I would like to first begin this e-mail
by apologizing because this week won't have any photos. I left my
camera in our living room! D: Sorry, y'all!
Have you ever been in a room with a thousand hairdryers with high-heat on full blast? Well, if you have, you understand what it is like to walk around in Mississippi in the springtime.
Sister Barney and I are certainly getting our tan on, and it's really great! I'm about three shades darker than I was in the winter, so I think that's an accomplishment. It takes me back to when I was in high school marching band, and people would ask me if I was a different race because I was so tan. No one has done that in Mississippi so far! Whoo!
Purvis is moseying along rather nicely, I'd say. A lot of neat characters live here -- like people who tell us we don't believe that Christ is the Son of God, others who tell us that the Book of Mormon tells you that Jesus lives on Jupiter with His thirteen wives, that our missions are our time to hunt for our dragon eggs, and many more. These lovely people make me smile; there's all kinds of adventures here in Mississippi!
I do love all of the people I've met here. Serving in the MJM has put me in the position to meet so many loving, kindhearted people. While we meet some who aren't welcome to our presence, most are inviting, kind, and share our desire to draw closer to our Heavenly Father. I've had the opportunity to meet people whom I will never forget; people who have been deeply impressed upon my heart, whose stories and lives have influenced my testimony and reinforced what I know to be true.
I know that God answers prayers, for instance, even the littlest ones. Sister Barney gave me wise words of advice this week: "Whatever is important to you right now is also important to God, even if you don't feel like it's relevant right now. It matters to you." I had to think about that, and it's true -- He really does feel that way about us. For instance, missionaries have a certain set of miles they can use on their car every month. The Purvis Sisters are allowed to travel 950 miles every month. We try our hardest not to go over those miles, and I pray that we don't go over. I know that it affects the missionaries, the mission president, and even the Church when we go over miles.
This month, in response to my prayers, Heavenly Father blessed me to not put our mileage record in the mail before the tenth. Now, I had definitely had the thought to put it in the mail. I just kept forgetting. And so our beloved vehicle coordinator called us after the tenth and informed us that we had to park our car at our house and not use it until he's received the mileage report.
This brought on all kinds of plan-changing, ride-arranging, and creative ideas abounding. The next day, Sister Barney and I had an appointment with an investigator first thing in the morning. In order to arrive on time, we left an hour early and began our two-mile trek to his house.
Mississippi had certainly been warming up, and so we armed ourselves with waterproof mascara, layers of deodorant, and filled-to-the-brim water bottles. We tried to stick to the shade as we walked, although the Mississippi trees were sparse on the stretch of road we were hiking. Under the glint of the sun and the oven-like beat of humidity, we walked in silence. My thoughts whirred instead, and all I could think to do was talk to my Heavenly Father.
Needless to say, I did a little complaining, but I tried to tell Him, "I'm grateful my feet don't hurt. I'm grateful for these shoes. I'm grateful to have the stamina to walk this far in this heat." I tried to push for gratitude, and I would occasionally try to cheer Sister Barney up with a sliver of cheerful thanksgiving. She would do the same, but we mostly stuck to our own thoughts.
Upon arriving at our investigator's house, he informed us that his wife didn't approve of us being there. Well, more like she didn't want us to talk to him when he could be spending time with her. I could feel my motivation wilting, but Sister Barney and I set up another appointment with him, at a time he and his wife would be okay with, and we began our trek home.
Finding a rather large shady spot, Sister Barney and I settled on a small sliver of asphalt on the side of the road. (For worrying mothers: no cars came to run us over. No worries! We're smart.) Sweat covered us all down to our toes. I had the deepest desire for a shower, but I knew that it was a least a mile and a half away, and probably a few more hours away with the other things we needed to do.
Birds and cicadas sang in tandem in the mid-morning light. The trees towered around us, horses whinnying afar off. Mississippi was watching us, I knew; we were the Lord's servants, sitting quietly on the side of the road, breathing in God's creations. I felt God's hand right then and there, although nothing amazing happened. In truth, we walked home, fell into air conditioning, and did our best to work with what we could. No new investigator. No great lesson taught.
But, there was a great lesson learned.
I knew God was aware of us. I think He was a little amused with our predicament. He takes pride in watching us work, even when our work is a little hindered. He knows we are doing our best, and He knows you're doing yours, too.
Two and a half days of walking later, we were able to use our car again. Now, while that was endlessly frustrating, we were able to save a copious amount of miles. Not quite the way I would have wanted my prayer to save miles to be answered, but Heavenly Father has answered small prayers like that all throughout my life, and I've noticed those answers more throughout my mission. As you draw closer to the Spirit, He draws closer to you, and surrounds you with His love.
You've got a Father who loves you. He's aware of all of your predicaments and moments of doubt. He is aware that life is frustrating. He knows you want miracles, but we can't force them. They come. It was a miracle we got home. It was a miracle we worked. It was a miracle we taught. God gives you miracles; you just have to look for them.
In other news this week, I went on exchanges with Sister Nash! She's the bee's knees. She's an awesome STL, and I am so thankful to have her counsel and friendship. We'd like to ask y'all this: can y'all name all 50 states? (It took us two days.)
Have a good week, everyone!
Godspeed!
Sincerely,
Sister Rose
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