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Sunday, November 16, 2014

11-4-2014 Cassidy's Letter from Ohio

Happy NOVEMBER.

What the heck. How did that even happen so fast. Also this was the fastest week ever. And everyone and their dog was sick. But we still managed to have a good week! Okay well actually it was a super weird week. Really weird.

Susie and Stephen were both sick... so that was slightly depressing. But Susie did come to church and is still planning on getting baptized in a few weeks! So no worried there.

Wednesday was well kinda a bust of a day. I hurt my leg running last Tuesday and it didn't hurt too bad and I thought I was just maybe being a baby so I ran on it on Wednesday and yeah well bad idea. Spent most of the day calling doctors and going to the doctor. My mission president's wife was freaking out thinking I like tore my achilles tendon and she said "I am afraid this is the end for you Sister Jensen"... hahah she was like preparing for me to have to go home. Yeah right. The only way I would come home early is if I was in a body bag. Okay that was a bit gruesome. Happy halloween? Anyways it was only a strained achilles so WE ARE FINE. And it is actually amazing because it pretty darn bad to even walk on it.. but I fasted on Sunday and part of it asked that my leg would heal and guess what.... It DID. It doesn't even hurt at all. It is a legitimate miracle! I can't even tell which leg it was. So yeah miracle number 8034 of my mission!

Good news... we FINALLY got to see Fiona again! Man I missed her. She was as funny as ever. She told us about how she went to this dance party and there were 3 guys fighting over her and one called her "hot cheeks" and she was laughing so hard that it literally made me cry laughing. Then she was talking about peanut butter (of course... haha) and she said all serious "any peanut butter is good peanut butter" and then she said "I just eat it with a spoon" classic Fiona. She literally makes every day good.

Then okay it was crazy so everyone canceled... and I felt like really prompted to go stop by some members of our branch... so we get to their house and they weren't there.. so I was like k cool that was for nothing great. Then as we were walking back to our car someone yelled "Hi Sisters!" and we looked and there was this lady sitting out on her porch. We went over and talked to her and turns out she has met with the missionaries in the past and still reads The Book of Mormon.. but she stopped going to church and never got baptized. She said that she was having one of the worst days she had ever had.. and then she saw us. She said it wasn't a coincidence but knows it was God reaching out to her. HOW COOL IS THAT. We were led to the members house so that we would be able to meet her! It is amazing to me God is so aware of everyone and loves each one of us so much.. that He would have all our appointments fall through and lead us directly to her right when she needed it. It was awesome. Nothing is better than really feeling like God is just using me to help His children!

Luckily we can always count on the Graves to feed us and not cancel on us! And every lesson at their house is just so edifying. They have the most powerful testimonies I honestly just feel honored to be the missionaries who get to teach their family and help them get stronger in the Gospel. It has been such a great blessing to me.

Halloween was just straight up creepy! It started with the weirdest lunch of my mission. This member had us meet her at this slightly weird deli/store thing... and there were no places to sit inside.. so she decided we would get our food and then sit in her car. Already sounded awkward. Then I got this soup that literally had I don't even want to know what in it. So anyways we get our food and go to her car.... and there was, not exaggerating, 3 inches of dog hair EVERYWHERE. I almost died. So yeah just picture us sitting in this hairy car, that was freezing because it wasn't on, eating nasty soup. It was a mess. Hahah it was so bad that it was funny.

Then everyone (once again) decided to get sick or who knows for what reason everyone canceled. So we went and did some service at a party store blowing up balloons. Yeah it was weird. Then we stopped by a less active who actually let us in (that was a miracle) but she was so uptight about the trick or treaters that she wouldn't even let us talk.

Then the car we were driving decided that it would be fun to not have working headlights.. so almost died about 87 times driving home.

So needless to say it was slightly not one of the best days of my mission. Then I checked the mail and had a letter from "Lawley".. and I was SO EXCITED because I haven't heard from them in awhile (they were one of my favorite old couples in Aurora back in the spring).. so I open the letter... and I found out that Joan passed away. And I literally just started crying. I am actually still really depressed about it. And I am still in shock. She was only like 70 years old. I had just mailed her a letter like a week ago telling her I was so excited to call her when I was done with my mission. She was one of the number one people I was excited to get to see again. I have so many fun memories with her. She was such an answer to prayers the day we met. I will never forget praying with all my heart that someone would be nice enough to just talk to us and let us in out of the freezing cold.. and then we knocked on her door.. and she knocked back.. and then made us come in and drink hot chocolate! And then we became best friends. I spent so many hours at her house doing service and teaching her. And even though she was slightly crazy and had 890 scary dolls, I loved her so much.  I just can't believe that she is gone. The letter her husband Arlie sent was just so sad. It is comforting to know that she is in a better place and that she will be able to learn more about the Gospel on that side, I guess I was getting her ready. It is just hard though! It did make me realize how much the people I have met on my mission mean to me. I had no clue it was even possible to grow to love them so much. But I really do. I can't even express how grateful I am for all the people I have met who have literally changed my life.

But there you go.. bad day of the mission number one. haha.

Luckily Saturday was awesome! Started with the pancake breakfast with the Community of Christ Church. And that is always fun. Gotta love breakfast with a bunch of oldies.

Then we got to have lunch with the Grimms! She made a "traditional German feast" and yeah I totally felt like I was back in Germany. The sure love to stuff us full, literally. The meatloaf was a bit meatloafy.. but that was okay. With enough salt anything is eatable I have discovered. It is really fun because Dieter is really starting to like us! He made about a billion jokes about me eating salt.. and he also said that if I don't get married within 5 years I will "be an old maid and will never get married". That is always comforting. haha. But it was just really fun. He has the best old sarcastic german sense of humor and we are making a lot of progress with him! At church on Sunday he wouldn't stop participating in the lesson in sunday school. It was so cool. It is just crazy because he literally knows it is all true.. he just doesn't want to break the promise he made to his mom before she died that he wouldn't get baptized. WHY MOM WHY. But really it will happen I have total faith.

We had a good lesson with Jerry! It is so cool because we have been trying to get him to read The Book of Mormon my entire time here... and we hadn't been making any progress at all. So we decided to call and remind him every morning.. and he has been reading every day! And he told us "I can really notice a difference. I feel so much better. And the weirdest thing is.. my legs aren't hurting as much as they normally do. And I know it must be from reading everyday." So cool. I'm telling you The Book of Mormon is a miracle worker.

Sunday was good too! Had another slightly terrifying experience. Did some service for this lady and she had us wash her dishes... which didn't sound too bad... yeah WRONG. There was legitimate MOLD growing. It was so bad she had to light a candle. My companion couldn't even do it because she was about to throw up... this sounds so dramatic but I am not even lying... so I had to do it. All I can say is God gives you weird power to do things you never thought you could when you are trying to serve people. Because it was bad. She also is a legit hoarder so that is always fun. But even though it was one of the grossest things I have ever done... it felt so good to do something for someone that they couldn't, or wouldn't, do for themselves. There really is nothing better than knowing you are helping people no matter how bad it is.

And yeah that was a fun story to end with haha.  I guess this was just a really weird week. Okay well I am totally out of time so I have to go... but I love you have a great week! And I will email on Wednesday next week!

Love Cassidy

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