Standing Against Sharks
Date
June 1, 2020
Area
Temple Square (West 1 District)
Companion
Sister Victoria Malmstrom
Standing Against Sharks
This was a crazy week, especially this weekend, but we'll get to that in a minute. On Tuesday we had our morning Relief Society meeting over Zoom. Sister Fisher gave a presentation about why we needed to make our beds in the morning. She is right that making our beds puts a good start to the day. She referenced a message by a military general about success. I don't remember the name of the video, but I'm sure you could find it. He spoke at a graduation somewhere. Anyways, he talked about enduring hardship and doing all we can to keep going. Even with the sharks in our lives. We can stand strong and not let the sharks chase us down. No matter what happens the rest of the day at least you can say that you made your bed.
It was a good message to hear especially with an event later in the day when someone we had been talking with finally came out that they believed us to be evil and lost and wanted to "save our souls." Not the first time we have heard this, but usually people come out sooner with their intentions rather then hide it and spend more time trying to convince us that we are wrong. It can always be hard when people are not willing to respect others for what they choose to believe. Part of the reason we do mostly Bible Studies is to allow people to learn more about Jesus Christ without feeling pressured to join our church. Our purpose is not to baptize and increase our number of members. Our purpose is to help others discover Jesus Christ and help them find ways to have more peace and joy in life through following the Savior. That is our message we wish to share that Jesus Christ helps all people no matter the circumstance. There is always a chance to do a little bit better. We do all we can to share that. We aren't perfect and I can't answer every complicated question digged up against us, but I will always know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and helps me find peace everyday and he can do the same for everyone else.
Wednesday was our first day at Welfare Square! We got to work in the Dairy packaging cheese. It was very fun as always. We sliced the cheese and packaged it up to be sent to bishop storehouses all over. We took the leftover slices and packaged them to be sent to local food banks to use. They also provided us with free milk to enjoy. There is nothing better then a chance to serve at Welfare Square.
The week continued normally with online teaching, helping people on square as we wander around, and going to lots of meetings. We are expecting another group of 15 sisters on Wednesday which is exciting. The crazy part of this weekend was the protests planned for Saturday.
They started around noon with people in their cars hanging out their windows with various signs. They drove on the street that was in front of our apartment building. Nothing too serious besides a little bit of reckless driving. We had planning and studies inside so by the time we were done the cars had pretty much stopped going around and we decided to make the walk to Temple Square. We were only their about an hour or so when we got a message that the protest was back this time outside their cars and we were told not to walk home to avoid it.
We continued to work until their was a sudden rush and all sisters were asked to leave historical Temple Square because they were locking the gates. The sisters in the other apartment building were asked to go directly home and my building was told to meet at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Inside we were told that we would be escorted back home by security. We traveled in a large group together and we could see the graffiti and other messed up stuff that had happened on the street leading to our apartment building. We all made it back with no crazy events and were asked to stay home the rest of the night.
Sunday was a city wide curfew and we were all stuck in our apartments all day because of the crazy events the previous day. We spent a lot of time studying and meeting with our district for Come Follow Me. It wasn't too bad there are always things we can do. This morning we were able to leave, but I saw the national guard trucks outside the mall next to Temple Square. We went about our day as normal until all sisters were ordered back home. Changed our plans for the day a little, but we are all safe and that is what is important. Hopefully, soon we will be able to return to normal. Or at least the normal we have lived with for a while. Life moves forward and so does the work. The best thing we can do is work hard everyday!
Have a great week and talk to you all next time!
Sister Christensen
It was a good message to hear especially with an event later in the day when someone we had been talking with finally came out that they believed us to be evil and lost and wanted to "save our souls." Not the first time we have heard this, but usually people come out sooner with their intentions rather then hide it and spend more time trying to convince us that we are wrong. It can always be hard when people are not willing to respect others for what they choose to believe. Part of the reason we do mostly Bible Studies is to allow people to learn more about Jesus Christ without feeling pressured to join our church. Our purpose is not to baptize and increase our number of members. Our purpose is to help others discover Jesus Christ and help them find ways to have more peace and joy in life through following the Savior. That is our message we wish to share that Jesus Christ helps all people no matter the circumstance. There is always a chance to do a little bit better. We do all we can to share that. We aren't perfect and I can't answer every complicated question digged up against us, but I will always know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and helps me find peace everyday and he can do the same for everyone else.
Wednesday was our first day at Welfare Square! We got to work in the Dairy packaging cheese. It was very fun as always. We sliced the cheese and packaged it up to be sent to bishop storehouses all over. We took the leftover slices and packaged them to be sent to local food banks to use. They also provided us with free milk to enjoy. There is nothing better then a chance to serve at Welfare Square.
The week continued normally with online teaching, helping people on square as we wander around, and going to lots of meetings. We are expecting another group of 15 sisters on Wednesday which is exciting. The crazy part of this weekend was the protests planned for Saturday.
They started around noon with people in their cars hanging out their windows with various signs. They drove on the street that was in front of our apartment building. Nothing too serious besides a little bit of reckless driving. We had planning and studies inside so by the time we were done the cars had pretty much stopped going around and we decided to make the walk to Temple Square. We were only their about an hour or so when we got a message that the protest was back this time outside their cars and we were told not to walk home to avoid it.
We continued to work until their was a sudden rush and all sisters were asked to leave historical Temple Square because they were locking the gates. The sisters in the other apartment building were asked to go directly home and my building was told to meet at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Inside we were told that we would be escorted back home by security. We traveled in a large group together and we could see the graffiti and other messed up stuff that had happened on the street leading to our apartment building. We all made it back with no crazy events and were asked to stay home the rest of the night.
Sunday was a city wide curfew and we were all stuck in our apartments all day because of the crazy events the previous day. We spent a lot of time studying and meeting with our district for Come Follow Me. It wasn't too bad there are always things we can do. This morning we were able to leave, but I saw the national guard trucks outside the mall next to Temple Square. We went about our day as normal until all sisters were ordered back home. Changed our plans for the day a little, but we are all safe and that is what is important. Hopefully, soon we will be able to return to normal. Or at least the normal we have lived with for a while. Life moves forward and so does the work. The best thing we can do is work hard everyday!
Have a great week and talk to you all next time!
Sister Christensen
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