Today it has been 9 months since I got to the great state of New
Jersey. Wow...I can't decide if it feels longer than that or shorter.
I definitely feel like the next 9 months are going to go way faster
than the first 9! It is interesting because even though I'm not
getting very many opportunities to do "normal" missionary work this
transfer, I finally do feel like I have kind of hit my stride as a
missionary. In a role play we did in district meeting last week the
elder that was mediating the role play commented "I can tell you are
an experienced missionary." Woah what? Haha I don't know about that,
but I can tell that I'm not a green little missionary any more. When I
was first out I felt like 6 months would be sufficient to learn what I
needed to learn from being a missionary, maybe a year tops, but 18
months certainly seemed a bit excessive. As time has gone on however,
I have spent a lot of time getting frustrated with myself for not
improving as quickly as I thought I should. I have learned that I am
grateful for every day of that 18 months because I need it! Ever so
slowly I am starting to see some of the changes start to stick and I
am grateful for a merciful Father in Heaven who gives us experiences
that require change and then is patient with us as we strive to
measure up and become what he intends.
Because we don't really have anybody to teach it has been interesting
figuring out what to study each day. Normally we use most of that time
to prepare for lessons we will be teaching, but because we don't have
that I have had the opportunity to study for myself. To determine the
doctrines that I need to understand better so that My testimony
continues to grow and so that I continue to progress along the path
that the Lord has outlined for Me. The church has so many resources
available for gospel learning it is incredible! Many days I get caught
up in going from one ensign article or conference talk to the next and
the hour flies by! It's great stuff! But I noticed that my studies of
the Book of Mormon had started to fall lower and lower on my priority
list. I still read every day but probably didn't dedicate as much time
to it as I ought to. The last two days I determined to only read the
Book of Mormon for the whole time. I also read faster than I normally
would when I am trying to get every detail out of every verse I can. I
just read read looking for the overall messages that the Lord wanted
me to get, underlining standout phrases as I went. Between the two
days I read over 60 pages. It was pretty EPIC. I was amazed at the
things that stood out to me that I had never understood in quite that
way any of the other times I had read those same passages. The Book of
Mormon is true. That's all there is to it. No man could have written
that book. It is true stories of real people. If we will read and
apply it's teachings we will benefit from generations and generations
of seeing the Lord's dealings with his children. We will learn to
recognize the voice of the Spirit in our own lives because it feels
the same way we feel when we read this book.
I love being a missionary!
Love yous,
Sister McConkie
Jersey. Wow...I can't decide if it feels longer than that or shorter.
I definitely feel like the next 9 months are going to go way faster
than the first 9! It is interesting because even though I'm not
getting very many opportunities to do "normal" missionary work this
transfer, I finally do feel like I have kind of hit my stride as a
missionary. In a role play we did in district meeting last week the
elder that was mediating the role play commented "I can tell you are
an experienced missionary." Woah what? Haha I don't know about that,
but I can tell that I'm not a green little missionary any more. When I
was first out I felt like 6 months would be sufficient to learn what I
needed to learn from being a missionary, maybe a year tops, but 18
months certainly seemed a bit excessive. As time has gone on however,
I have spent a lot of time getting frustrated with myself for not
improving as quickly as I thought I should. I have learned that I am
grateful for every day of that 18 months because I need it! Ever so
slowly I am starting to see some of the changes start to stick and I
am grateful for a merciful Father in Heaven who gives us experiences
that require change and then is patient with us as we strive to
measure up and become what he intends.
Because we don't really have anybody to teach it has been interesting
figuring out what to study each day. Normally we use most of that time
to prepare for lessons we will be teaching, but because we don't have
that I have had the opportunity to study for myself. To determine the
doctrines that I need to understand better so that My testimony
continues to grow and so that I continue to progress along the path
that the Lord has outlined for Me. The church has so many resources
available for gospel learning it is incredible! Many days I get caught
up in going from one ensign article or conference talk to the next and
the hour flies by! It's great stuff! But I noticed that my studies of
the Book of Mormon had started to fall lower and lower on my priority
list. I still read every day but probably didn't dedicate as much time
to it as I ought to. The last two days I determined to only read the
Book of Mormon for the whole time. I also read faster than I normally
would when I am trying to get every detail out of every verse I can. I
just read read looking for the overall messages that the Lord wanted
me to get, underlining standout phrases as I went. Between the two
days I read over 60 pages. It was pretty EPIC. I was amazed at the
things that stood out to me that I had never understood in quite that
way any of the other times I had read those same passages. The Book of
Mormon is true. That's all there is to it. No man could have written
that book. It is true stories of real people. If we will read and
apply it's teachings we will benefit from generations and generations
of seeing the Lord's dealings with his children. We will learn to
recognize the voice of the Spirit in our own lives because it feels
the same way we feel when we read this book.
I love being a missionary!
Love yous,
Sister McConkie