Hi family :D,
It has been a very busy week. I honestly have barely seen my area at all in the past week, which is a little hard but we are doing our best to teach whenever we can and to trust the rest to the Lord. We haven't even had time to get all of our studies in most days, it has been go go go.
Probably the biggest news in the mission this week was transfers. Sister Hatch in our apartment went home, as did a couple of sisters that flew out with me because they spent more time in the MTC learning a language. It is weird to think that I'm next, and a few weeks ago that was a really hard thought, but now I'm "content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me" (Alma 29:3), which is to be a focused, hard-working missionary right up until the end. I'm still His full-time representative today, and I'm happy with that. :) We got 10 new sisters (ALL of which are under 21) and 8 or 9 new elders, many of whom are 18. So exciting to see the response to the Lord's call for more missionaries! One of them is living with me now, Sister Dimick from... somewhere in Utah I hadn't heard of. She's 19 and full of fire, and she'll be awesome. Sister van Geenen and I are still together, and loving it.
Another exciting event this week was the 183rd anniversary of the publication of the Book of Mormon. We had a morning shift at the Grandin Building that day, which ended up going longer than usual because the afternoon shift was coming from transfer meeting. We also spent the whole evening there, because we had an open house for the Rochester and Palmyra stakes. The open house was a lot of fun, all of the senior couples dressed up in time-period clothing and acted out the roles of those who played a part in the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. We had quite a few less-actives and non-members in attendance, and the Spirit was strong. It was a blessing to spend literally all day on the anniversary of the Book of Mormon's coming forth in the place it was published. We only left for lunch, and I got to spend that with Sister Brown (she broke her leg just above the ankle last weekend and had a metal plate put in---still recovering from surgery.)
We worked at the Smith Farm yesterday, which was a major adventure because of the inclement weather. It was sunny one minute, stormy the next. We got sun, clouds, hail, snow, rain, and sleet. None lasted for more than 10 minutes at a time. After our shift, we went over to a senior couples' house (the Strouds') for dinner. They are from NC so they invited me and Sister Raines (grew up near Winston-Salem) over for NC barbecue sandwiches. :) So good.
As for investigators, we are still stumped with Carol. It's hard because she is praying to know the truth and reading her and there, but it seems like her desire to keep the commandments comes in spurts. Steve is doing awesome; we taught him Monday and he committed to watch all of October conference this week. He is just grasping at anything that will help him to feel the Spirit. He's totally off nicotine now and is clean-shaven. It is amazing to see what the atonement can do with a life that is completely turned over to the Lord. We're teaching the Allgood family tonight, which I'm excited for. I don't know if I've mentioned Liz, but we are teaching her separately now (19 year-old step-daughter of Matt who has moved in, not a member). She has prayed for the first time in years this week and is enjoying learning. There is an elder she thinks is cute and says she needs to get baptized so she can marry him in the temple lol. We're working on right motivations, but it really surprised me that she was even joking about being baptized already compared to where she was a couple of weeks ago. We haven't really had time to see anyone else (and most of them have been sick/out of town/hard to get ahold of anyway), but we are praying for them! I got back in touch with Vicky by phone this week (had her name taken off the records when she was a teenager, we were teaching her a couple of months ago) and she wants to come to church; just sorting out a new fellowshipper for her that she would be comfortable getting a ride with.
I guess that's pretty much it. We worked the Whitmer Farm Monday which is an all-day affair (we have half-day shifts at the other sites but since this one is farther away we stay all day). We get to help out at a youth conference about missionary work tomorrow, which should be fun. Missions are really hard, but I am definitely of the opinion that no matter who you are, a mission will bless your life. I'm excited for all of these youth preparing!
Something that's been on my mind this week has been relying on the Lord. I found out last p-day that it was the SECOND year of the masters program I got accepted into, and spazzed out a little. It is a pretty overwhelming thought, but I have had such strong and immediate answers that I know it's a blessing and the thing I should do. Once again, I've had to evaluate my faith in the Lord and my level of humility. For some reason, the natural man in me wants to do things myself, but He keeps kindly placing me in situations that I could not do alone so that I have to rely on Him more and more. It's scary, but I am grateful for that. I've seen it bless my missionary work as my prayers have become more sincere and as I've sought the guidance of the Spirit and the strength that comes from the Atonement more and more.
I guess I'll just wrap this up with Happy Easter wishes! I love Easter. :) A great time of rebirth and second chances. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior, and that He lives! I love Him. <3 Please do your best to remember Him and to share the exciting message of His deliverance this week especially. I love you all!
Love,
Sister Schank
Mosiah 3:9-10,13
