I was debating if I wanted to tell this story or not but yomo. (you only mission once) I have been praying lately to learn to be an example to someone and this is how God answered my prayer... The past few weeks we have been working on a less actives roof redoing the shingles and parts of the wood where there is water damage. On Saturday it was 103 degrees and we were all having a good time working. I took my anger out (from silly investigators/less actives) while ripping off the shingles-- it was therapeutic;) Parts of the roof were ripped off and so I decided I would go over and nail in the frame where the wood had been ripped off. I stepped down on what I thought was a piece of wood but there was so much crap and dust on it, it was actually sheet rock! I legit came crashing through this families living room!!! Legs dangling and all. I don't know how (angles) but I somehow caught myself under my armpit and dangled there. Paco's dad, Hermano Hernandez pulled me up and gave me a big hug. He kept asking me if I wanted to get down and rest and I told him I was fine. The rest of the day the Elders and young men would say "Careful Sister Thompson there is sheet rock right there!" We made a good joke out of it.
The next day before church I told my companion that I was going to get a lot of crap for crashing through the roof and she agreed and well I did. After church one of the members told me that in opening exercises with all the men and young men that Brother Hernandez shared my story about falling through the roof. I was like, "Oh great what did he say?" He told me that Brother Hernandez got up and said that after he had pulled me up out of the hole he kept saying to me that I should go down and take a rest and relax. I told him "No way, I want to keep working!" and how that was a good example to him about service, working, and loving the people. The Lord answers my prayers in the coolest ways that always seem to surprise me:)
Another story that actually happened that same day. We changed our clothes and then went and visited our investigators and members in that area. We went to the house of our investigator Norma. She is supposed to be baptized this coming Sunday and so it was important that she needed to come to church and we usually have to get her set up with a ride. We get to her house and the gate is locked!! Her van was outside so we knew she was home. She doesn't have a phone either... I started to climb the 7 foot chain link fence with spikes on the top and my comp was like what are you doing?? I told her that I was going to talk to Norma so that she could make it to church tomorrow!! On the way over I get cut on the leg; stupid dress. I make it up to her porch and knock a billion times. She came out and we talked to her a bit and got her ride situation set up. She thankfully unlocked the gate so I could get out! I guess her daughter told her "Mom the missionary got in!" She was surprised that I would do that just to talk to her. I told her I would do anything I could to help her.
Just goofin off
Afterwards I got to thinking about the atonement and how Christ suffered so much for the people he loved. It hit me harder than ever. I'll admit that I had kind of a hard time earlier in the week by giving myself a pity party thinking that I would be missing going to New York with my family. I played with the thought and realized that I had also missed my best friends wedding, Missy is pregnant, I wasn't there when my bestest cousin needed comfort, I'm missing a trip to Tonga, my car is broken, my bedroom flooded, I fell through a roof, got stung twice by black wasps this week, bit by a bazillion ants, I'm sore, tired and then just got cut by a fence. It's not a sacrifice to be here, nothing close to one, by missing those things. It's a privilege. Looking at the big picture, all of those things I'd miss/do a thousand times over to give people the same happiness of the gospel that I have. I'd fall through a 100 roofs and jump 1000 fences to help the people that we are teaching now. They have physically changed because of our message and it's such a small simple thing to "give up" so that people can take full advantage of the atonement of Jesus Christ. That's what this whole life is about; Love. It is Love that we have the atonement. It is love that we want to become better. It is love that drives us to do things we sometimes don't want to. Serving a mission is kind of like the Lord letting you in on a secret. When you lose yourself in others problems, that is where the Lord allows you to find yourself.
I hope you all have a fantastic week! Do what you love and love what you do!!! I love you all:)
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