02/03/2015

*Lets out a deep breath...*

I've gained an unshakable testimony this week of obedience being the key to joy and success as a missionary. After having been a little bit lax due to the number of activities from this week, we stopped practicing exact obedience for a few days and it really affected us pretty hard. But I'll get back to that...

Tuesday was our zone conference which was spiritually filling as usual. The workshops were centered on becoming a PMG scholar, exact obedience (coincidence? nope...), and mastering the mission language which will all lead us to baptizing twice per transfer. We had a testimony meeting at the end and when I bore mine, it was probably the easiest it has ever been for me to state the simple truths I have come to know to be true, such as how much I KNOW the Lord loves each of his children. It was in that moment that I realized how much I've learned and grown. I could literally feel the spirit thick in the air as I spoke, as if the holy ghost were repeating back to me that yes, I really do know those things. 

The next day we had STL exchanges, and it just so happened to be that I got to go with my mission mother, Nanay Surio! It was so much fun to be with her again and to teach with her again after having been trained by her. It was good that she was there... because that day as I was brushing my hair, I noticed a bug in my brush, and she confirmed it as... LICE. Yep. To my wearied dismay, I had a headful of them. We spent about an hour picking all of them out (there were about 14 big ones) and I couldn't focus on anything that day. Let's just say I'll NEVER buy a hairbrush at a wet market ever again. Sadly I let it affect me too much and we didn't get out on time so we didn't enjoy the blessings of a successful day's work. We were punted most of that blistering hot day.

Aaaand the next day got even worse. In the morning, me and Sister Strickland dropped off our bedding to get it de-liced. The walk was a bit far so we got home late. It caused us to start studies late, shower late, and leave late. We again were sent away from appointments and didn't feel the closeness of the spirit nor its guidance. Later that night we were supposed to have a family home evening but nobody had texted us directions by the start time, so we headed to our next appointment which we had scheduled a week prior. Everyone started replying at once as soon as we arrived outside our next appointment, insisting we come back and "stop by" the first appointment. So we gave in and when we got to the meeting place to meet up with the elders, they had started up conversation with a tall Nigerian man. I didn't really question it at first. Then we started the hike to our appointment (which we weren't informed that we would have to do). The terrain was crazy! It was probably a 20 minute foresty expedition of hanging bridges, rivers, slippery rocks and hills in the black of night in a place where there were no houses. Then we noticed this strange foreign man was following us. 2 of the elders stopped him and stalled him so the other elders could walk us to this little bamboo house village where we found the family after a long hike and a few slides into the mud. The other elders then called us to tell us to stay inside because they suspected this man was looking for us sisters. By this time the other group was calling and asking where we were, having prepared all our favorite foods in large quantities. We had to tell them we wouldn't be coming. After an excruciating wait, the elders came back and said the man admitted he was just hungry and homeless. So they fed him and we didn't see him again. After we came back, the gate to our subdivision was locked so we had to go turn around and spend a ton of money to travel around and go in through the other side. We also forgot our bedding and ended up sleeping without any. 

The day after all this, we pledged to be obedient to everything, with exactness, and to make up to the sister whose dinner we missed. Even those small things affected our work and our guidance drastically. I can testify that obedience is all we need to have in this life. I physically felt myself choke on words in lessons those days we slacked in time management. The difference it made in the next day of teaching was like night and day. Sometimes I feel like the Brother of Jared. The Lord wants me to be obedient and do things for myself, and I'm here saying, "Um... here's a few rocks." But that's enough for Him, all he needs is something to work with. At the last day, I want to be able to say to the Lord that even though I'm not much, at least I was obedient. We've been through the refiner's fire lately and I've learned from the sisters around me. Sister Strickland was the example of laughing at difficult situations and being happy even when it's hard. Sister Surio reminded me that sometimes our confidence comes from the wrong places. Our confidence should come purely from our ability to stand in the presence of God without sin. It's very true that the mission is the school for eternity and I'm so grateful for experiences like these, even if it means an itchy head or a muddy skirt. 

Love, 

Sister Wilson