Laramie Letter #15

Rashauna and Sister Cardon - a new use for asparagus

 

Mopping up water in the middle of the night 

Sister Cardon and Rashauna on p-day

 

 

I feel like life is just so busy everywhere right now!! So much going on. It's exciting!! Well, the highlight of my week was Grandma calling me Friday morning to tell me that Monica and John were not just alive, but healthy and doing great. I don't think I fully realized how worried I had been about them until I heard the good news and literally felt lighter. It was fantastic. I've been smiling ever since.

 

T is doing well. We've met with her twice and have another appointment today right after we leave the library. I have been so impressed by her insights, comments, and her answers to our questions. She is a remarkable girl and I've loved getting to know her better. Her family isn't supportive at all and she texted us on Sunday to say that she needed to cancel her appointments this week. We said ok, and asked if everything was alright. All we got in return was that something came up and she needed to figure some stuff out. Well Monday morning, she asked if we could still meet today. Of course! I truly admire how strong she is, she loves her family so much, but also knows that this is Christ's church and trusts Heavenly Father to take care of her and her relationship with her family.

 

A is on track to be baptized in a week and a half. We are so excited for her and have been so inspired by her testimony. Her family doesn't support her decision either, but she told us in our last lesson, "If it was just me and Heavenly Father, I'd be baptized, and so that's what I'm going to do." She has an amazing ability to keep things simple and I think it is due to her incredible amount of faith. She knows it's true and so there is no other option. It's so great to see her just get happier and happier with each visit.

 

We were able to have dinner at the Turner's on Wednesday evening. They know the Day's really well and we had such a good time talking about our mutual friends :) We talked about how crazy David is and how wonderful Sue is haha. It was fantastic. It was fun to replay memories in San Diego.

 

So guess who got more fresh, free produce this week?!?!? Yup, avocados, asparagus, mandarin oranges, and more limes are covering our kitchen counter!! We have more than we know what to do with so Sister De Voe and I have been bringing bags of produce to our dinner appointments, to less active members, to friends. It's been really fun. I love giving things to people!! It just feels good.

 

Sister De Voe and I were studying Saturday Morning and I had a simple, but cool connection. We've been working a lot with a less active woman in our ward, V. We've felt impressed to teach her more about prayer and so that's what I was focusing on. In the Bible Dictionary it describes prayer as, "the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other." In Alma 26:22 (and several others) it talks about praying continually. How can we pray continually? We can always have a prayer in our heart but we can also accomplish this by constantly striving to align our will with Heavenly Father's. We had a great day. I got a letter from Paige, my wonderful mother, and the Davidson's :) However, just when we were about to go to bed, water starts coming out of a drain in our basement. Sister Cardon and I just stood there staring at it grow. I think both of us were waiting for it to go away and just take care of itself. However, when it continued growing, we got to work soaking up water with towels and ringing them out into a bucket, and repeating the process many times. We didn't get to bed till one in the morning. We got all the water cleaned up though!

 

Church the following morning was rough. Usual wake up time of 6:30, meeting at 7:30, church at 9.... we were exhausted. There were some amazing lessons, though. First one was on the Sacrament. We talked about 3 Nephi 17 and how the people felt being in the presence of Christ and how sad they were when it was time for Him to leave. In chapter 18, Christ teaches them about the Sacrament, as a way to feel that same spirit even after he leaves. It gave me a new appreciation and view of the role of taking the Sacrament each week. In Relief Society we talked all about having a sure foundation and faith in Christ. I loved it.

 

This week has been a blur. We are so busy and can't find enough time each day to visit all those we'd like to. It's wonderful, but overwhelming haha.

 

Love you!!

Sister Rashauna Hoer