It's been a good week overall, whada ya know. I'm figuring out how to better be friends with Sister Petricek (because the way that I am normally friends with people does not work for her) and it's going alright.
I went on companion exchanges with Sister Mother Teresa Zibetti on Monday and that was like a breath of fresh air. Just a blissful day of light-weightedness.
Things are still slow but there have been some good moments. For example, Kristen and Emma came! Surprise visit! That was so fun to see them and talk to them and feel like a normal person but also still like a missionary. And it was perfect timing too because nothing had been happening the whole day.
I was in the Visitor's Center on Tuesday, and so far that's mostly been an unsatisfactory experience for me simply because people come in, want to get their map or whatever, and leave. They aren't really looking for a nice gospel chat. But a member family came in and they had a teenage girl, and talking to teenagers is my jam, so I knew I had to make that happen (plus I did feel spiritually prompted, or maybe, obliged to do so).
We ended up having a really good conversation, and we actually talked about some weightier spiritual things. I described some past testimony challenges I've had and she said something about being there herself, and I don't know, I just felt the spirit really strongly, especially afterwards. And, in fact, she came in to the Visitor's Center yesterday looking for me and gave Sister Wood her contact info to give to me. I'm honestly overjoyed. It's the seemingly small things that really make everything worth it.
I also neglected to tell you about an incident the week before when I was in the Sarah Granger Kimball house, which is way out of the way compared to the rest of historic Nauvoo, relatively speaking. A lady came in, hadn't visited any of the sites (which is rare), and was just camping around. Turns out she's been having dreams for months now about large bodies of water, and kind of made a spur of the moment trip along the Mississippi because she feels drawn to it. Well, let me tell you. Everybody comes to Nauvoo for a reason. It just simply cannot be an coincidence.
So I asked her if she believed in God. She does believe in a greater energy. It's actually a very spiritual experience to hear people describe their beliefs, because they feel the truth. They describe principles of truth, just in their own way, and it's like they're bearing their testimony of what they believe (or hope is true) and are looking for more. I told her about spiritual dreams I asked if she prayed. It was so incredible to hear her say that she prayed all the time, that it's just always in her heart. Thinking about it makes me want to cry. I told her she should pray about her dream, ask to know what it's about. She thought that was a super good idea--the spirit was really strong. The funny thing about it too is that I usually recognize better afterwards how strong the spirit was, rather than during. I'm so in the zone and focused in on the person and later I realize how spirit directed everything really has been.
Everything else has been a little slow. But some exciting news for me! My pioneer dress was way big on me and just not cute, so Sister Zibetti and I went to the sewing room and I got a new one! Oh the small joys. We're wearing our pioneer dresses like almost everyday now and honestly, I've never been so grateful to change into a normal skirt in my life. It feels so free. We won't be in our site dresses though that often during the peak season.
A fun thing to hear in the sewing room this week, "Oh, your pantaloons are so cute, I want those!" says my 23 year-old companion. Where am I? What am I doing? Oh the high drama that is in the sewing room. What I would pay to be able to make a reality tv show out of my mission experience.
Anyways, love you all.
Love,
Rachel
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