in need. I was in physical pain, and so stressed leading up to finding him, and then I felt so extremely happy that I got to help that man. It made me understand the Atonement more personally. Christ had to go through so much pain - infinitely more that what I have ever gone through - just because he wanted us to be able to be happy eternally. 

I heard someone quote a blog quote one time and the Sister had said something along the lines of, "Thank you, black missionary tag, for giving me the opportunity to have extremely intimate experiences with complete strangers." I could never describe my mission better than that. I feel so blessed to be able to have these experiences with people that I never would have had otherwise. I feel so humble to have God work through me to help others. I love what I am doing and that motivates me to work harder.

Saying goodbye to Sister Ferre

I think that is really all I have to report on this week! As sad as it was to leave Sister Ferre, I know I will be ok and that she is going to have so much fun at home with her family. It's hard to be making so many friends on the mission and then constantly having to say goodbye to them, but I know we will all stay in contact and all will be well. 

Have a wonderful week,

Hermana Doxey