July 22....unexpected

Well... I started out this week in a companionship with me and sister christensen my trainee. I ended this week in a tri-pan covering two areas with my trainer now being with me and my trainee... its been a crazy week. Sister Rush's companion went home for medical reasons and so she has temporarily (so for the rest of the transfer) been assigned to our companionship. But the weird part is I am senior companion! It's weird being in charge with your trainer there... you kind of go back into first week mode but sister rush is being good at making sure i still take charge. But that is the basic outline of my week... now time for the juicy details :)

   We went and saw some members and they kind of had a scare this week. Their dog got attacked and had to have emergency surgery and had stitches and wasn't looking so great. He had to be hand fed and drink through a rabbit water thing but luckily he pulled through. Everyone in Winnipeg really loves their pets. They are part of the family and they would do anything to keep them around.

   We spent most of the week doing Winnipeg Harvest! Winnipeg harvest is a city wide food drive and we probably spent more than six hours going house to house passing out door hangers to let everyone know about what was happening. We go door to door when we tract so i thought oh no big deal. It was hard. You aren't allowed to proselyte and all i wanted was to start talking about the restored gospel and inviting them to do things. I had to hold myself back which gave me a lot of time to have with my thoughts. Then pick up day came and we spent a majority of saturday running around the city picking up bags of food and then organizing them back at the church. We had a BBQ as a ward and that was really fun. It was just a good day where we all got to serve the community a little more and have fun with each other why we did it.

  We asked a family to help us with our teaching skills by allowing us to come and practise lessons on them. I found that that is the easiest and best way to let members know that we need their help more than names and that we want to be the best we can for them. Asking for help is really humbling and everytime i do that I gain more respect and trust for the people i ask.

   Well I'm covering two areas again! Its never boring with two areas but the hardest thing is finding a balance so one area isnt getting all of our attention. I could join a circus with all these acts I am learning. In fact maybe i will just make a circus The RM Circus Club... i would go watch that.

   We have been working with a less active and she is the sweetest lady (i forget how much i have said about people so i just start over every week and probably dont get anywhere but oh well) She is one of the sweetest ladies in the world. She takes care of her granddaughter who is autistic and blind (she remindes me a lot of S*** from our ward in Idaho Falls) I just love these two people. Right now we are doing service for her and helping her stain her ramp and she came to church which was probably one of the best parts of my week. She has gone through a lot but she really does have a strong faith its just putting that faith into action.

   Teaching teenagers are really hard! I dont know how Summer's missionaries did so good! She must be an angel sent more than prepared because I have no direction! Luckily and hopefully the spirit is the teacher that matters because I am merely human and make mistakes.

   So we were struggling with having time to find in our area but the lord blesses those who work hard and are obedient. One of Sister Rushes new investigators ended up being in our area so we got to start teaching this young lady who came up to the assistants and asked for materials and said she was curious. Its the curious part we are working on right now. We want to get her to ready to act upon but we have the patience to do what it takes.

   Our ward mission leader is Brother Van Wyk. He and his wife are super great! Very charitable and always willing to help. They invited us for dinner this week... I had steak for the first time in a long time! it was soooo goood!!!!!!! They also gave us their story which is just incredible. Brother Van Wyk was inactive for a long time and his daughter was looking for a church. She had been researching the mormons for a year and decided its what she wanted to try. Her mom informed her her dad was a member and they set up appointments with the missionaries to start truly investigating. They are now both baptized, their family has been sealed in the temple and their daughter was just called to the Edmonton, Canada mission! Talk about a golden story!!!!!

   We had dinner with a member from Sister Rush's ward. They were my kind of humor it was so relaxing to be there.

   Church was great too! I spent the second block in the primary and the third block in relief society. Then we had a pot luck which was a fun way to get to know the ward members! There was this family that we have grown to love. They have two little kids and their son is adorable. They ask us all the time how we are doing and try to send us to fun things to do on pday... we would rather them send us to their friends to teach but hey what ever works :).

   All in all it was a week full of changes and patience but i think i have pulled through okay!