Week 70 (Dec 19th-25th 2017) & Week 71 (Dec 26th- Jan 1st 2018)
Buckle in, this one is a doozy. The past two weeks were probably the most eventful of my mission; featuring my brand new trainee, Christmas, a trip to the emergency room, and a baptism. Are you excited yet? Good, let’s begin.
First of all, I was late to the trainer meeting. I was late to my birth, my high school graduation, my mission farewell, and I’ll probably be late to my wedding and my own funeral. President Clark was standing outside the door and said, “Not the best way to start off training...” but the good news is that I still got there before the trainees did. Blessed. I’ll get it together someday.
My 11th companion and first trainee is Sister Russell from Lindon, Utah! Turns out, we went to the same high school and she was a sophomore when I was a senior. We never knew each other, but she had heard of my younger sisters through mutual friends. She even listened to Jane’s radio show on KPGR every once in a while👌🏼 The Mormon world is a small world indeed. She was a medical assistant prior to her mission and loves working with children. According to our Sister Training Leaders we also sound exactly alike over the phone, so I guess that means we have solid comp unity.
Our first week was so insane and busy that for the first five days I didn’t even know we had a washer and a dryer in the apartment because I hadn’t had enough time/presence of mind to look in the hallway closet 😂 I had to call one of the sisters that served here previously and ask where they did their laundry before I found out.
It was the good kind of busy, though; the kind that missionaries dream of. We’ve been having lessons with someone who we are teaching every day. His name is Innocent. Innocent moved to America from Uganda two months ago and diligently requested a copy of the Book of Mormon online three times! For some reason the first two times there was a lapse of communication and the referral never went through to the missionaries until the third time when he wrote a lengthy message pleading for the Book of Mormon to be brought to him. He said he checked the mailbox everyday for weeks! When the sisters finally got the referral on December 13th, they went over to deliver it and he hugged it in his arms! In his words he said, “I was the happiest creature on the planet”.
Innocent progressed rapidly, in the first lesson he agreed to be baptized on January 20th, and during the second lesson the next day he said that wasn’t soon enough! So his date was moved up to the end of the month, two weeks after receiving the Book of Mormon and meeting the missionaries for the first time! By the time Sister Russell and I showed up on the 19th, he had already had the first three lessons and was eager to learn more.
He was converted before any missionary met him. The Spirit had touched his heart and confirmed the truth to him on its own. It would be borderline blasphemous for me or anyone else to take any sort of credit for his conversion, because it was a decision he made on his own before we even got there. If you look up ‘Elect’ in the guide to the scriptures, it perfectly describes Innocent. I have felt so honored and blessed to have met him, let alone teach him and be an instrument in the Lord’s hands to play the smallest part in his conversion and coming unto Christ. Sometimes we’d be sitting there in a lesson and he’d be talking and I’d think “Dang. We don’t have enough time in our schedule after this to just sit there and cry for 20 minutes” because I was just so grateful and overcome with the Spirit. We’ve basically just been keeping him from jumping in the font and you can look for him in general conference as a member of the Seventy within the next few years.
At the end of the day after one of our lessons with Innocent, Sister Russell and I thought of a scripture in 1 Nephi 1:7 that encapsulated how we felt perfectly:
“And it came to pass that he returned to his own house at Jerusalem; and he cast himself upon his bed, being overcome with the Spirit and the things which he had seen.”
Yesterday Innocent was baptized and I am positive concourses of angels rejoiced. One of the missionaries, Elder Rockwood, who share the ward with us baptized him. Afterward I asked him if he was aware of the eternal significance of what he just did and he replied, “When I was standing there in the font with him I felt like John the Baptist. Like, I am not even worthy to loose the latchet of your shoes!”
Other people I’ve been beyond blessed to meet here are Melissa and George, a married couple of about 45 years that have met with missionaries before and are the best storytellers and most hilarious people I have ever met. We cried for over half the lesson each time just dying. They have three grandchildren that as teenagers met with missionaries and decided to be baptized all by themselves. They are so proud of them and are even encouraging them to serve missions! Melissa & George ADORE Mormons so much. They even have their grandsons Aaronic Priesthood Ordination certificate framed on their wall. They have been to church several times when they lived in Washington state. They even read the Book of Mormon regularly! They have a few hesitancies and conflicting beliefs, but otherwise are very open and kind. Melissa just had surgery and received a priesthood blessing right before it two weeks ago. There is definitely something missing that we haven’t figured out yet, but they are basically unbaptized members. So funny and so kind, and they have such strong faith in God. The first time we went over, they even had Christmas presents for us! Sister Russell and I felt so loved and so absolutely spoiled for walking into such a blessed area.
For the past few weeks Sister Russell has felt this weird pressure behind her eye that has been irritating her and causing all sorts of symptoms. This week she finally contacted our mission nurse and described her condition. After consulting with the region missionary medical doctor, they decided that Sister Russell should go to the emergency room. This made her very unhappy, as she sees the ER as an option only taken in an absolute emergency. But because we have faith that our leaders are inspired, we obeyed and headed toward the nearest hospital (after our regularly scheduled lesson with Innocent, of course 😉). They decided that the ER would run all the tests right then and there so we’d have immediate results and not have to go through a million appointments before getting a solid result. Basically, they wanted to make sure she didn't have a tumor.
After some blood work, an EKG, a chest x-ray and a CAT scan, my companion was suffering some pretty severe anxiety. So we called our Elders and they came and gave her a beautiful blessing of comfort and healing. After the blessing they asked if there was anything else they could do while we waited for the test results and I said that Sister Russell’s stomach was screaming at me and we were both starving, and so we asked them to run to the chick-fil-a on the corner and grab us dinner. Sister Russell busted out her bank card and tried to give it to Elder Rockwood, who refused saying, “You’re in a hospital bed, I can’t take your money!” Eventually Elder Westover took it because he knew if they didn’t Sister Russell would get mad hahaha bless their hearts. These Elders are so amazing and have restored my faith in Elders.
Then Sister Russell and I hung out eating waffle fries and watching Johnny Lingo while waiting for the test results. It was a good time. Finally we found out that the good news is that there is no tumor (hooray!) and they referred us to a neurologist, so we’ll see how that goes. The most probable culprit at this point is an ocular migraine. Sister Russell was a little peeved that going to the ER was unnecessary, but we have faith that we will be blessed for our obedience.
To wrap this saga up let me tell you about what I unwrapped on Christmas! Christmas was magical, I love Christmases on my mission because I know of a surety that there is no better way to celebrate the birth of our Savior than by teaching others of Him and His restored gospel. Christmas morning Sister Russell and I went on a beautiful bicycle ride and explored the bike trail next to our complex by the lake before going back and having pancakes and bacon. Bliss. It was so fun being with Sister Russell as she marveled excitedly at the beauty of the Florida nature that I have grown accustomed to. It felt like I was seeing it through new eyes.
My Family sent the sweetest care package full of much needed prezzies, including a flash drive to back up my iPad (bless) and our traditional chocolate orange. Of course none of this compared to being able to talk to them and see their faces and hear their voices! It was a joy catching up with them and laughing and simply having a wonderful Christmas time.
As cliche as it sounds, this last year is one I truly will never forget. It has been a precious gift from my loving Heavenly Father and Savior to me. I am eternally grateful for my year in Florida in the service of my Lord. and I dedicate this next year to His service as well, even after I take off the name tag; because I have changed as a person an have new understanding of what it is to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. But the mission isn’t over yet, so hold on tight for another rip-roaring three months of adventures in the service of the Lord! Happy New Year!
Cheers!
-Sister Olivia Petty🎆
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