From email of Jan. 19, 2010: The weather out here can't make up it's mind! The past few days we've had spring-like weather in the 40s. Now today, there's been rain and then snow! As they say in New England, if you don't like the weather, just wait a minute.
The past few weeks I've set a goal to write in my journal every night and so far I've succeeded! I want to remember the good times that I've had on my mission. I kick myself for not writing more earlier in my mission because those experiences have come and gone and most are not written down. I remember Adam told me last Christmas to write in my journal as often as possible, but I didn't do as well as I should have. In zone conference a few weeks ago, President Pehrson stressed that we needed to write down our spiritual experiences & feelings, rather than the day-to-day things that we did. So I've taken that to heart. Each night, I write down an experience that strengthened my testimony. Some nights it's easy to see those experiences, such as a powerful lesson with an investigator. But other times, I've had to really reflect on my day and look for those little things that the Spirit witnessed to me. I've been able to see the "tender mercies" more often as I do this.
Susan is progressing along so well! She wants me there for her baptism so she is making the necessary changes to her life so she can be baptized. We talked about the 10 Commandments and Susan brought up a good point: the world has forgotten about these basic rules. Most people know they exist, but don't realize that they are actually commandments from God. I guess you can see where people put their priorities. She thanked us SO much for teaching her. She is so humble and teachable. She soaks everything in and wants to follow Heavenly Father's will. I'm so humbled & grateful for my opportunity to teach her these last few weeks of my mission. It is a marvelous blessing from Heavenly Father!
I was reading today in 2 Nephi 9 about Jacob's exhortation to the people to repent and something struck me. He speaks about those who are "puffed up because of their learning, and their wisdom, and their riches," or basically those who are not humble and repentant. In verse 43 it explains that "the things of the wise and the prudent shall be hid from them forever, yea, that HAPPINESS which is prepared for the saints." Those who do not keep the commandments will never be truely happy. Look at the world around us today. The things of the world claim to bring you instant happiness, but it quickly fades away. People turn to the next claim of happiness, only to find it even shallower than the first. If they could just realize that happiness is in the gospel of Jesus Christ! I reflect on the times that I was the most miserable in my life. Those were the times that I wasn't humble, submissive, patient, repentant, etc. But now that I'm living the gospel to a greater degree as a missionary, I have found that joy. And I have helped others on their way to finding it also. I love it!
The days are slipping by quickly. Before you know it, I'll be home! I'm excited to see you all!
From January 11, 2010, email: It was another great week in Torrington! Things seem to roll along a little bit better with three missionaries. More testimony, more Spirit! I have loved serving with Sister Murray and Sister Mortimer (again!). They are such great missionaries and they know how to have fun.
Susan is still on for baptism for the 7th of February. We taught her the Word of Wisdom last night and I was slightly nervous for her answer. Why did I doubt?! She accepted it without a hesitation. There are a few things that she will have to exclude from her life, but she knows the importance of this commandment. She stayed for all three hours of church yesterday plus a "munch & mingle" (remember those?) and she LOVED it! It even brought her to tears as to how happy she was. A friend commented yesterday in our lesson that Susan had a different countenance or a glow about her. That's what the gospel does! It has been such a blessing to see her change. I feel privileged to have served here in Torrington my last few months and make a difference in someone's life. She printed off the whole Gospel Principles book so she could make notes in it and cross reference scriptures. Every single night she whips it out and studies. If only we were all like that! When we continue to have that thirst for knowledge and seek after it, that is when Heavenly Father will open unto us the windows of heaven. I don't ever want to become complacent with the knowledge I already have.
We started teaching a new guy this week, Josh. He actually called us up and requested to have lessons. He had been taught in Bloomfield a few years back, moved away, and then moved back to Torrington. He has had a troubled past & wants to find a sense of belonging. I can see that he wants to change & to be healed from decisions in the past. He willingly came to church & made plans to come again next week.
We found out this week that one of our investigators, Scott, has a brain tumor. We didn't get too much information, but we know that they are going in for surgery on Tuesday. Pray for him & his family! He & his wife, Dale, had been investigating for a few years, but I know that this situation will determine whether they join the church or not. They say that they know it is true & I know that their family can be blessed incomprehensively if they do join.
Sister Mortimer reminded me of our most adventurous event of the week. We got to ride home in the back of a Torrington City police car! And no, we weren't in trouble! We were riding with a member to dinner & apparently someone forgot to pay the insurance on the car, the registration got pulled, and she didn't know a single thing about it! The car got impounded & we almost had to hoof it all the way across town. But the policeman was kind enough to give us a ride home. Hahaha...it was quite the experience! I'll try to stay out of trouble for the next few weeks. :)
I still can't believe it is almost time to come home. It probably won't hit me until I'm actually there. This mission has been the greatest experience in my life and it's very hard to leave. I've met some of my best friends out here, whether it be companions or members or investigators. I have had so many spiritual experiences that have strengthened my testimony of the gospel. Because of the mission, I can say that I have a testimony. I've had the happiest moments of my life here & have experienced that JOY the scriptures talk about. There is no greater calling than to preach the gospel!
Our New Years was just as "exciting" as yours, complete with Martinelli's and party hats. We spent most of the time taking apart the bunk bed to move up the bed so Sister Murray doesn't whack her head in the middle of the night. The only problem is that we couldn't move it up! After we had the many pieces strewn across the apartment, we found out that the other holes were for the rails, not for an adjustable bed. Ugh! So we put it back together & enjoyed the rest of our night. I'm happy to have a little bit of handy-man skills because the other sisters had no idea what to do.
I got my flight plans at transfer meeting last week! President Pehrson told us to be released as soon as possible after we get home, so I guess we could arrange that. It still doesn't feel like I should be going home yet! I just read in Jacob "our lives passed away like as it were unto us a dream." That's how real life feels to me. And I don't want my mission to feel like that, just a dream. Hopefully I can continue this work when I am home! See you all soon--on February 10th!
We decided to cancel our first dinner appointment on Christmas Day because we were still stuffed from the night before. Plus we didn't want to have to rush around. President & Sister Pehrson opened up the mission home to the missionaries and we had a great time there. Lots of good food, fun, and company! Sister Pehrson introduced us to a game called Five Crowns...it's quite fun! We watched a little bit of "It's A Wonderful Life" before heading back to Torrington for our dinner appointment. It was at the Greens, the same family that had us over for Thanksgiving. I love them so much! It always feels like home when we are there. I was happy to see that dinner was lasagna. I'm just about tired of ham & turkey! We ended the night with dessert and carols around the piano.
Susan is still progressing along so well! She came to church yesterday and LOVED it! She says that she wants to be baptized, it's just all a matter of when. It's so great to see her excitement for the gospel. She's already got a strong knowledge of the scriptures and the Book of Mormon is adding to that. I know that she is feeling the power of that book. The Spirit is touching her heart and helping her to change. Yay!
Left: Sister Darrington & Sister Mortimer walking on Preneveou's frozen pond
From Dec. 21, 2009, email: We didn't get too much of the storm...only 2 or 3 inches at the most. They cancelled church yesterday because of the storm so it was a bit disappointing since there wasn't much on the ground. We spent our Sunday knocking on doors and wandering around in the snow. It was super cold so I got a little taste of the weather that you had in Idaho.
We went on exchanges last week with Windsor so I got to serve once more with my greenie, Sister Mortimer. We hope that President will let us serve one last transfer together. It was a weird feeling to go back to Windsor...it felt like I had never left. The sisters there are doing a great job and I'm happy to see the investigators progressing along so well. We had a great experience that showed us that Heavenly Father puts us in the right place, at the right time. Sister Mortimer had accidentally written down the plans for the day in the wrong order which we didn't realize until we were halfway through the day. Then we were left with two options: do our back-up plans for that hour or waste miles by driving all the way to the top of the area to do what we had previously planned. We chose the back-ups. Sister Berry was our stop, a less-active member from Jamaica. When we got there, she had a houseful of kids there. Apparently she has been working two jobs for the past seven years to bring the rest of her kids over from Jamaica. And they were finally able to come! The best part is that we taught a first lesson to four of the older kids and they are definitely interested!
The rest of our week included baking & delivering cookies, playing bingo with the old folks, tracting, caroling at a convalescent home, more tracting, putting up & decorating a Christmas tree for the elderly Zeiners, many dinner appointments with members, teaching, and visiting the North Pole to see Santa. Look what excitement comes while serving a mission! Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas ! And watch out for Windsor bears!
The snow did bring us an interesting experience this week. We had planned to meet a few members on the other side of town in Torrington, but we changed our minds when we hit bad roads on the way. So we parked the car and went over to another member's apartment to check up on her "Invite a Friend to Church" efforts. As we were getting buzzed in, a lady walks up to us and requests a Book of Mormon. Sister Murray and I sit there for a second in shock because it's almost unheard of for someone to approach you to learn more. Then she askes us to come by and teach her. As we are writing down her information she gives us her last name: Pascquale. That name sounded familiar so I asked for her first name: Patricia. She just happened to be a referral that the Elders in the area got a few months ago, but weren't able to contact because of a wrong address. We had even put down in our plans to try to find her this week. But Heavenly Father provided a way for her to find us. I'm always amazed how things work out.
We were watching "On the Way Home" with one of our investigators, Peggy. It's an older movie from the early '90s so there's lots of sweet bangs and jumpers. But other than that, it was a powerful movie. The basic story line is that a family loses their little girl in an accident, a friend invites them to hear the missionary lessons, and then they get baptized. So pretty much a missionary's dream. This movie hit me pretty hard. I have been so very blessed to have the gospel in my life. We have all the answers. We have the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. We can be with our families forever. I can't imagine not having a testimony of these things. That's why I'm a missionary...people need to have the knowledge that they are a child of God and that there is a plan for them.
Saturday we helped an investigator family stack a huge pile of wood into neat little rows. It felt SO good to be out there doing outside work. The whole time we were stacking it was snowing on us, but we didn't mind because we were serving. I've learned that serving others brings us great joy. We are only following the example of our Savior. After two hours of stacking we were pretty sore, but not as sore as when we got up the next day!
We got the wonderful opportunity to teach the Sunbeams in church yesterday. It was so much fun! I haven't been in a Primary in years and it brought back some good memories. It was a bit hard to keep their attention, but the treats definitely helped. After our short lesson we made thank-you notes for the Bishop and the Sunbeams got to deliver them to him. You should have seen the happiness in their eyes and their smiles from ear to ear when the Bishop thanked them for their cards. One of the boys, Jake, is a miniture version of Ethan so I took a liking to him early on. It made me miss my little nieces and nephews! I can't wait to see how much they have grown up.
Keep me, and also all the other missionaries around the world, in your prayers! I loved how in the opening prayer of the Christmas devotional, the apostle prayed for those away from home. I think he covered both me & Joel in there...so remember us this season! Remember the true meaning of Christmas!
From Nov. 30, 2009, email: I had a wonderful Thanksgiving out here in Connecticut. We started out with a Turkey Bowl over at Trinity College. I'd like to thank my brothers for teaching me how to play football....you should have seen the look on the Elders' faces when I caught a few long passes and even intercepted the ball. Haha! It was SO much fun! After most of the crowd left we sat on the field and played a few rounds of "Signs." Then we headed off to our Thanksgiving dinner.
Tim & Brenda Green had us over along with a houseful of their family. The dinner was yummy and the company was great. Some of their family aren't members of the church so we were able to talk a little bit about our beliefs. One of the old guys there was WWII vet who had landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day. The brutality of war had led him to believe that there was no God. How would that be? What would life be like without the knowledge of a loving Heavenly Father? There would be no hope, nor happiness, and nothing to look forward to. That's why at this Thanksgiving time I am grateful for my testimony of the gospel. I can't imagine life without it. And I'm also grateful for this opportunity to serve a mission because it has solidified my testimony.
It's quite a change adjusting to Torrington from Windsor. There isn't as much going on here, but there is lots of potential! We taught Debra and her family again this week, but it seemed like every distraction in the book was working against us. Debra's parents were there conversing between themselves, the TV was blaring, the phone kept ringing, and numerous other things. But that was because we were teaching the greatest message that we have to offer: The Restoration of the Gospel. Even though it started out rocky, I think they felt the Spirit. I feel that we are here more for the younger kids so they may accept the gospel when they are old enough.
We also taught Sister Senecal again. She's a less-active member who had deterred off the strait and narrow path a bit. But she is making progress to find her way back. She was going to come to church yesterday (which is a HUGE step), but her ride situation didn't work out. We used the conference talk entitled "Preserving the Heart's Mighty Change" for our lesson, which she really enjoyed. She realizes that her heart has slowly been hardened and she is seeing the need to change. I love working with less-actives. I love helping them rediscover their testimonies and recognize the feelings of the spirit. President Pehrson made a good statement when he said that when we re-activate a less-active, it's just like having a baptism.
Yes, I did get accepted to BYU and I'm planning to pursue a Family History degree. Since being on my mission, that is the direction that I feel like I should head in. Maybe it's all of these dead ancestors out here! I didn't think that the day would ever come that I would want to attend BYU...but I guess it's here now!
