Here are some excerpts from my week! Also, the pictures are my MTC
district at the temple and with one of our teachers and then Sis.
Baker and me.
7-8
My first real day in the field was a bit surreal. We taught three
lessons! We also had to fit in a bit of grocery shopping. It feels
nice to be unpacked somewhere more permanent than the MTC. No more
living out of suitcases! Sis. Baker is my trainer and she is
incredible. She’s from UT and has been out for a year, and she’s a
super hard worker and happy and so full of faith. She believes in
miracles, and I do, too. Which is good, because that’s what Pres.
Orgill (pronounced oar gill, like a canoe oar and a fish gill) is
asking of us. It was terribly sad to leave my MTC district (Sis.
Phinney, Smith, and Hixson, and Elders Killpack, Radeke, Bender,
Wardle, Goates, Aagard, Williams, and Myers) but although I’m
exhausted I am ecstatic to be doing this work. Sis. Baker and I have
set goals to work on faith, obedience, and a little Spanish this
transfer ( we want to know some basics for contacting). I miss you. Te
Amo.
7-9
AM
I’m still tired this morning, but not quite as dead tired as
yesterday. I think I’m really going to enjoy working out every
morning. The weather really is as perfect as everyone said.
PM
This morning I went on exchanges with Sis. Shober, which was pretty
cool. We just studied at her apt while our comps were in a meeting,
but we also visited a part member family. I felt bad for them at first
because they were all six lilving in this tiny motel room. But then
the mom started talking about how God has answered her prayers, and I
knew they were being looked out for. The days are so long right now.
7-10
Today was so awesome! We had so many miracles. Sis. Baker and I are
really focusing on faith and how faith brings miracles. I never knew I
could do things like this before. While Sis. Baker was in a meeting, I
was with Sis. Shober again and we had to run back to my apt for
something. Well, Sis. Baker didn’t give us the gate remote, so we were
sitting at the gate with no way in to the complex and we had two
options: give up, or pray really hard. So we prayed REALLY hard. I
prayed with more faith than I can remember because I knew the Lord
wanted us to get the stuff we needed for our lesson, and we didn’t
have time to get it later and still see everyone we needed to. So
right then, after I opened my eyes, a car came out the gate and Sis.
Shober zipped in right behind it! (possibly illegal, but hey the Lord
works in mysterious ways right?)
7-11
Today we had what we call a “window” for “windows of Heaven.” What
happens is at the start of each week, we pray to know where we should
go and when we should be there for our window and we block out an hour
that we never ever reschedule. Then we pray about exactly where to
stand when we get there and we wait for investigators to come to us.
Yep. Come to us. Cool thing is, we are promised that they will. And
they did. I have rarely had to muster up so much faith in my heart. We
got weird answers as we prayed, but we did our best to listen. We
picked a certain area and sat on a bench, but then we kept feeling a
need to move, so we strolled down the sidewalk. A while later, a
family of a dad and two small kids sat on our bench. We knew. We
walked up and said hello and the dad started telling us he had family
who were LDS and that his wife had died a year ago and it was just him
and his two kids, Jax and Willa. We knew it was him we were there for.
But although he believed in Christ and reads the bible every day, he
didn’t really want our message. But he took our phone number and
promised to call if he ever needed help or service. We walked away.
Then both of us just had a sinking feeling and for 10 minutes wondered
if we should go back. Finally, we said a prayer and just knew. We went
back, terrified that he would get annoyed, and finally did what the
Lord had wanted from us. I gave him a Restoration pamphlet and a Book
of Mormon. He said he would read it if he had time. I sincerely hope
he does and I pray that he will. Please keep him in your prayers. (His
name is John) But we don’t have a way to contact him. I know that was
a miracle, though. There is rarely an investigator who hasn’t already
been contacted before, so maybe we were just prepping him for another
missionary someday.
7-13
Today was super hard. I couldn’t focus or stay awake and we had 7
hours of church between two wards we cover. And we were fasting. And
it’s been almost two weeks since my p-day. And I’ve been tired for so
long I can’t remember how it feels to feel awake during breakfast or
study my scriptures without falling asleep. Speaking of, I also can’t
find my scriptures. Which truly sucks. I hope I’ll find them. They
mean a lot to me. But tomorrow is P-day. And I’m breathing in and out.
And it will be ok. If I end up getting new scriptures, life will go
on.
On a happier note, I learned how to introduce myself and my comp in
Spanish (I don’t know how to spell it, this is just my guess so don’t
laugh.)
“Somos missionaras de la eglacia de Jesus Christo des los Santos des
los ultimos dias.”
Also, we visited this really amazing old woman named Gloria Walters in
the ward. She was so sweet and told us stories of her grandfather,
James E. Talmage. Yep, the one who wrote Jesus the Christ and the BYU
math building is named after him. So that was cool! We asked her if we
could do anything for her and she had us help her make chocolate chip
cookies! That was super fun and I adored the sweet spirit in her home.
Please please please pray for Jasmine. She is one of our investigators
who is just in a terribly rough place at home and really depressed.
She scared us tonight and almost killed herself, but we talked to her
for a long time and she is ok for now. (7-13 we are having some elders
give her a blessing tonight)
I love you all so very very much! Write to me and I promise to reply!
I miss you but I'm doing great and I love SoCal! If you want to write
me I actually prefer paper letters, but emails are fine too just
include your address because I don't have a lot of time to email back.
You can get letters to me via the Mission Office at
Sister Heather Bambas
California Irvine Mission
23 Lake Rd
Irvine, CA
92604
Have a blessed week! I know that our Redeemer Lives!
Here's a quick video about Christ and what He does for us. It's
beautiful and one of my absolute favorites!
https://www.lds.org/youth/video/because-he-lives?lang=eng
--
Sister Heather Bambas
California Irvine Mission
heather.bambas@myldsmail.net