Hey Family!
Everything here has entirely and completely changed.
PSYCHE! It's a historic site. . . nothing changes! So yeah. Nothing "new" to report on in the jail (except the tiny pleasure I get out of writing "jail" in my planner every day).
I'd like to give a special shout out to my Hollyboo Ross because it's her birthday. I cried tears of laughter recounting past Holly birthdays to Sister Mills this morning, most specifically the quinceneara. Remember the long and dramatic dance across the hallway to "She's always a woman to me"?
Anyways. We've given a lot of good tours this week. And I've been trying to figure out what makes a tour specifically "good" to me, considering that I rarely feel like, "wow, I didn't do that well." I'm at the point where I feel like I pretty much always know what to do to create an environment to foster the spirit (not to be overconfident or anything. . .I could be completely off but I don't think so. . .), but some tours are still just better than others for me (separate from the guests' experience). So I realized I think it just depends on how much I am invested in the guests and how much mental energy I devote to meeting their spiritual needs. I think I've figured out a good balance here in Carthage now where I can, if I try, devote the energy without becoming overly exhausted by it--because it is rather spiritually exhausting to give so many tours in Carthage. Like, if you give 6 tours in a day, that's an intense day.
Transfers are actually next week, although I still have Thursday preparation day that day, and then transfers that night. The pageant starts next week! And guess what??? We get to be in it a tiny bit!! It's going to be the coolest thing ever, I think. So there's a part of the British pageant at the end where they talk about missionary work and seeking truth and all that jazz, and they say it's still going on today, and then real life missionaries go on the stage (so, we got to watch a taping of the british pageant a few months ago, so I've seen it he he) and it's uber touching and the tears flow. . .And we get to be those missionaries!! gahhhhh my life is made. Super excited.
Also, I thought of something tinyish but cool that happened a million years ago but I forgot to tell you because it was that time my p-day didn't come for a million years. And it was that I was in charge of our weekly training for the whole mission (all the senior missionaries too, of course). And it went smashingly well, I feel! I delegated parts to everyone, like a good leader ought. So I was by no means the star performer. But it was a great experience. And every part that I assigned to a companionship was very lead by the spirit and perfect for them. And I thought the training was highly effective. So yeah.
True story. The core pageant cast (the main actors. . not the family cast) is in town, of course. And I decided early to make them into my personal Nauvoo celebrities so I can have that enjoyment--an opportunity I missed out on last summer. So I'm looking forward to the excitement that will inevitably come if I get the chance to talk to one. Also many are British, which really ups the legitimacy of their fake celebritydom. So, you know, I'm creating my own thrills here. Long term joy is the more dominating missionary experience so I've got to find that fleeting pleasure where I can, relate to the commoners you know?
I love you all! Happy birthday babygirl!
Love, Rachel
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