This is all I had time to type this week but I hope you enjoy the recording! (Heather's mom here: sorry, I haven't had time to transcribe the recordings, but it sounds like she really is happy and content!)
My new area is Laguna Beach and my companion is Sis Siaosi from American Samoa. This week was so crazy with so much going on, and I don't have a lot of time, but I wanted to share a couple things:
We had a really cool opportunity Saturday night to go volunteer to serve dinner at a homeless shelter with a woman in our ward. It was not quite what I expected... there were pallets on the floor that people were sleeping on, and we were serving dinner at a little fold-up table in the corner. A lot of the people going through the line didn't speak at all as they moved past, but some of them were overly thankful and gracious and said thank you over and over. Some were so broken, and some had a light in their eyes and countenance. It was a testament to me that we really can be grateful and happy in any circumstance, and we can "rejoice evermore" as we "give thanks in all things." It broke my heart a little bit to see some of the suffering, but I felt the Spirit reassuring that God knew these people and was there with them.
Yesterday we were at temple tours and I got to see Scott, my recent convert in Newport Hills. He was wearing a new suit to church for the first time, complete with a new tie! (I have only ever seen Scott wear two ties - the count is up to three! ;)
We also had a small little miracle yesterday during temple tours. We were sitting at the tent and a car drove up and the man inside asked, "Do you have some literature for me?" We got up and started talking to them and invited them to take a tour. The woman, Maria, was a member in the Laguna Hills 2nd ward, but the man, John, was her nonmember friend that she had brought to see the temple. We took them on a tour, and John seemed very interested in learning more. We gave him a Book of Mormon, bore our testimonies, and ended up passing his information to the missionaries in his area in Laguna Woods. He said he would be at church Sunday with Maria.
My scripture this week is 2 Tim 1:7 "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." I've been studying patience a lot this week, and I'll talk more about it next time, but I know that Heavenly Father wants us to feel peace and to find happiness. As we patiently learn from our experiences here on Earth, they will be for our good. He loves us!
I love you!
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Sister Heather Bambas
California Irvine Mission
heather.bambas@myldsmail.net