Tuesday, May 1, 2012

there is power, great power in the Book of Mormon [From 27 MAR 12]


I’m laughing here in the library, the public library. I absolutely loved the notes from you girls. !!!!!!!!!! Sounds like you had a very exciting week, what with winter camping and such. Side note; boys usually smell bad when they've been working hard or having lots of fun. It’s just how they are. After girls camp we smell bad too, but not as much as the guys. I’m glad the girls didn’t freeze Friday night. It’s been raining off and on since Friday. We’ve had some fun trudging through puddles in our boots and tracting in the rain.

As far as coming home. My mission ends in the middle of a transfer. I’ll get the "pink slip" about 3 or 4 months before that day. So I could go home either on October 22nd or December 4th. Technically my 18 month mark is November 18.

Nothing is changing for transfers here in Novato with Hermana Osorio. Yeah! Although I did receive an assignment for this transfer; I'm the exchange sister for three areas. Which means I go on exchanges with the sisters once a week and see how they are doing and their area, etc. It's exactly what the district leader does with his district. Just I’m in charge of six sisters; the Windsor Spanish sisters: McKay and Fenn; Napa sisters: Ordonez and Robinson; and the Rohnert Park sisters: Clayton and Garo. It’s going to be fun! I’m excited and nervous all at once. Also a new Spanish sister area is opening. Well they're replacing elders in Fairfield. Hermana’s Anderson and Rupp will be "whitewashing" into Farifield. So now there are two places that I have not been.

My health is okay. I’ve been fatigued and it’s difficult to wake up in the morning. My head hurts most of the time. I still haven’t called the mission nurse. I just don't like talking with nurses or doctors. Argh. I need to though. I know I do. It’s just the actual doing of it that’s hard, for whatever reason. To help my headaches I have been taking Motrin, which just makes me more tired and my eyes want to close. Also I don’t' want to have to pop pills every day to just lessen the pain unless it's actually healing me.

Mom - all I keep hearing is your voice saying, "It's not a weakness to admit you're weak." You wrote that in one of my letters. When it comes to my health that's so hard for me, don’t know why, it just is. I need to learn to take care of myself. I guess that's what it boils down to. I think I’m not doing a good job right now. Just keep praying for me. I’ll figure it out some time.

You’re right there is power, great power in the Book of Mormon. It brings not only spiritual but physical healing. It’s amazing! We can teach everything from the Book of Mormon, every principle of the gospel. It’s why the prophets tell us to study it daily.

Which reminds me... I’m so excited about conference!

I’ll be sending home a package of some things I’m not using, like my two pairs of heels. It’ll be in the mail today. I find I don’t use them. I'm already almost a foot taller than everyone we teach. :) But I will definitely use them at home.

Last night we had a branch family home evening. It was so much fun! The family just moved in a couple months ago and they don’t have much furniture. In fact they only have four maybe six chairs. So President Mejia brought some from the church. It was well attended and everyone had a great time. One of our investigators came and she really enjoyed it. We had a lesson about the atonement and then some fun games that Hermano Alejandro related to the gospel. He's actually from Brazil! He speaks Portuguese, Spanish and English. He grew up in southern Africa and has lived in some other neat and random places. But some things he did actually reminded me of you, Dad. I’ve met a couple other Brazilians and I’ve realized that either you really are from Brazil or your mission affected you more than I realized. Maybe even you realize. He has very good hosting skills like you. He's friendly and welcoming toward all. Funny. Loves to prepare and present food. He also doesn’t untie his ties (I know because we played a game where we needed ties and he brought them out tied and all ready to put on. Just like you have your ties. There are some other things but it was interesting and comforting to see. And all of that brings me to this point; that we don’t realize just how much our mission impacts us. I don't realize just how much my mission is impacting me and will impact and change me. I could say more but times up.

Hope you have a great week! And I’m happy we'll all be together at conference. Even though we're in California, Idaho and New Hampshire. :)
FOREVER LOVE,
Hermana Stephenson

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