May 27, 2014

Wow. This week was so crazy! I don't remember what order all these things happened or what day of the week they all were one, so I'll just smush it all together in one large story of our adventures.

First things first. We were grocery shopping. I saw that the Walmart hair salon was empty and I went in and cut 2 1/2 inches off of my hair. You can barely even tell, but I was going crazy because my hair was just way too long. Whew! It feels much better now. While we were in the salon, we taught bits of the Restoration to the two ladies in there. There are always opportunities to share the gospel if you're looking for them.

We were standing in the produce section a little later, counting our pennies to decide what fruits and vegetables to buy. This guy came up to us and asked us if we were Mormon missionaries. We said yes, and he got a little emotional and told us that he has a niece on a mission in Phoenix, AZ. He started to walk off, and I asked him his name. He told us, then shook our hands and hurried away. You could tell he was really uncomfortable around us. We were really impressed that he had the courage to come and say something.

We finished our shopping and were standing in line to check out. We were talking to the couple behind us, and I was looking for a way to work the gospel into our conversation about hot dog brands, when that same guy from before came up and gave us $100!!! He said that he wanted to pay for our groceries and that he really appreciated what we were doing. Now this guy did not look like the type of person who had $100 to give away. Sister Bunker and I both teared up a little at this really kind gesture. I didn't know what to say. I gave him a pass along card, and he left. It was a really touching experience.

picking strawberries

A few days later we decided to make scrambled eggs for breakfast. We went strawberry picking on Monday again and also bought some fresh eggs at the farm. Sister Bunker was making the eggs, and I was chopping mushrooms and bell peppers to put in them. She spilled some egg yolk on the stove top and grabbed a paper towel to wipe it up. Suddenly the towel burst into flames. It started to burn her hand, so she dropped it on the floor. I didn't even notice until she said, "Uh, Sister Jasperson, I think the floor is on fire." I turned around, and sure enough, there were flames dancing across our kitchen floor. I was impressed at how calmly we handled everything. I said, "Hmm...well, we should probably put that out." We were both wearing socks, so Sister Bunker ran into the hall and grabbed a shoe. She beat out the fire, and ash flew everywhere! It was still floating around the kitchen several hours later. The good news is that it only burned the linoleum a little bit.

remains of our fire

The past few weeks, I have spent some time reflecting on the vision I made for myself at the beginning of my mission. It was wonderful to notice the changes in myself and see that in many ways I have achieved the goals and vision I created in the MTC. I cannot even begin to say how grateful I am for the trials and challenges and joys and successes of my mission and how each experience has helped shape me into the servant the Lord wants me to be. I never could have imagined just how hard my mission was going to be, but I also never could have imagined how much it would break my heart to think about leaving. I have been so blessed to be privileged to serve the Lord.

I learned a lot about the Atonement this week in the Book of Mormon. I love the Isaiah chapters in 2 Nephi. They are confusing, but there is just so much doctrine in there! I was thinking about the Atonement, and how there are levels of understanding of Christ's sacrifices for us. The surface level is that Christ paid the price for our sins. A deeper level is understanding that He also suffered for our pains, temptations, trials, afflictions, and infirmities. But deeper than that is an understanding that He also suffered for the reasons. I always tell my companions, people sin because they have needs that aren't being met. If we can help them find the doctrine that meets those needs, they will find the strength to stop sinning. So, for example, if Susan breaks the Law of Chastity, Christ suffered for that so she can be forgiven. He also suffered for the guilt she feels as she repents, and the pain that comes from being separated from God. But He also suffered for the reason. Maybe Susan doesn't live the Law of Chastity because she feels like no one can ever love her. The Atonement also covers that pain and that trial. Through the Atonement, she can become clean, but she can also find the power to change, and gain a testimony of the Savior's love for her. Thinking about all of that brought new light to my understanding of the Atonement and really increased my love for my Savior as I thought just how much He actually endured for me, and for everyone else. I hope I can do more to help those I teach feel the power of the Atonement in their lives as they live the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We found an incredible new investigator this week. Her name is Emily. Our ward mission leader met her and her daughter at Sonic and asked her if she wanted a copy of the Book of Mormon. She said yes, so he asked us to go and contact her. Our first lesson with her was wonderful. She was so prepared! She started to cry as we talked about God is Our Loving Heavenly Father and she said she didn't know why she was crying, she just felt something. We stopped to explain the role of the Holy Ghost as a testifier of truth, and she instantly recognized that the message we were sharing was true. It made me think of the part in PMG that says that those who are prepared will recognize us as servants of the Lord. We taught the entire Restoration and committed her to be baptized when she knows the Book of Mormon is true. She has never read the Bible, and she's never been to a church. But she had some friends in high school who were members of the Church and they really impressed her. So when our ward mission leader asked her if she had ever read the Book of Mormon, she took it as a sign that she needed to learn more about the Church.

Okay, one additional crazy story. We got a flat tire. That was CRAZY! We were driving, and the computerized tire pressure thing notified me that our tire pressure was pretty low. Over the next five minutes, the psi dropped by 5. So we called the mission person in charge of cars, and he told us to take it to the dealership. It dropped by 5 more as we were driving there. So we got there, turns out there was a screw in the side wall of our tire. They added a lot more air, making it 43 and we went home. The next morning the psi was at 14, but the tire looked fine. So we had the elders help us change our tire, and then we went to buy a new tire. Turns out the dealership told us the wrong tire had a screw in it, so the elders changed the wrong tire. Well Firestone sold us a new tire and found the screw in a different tire and replaced the correct one.

Anyways, so much else happened, but those are the highlights. Things are going well. I hope you have a good week!

With love,

Sister Jasperson

feeding geese