It has been way warm here for winter time - I love it! we've mostly gotten rain, not snow - which is kind of sad because I think snow is beautiful, but kind of great because biking in the snow is not the most enjoyable thing. It's been way windy, too! like hurricane level winds apparently! But it's calm now and I think this week should be a little better.
 |
| Søster Hale and Søster Barrett |
Horsens is so great! Sister Hale and I are having lots of adventures. Here are a couple from the last week:
So, I forgot to tell you that on New Years as we were about to go into A's family's apartment, this girl ran up the stairs out of breath and crying, asking us to call the police. Apparently her boyfriend was abusing her and she ran away and needed help. It was very scary! Elder Jewkes called 911 (or 112 if you're in Denmark!) and the police said they would come in twenty minutes. Sister Hale and I sat with the girl until they came. We sang her some songs and talked to her about all kinds of things (including the gospel of course!) to get her mind off of what was happening because she was freaking out. It was kind of crazy, but so neat to be able to help.
 |
| That is a durum kebab for ya - and I ate the whole thing all by myself! |
And this week started off great on Monday with us taking the wrong bus to an appointment... we went in the completely wrong direction! I asked the bus driver to let us know when our stop was coming (it's way hard to find the stops out of town) and he said we were going in the wrong direction and the next stop wasn't for a while. So he just let us off on the side of the road, almost in the middle of nowhere. we were pretty close to a little town, but had no idea what it was or where we were. So we said a prayer of course! And right after, we saw a woman walking our direction so we decided to ask her where we were.
Turns out we were in Hatting, a little bitty town 6 km away from Horsens. The lady we talked to, I__, said that it would be a long walk in the dark on the side of a highway and she was worried about our safety. We asked her if she'd heard about the church, and she said she knew a member, P__! We know her too, of course! I think that connection made I__ feel like she could trust us, so she told us she would drive us back to Horsens. The whole way home, we talked about the gospel. the Spirit was so strong, and I__ ended up accepting a Book of Mormon and making an appointment for us to meet with her. Whaaa?! That doesn't just happen!!! It was such a miracle - and it was amazing to see the way the Lord guided us.
The next morning, I tried to find my wallet and realized that it was missing. I had no idea where it was, and didn't find it at all that day. BUT we did break into a Museum! We had an appointment with a new investigator but couldn't get to his apartment. The door was through a locked gateway (it's really hard to describe this on email, but in cities here all of the buildings are pretty much attached to each other, and the only way to get to the other side of them is through big gateways in the buildings) and we couldn't get through, and he wasn't answering the phone.
We tried the next gateway over, thinking that maybe there was a way to get through from that building. We opened the door, and there were a bunch of pictures of a building being restored in the hallway, and then another closed door on the other side. we tried that door, still thinking we could get through. A faint beeping sound started going off - we were way confused, and just decided to leave. After we got back out on the main street, a blaring alarm started going off from the gateway!! People on the street started walking over to see what was going on.
We were freaking out at this point - we had no idea what to do, so we decided to wait there in case the police came. Sure enough, a few minutes later a security guard came and we told him what happened. The owner of the museum (we're pretty sure it was a museum) showed up as well. We explained the whole situation to them, and the security guard asked the owner if he wanted to get our full names. I think the owner thought we couldn't understand him, 'cause he told the security guard it wasn't necessary because we were just 2 dumb girls. Which is kind of true! Anyways, we survived and it was hilarious and sooo embarrassing.
Later, we called I__ to see if I had left my wallet in her car, and I did! So on Wednesday we biked all the way out to her house to get the wallet, and when we got to her door she brought the wallet and the Book of Mormon we had given her. Turns out she didn't want to learn about the church yet anyways. :( But that's okay! We did our best to help her see things differently, but it's just not the right time. As we were getting ready to bike back I realized that my back tire was completely flat. so we walked allllllll the way back to Horsens because I didn't have any of my tire patching stuff. Bleh.
That night, though, I met D, a less-active here who is awesome! He's such a funny guy! He is pretty atheist, which I think is very interesting. Sister Hale has worked with a lot of atheists on her mission, she's pretty much the atheist expert (and by atheists I mean real atheists, who completely don't believe in God - a lot of people here say they are atheist, but in reality they do believe in God they just keep it really private) and it's been really neat to hear some of her experiences and thoughts.
On Thursday we headed to Copenhagen for leadership meeting, and met the greatest family on the train. It was a dad, B, and his two sons - they were sooo cute and crazy, the older brother (they were 4 and 6) kept pulling his younger brother's pants off. we were laughing so hard! B is way positive about learning about the church, and we got his number to give to the missionaries where he lives.
 |
| Leadership Counsel |
Leadership counsel was really great - we talked a lot about the worth of souls. It possibly made me have a little emotional breakdown - I think I cry even more now than I did before I started my mission. I get so emotional! the Spirit gets so strong! Anyways it was really motivating and sister Hale and I are PUMPED for exchanges and the zone trainings for the month! And just life in general! I haven't laughed so much in a long time.
Saturday was a special day... not just because we got ready for Sunday! (wahaha) But we had a lot of powerful lessons. This month we're focusing on Preach My Gospel chapter 1 again and it's even more apparent to me how important it is that we remember our calling as missionaries - and how important it is to really believe that we are called as representatives of Jesus Christ. If we don't believe that with all of our hearts, how on earth will anyone else believe it?
We met with A and his girlfriend A who is from England. She's here visiting A and it was the last chance we had to meet her. Sister Hale and I were a little apprehensive about it but the lesson went WAY well! Sister Hale is so bold! A is really receptive and wants the missionaries to come visit her in England!
And after that we met with A again, and O (she and her husband J are working here for 4 years from America) came with us - she is such a great lady and role model, and I think she really made a good impression on A.
At the end of the day we visited N and B, and then S - all wonderful people who have been investigating on and off for a few years (well, not B - we met him because he's N's boyfriend) and not really going anywhere. But I really think that because we've been focusing on the importance and sanctity of our call, we were a little more bold and taught a little more with the Spirit - which made a big difference with all of them. Sister Hale said that it's the most progress she's ever had in a lesson with S.
Ok, I know i'm talking a lot today! There's just so much that has happened! Yesterday, B and N came to church! and so did J and G. J and G are way special people. I met them over a year ago on exchanges - G is a member from the Philippines, married to J who is not a member and from Denmark. I think I may have mentioned them last week? anyways, I've always remembered them and when I saw them my first Sunday here (J translates church for G) it was amazing!
We made an appointment to come over, and last night when we came over they fed us a TON of food. SO MUCH FOOD. and we had a great talk about the gospel. Søster Hale and I both feel really strongly that this is the time for J to enter into the covenant of baptism - we hope that he feels that way too. We're going back again on Friday so we'll see what happens!
 |
| The most epic teeter totter ever. |
It has just been such a great week. I always say this I think, but I Love being a missionary! And being here in Horsens is so great, especially because I'm with Sister Hale. she is such an amazing person. I am so grateful we're together because she helps me see myself as a good person, and she helps me to enjoy every minute instead of worrying. We have a good influence on each other, except for the fact that we forget everything. ;)
I love ya! Have a great week! See you next week!!!
Love,
Søster Barrett
No comments:
Post a Comment