So, this week (as you know) was transfer week, and I stayed in our area and got a new companion. My new companion, Hermana Reid was coming in from Aruba. She has been working in Curacao and Aruba for 6 months and long story short, due to circumstances that were out of their control, they missed their flight twice, which means I was in an unplanned exchange for 2 days with my old companion and her new companion. It was fun, and easy because (for various reasons) we slept in our apartment, so I didn't even have to pack. It was cool to work in another area for two days and see what missionary work is like in another area. It was also a blessing too, because it made the transition from my original companion to the new one a little softer and easier.
We were tocing doors over in Bayamon and there was a dog that was following us. He was so cute! There are a lot of stray dogs here and it isn't the first time a dog has followed us around, but he was especially cute. He reminded me of Aki, escept his tail wasn't docked. When he met us he was just so happy and his tail was wagging so much that the entire lower half of his body was going with it. I loved it. We were doing a circle around a neighborhood and he started following us right at the beginning of our ring. He would just follow us and then patiently wait for us as we talked to people and lay down in the grass or go and play in another yard, and then when we were done he would come back and follow us again. It was just so cute. I called him Chico. And the really exciting thing is that he started responding to it by the end of the night. When we walked by his house again, he walked inside as if it was perfectly normal to follow three missionaries around the neighborhood. That is probably the most exciting thing that happened on Wednesday and Thursday. I'll never forget Chico. :)
So, I worked in the Bayamon ward for 2 days and it was really great. The bummer thing this that we had to cancel everything in our area, but as usual, no one answered their phone, so we just didn't show up at the appointments, and that also means we have no return appointments. Ahh! It is kind of crazy how fast an area can fall when you aren't working for two days. Because we didn't do any contacting here for 2 days either (planned or otherwise), which means we didn't have a lot of appointments for the rest of the week. But, we're picking ourselves back up again and working hard.
Hermana Reid finally arrived on Thursday night (she was supposed to be here on Wednesday morning), and so I worked all day Wednesday and Thursday with the Bayamon sisters and then we went to do the switch-off on Friday morning.
Like I said, I really like Hermana Reid, and I think we're going to get along really well (knock on wood). She is kind of like a mix between me and my CCM companion, and so naturally she is pretty cool. :) We have a very similar teaching style and also similar beliefs on other aspects of mission culture, including how to contact and how to tell if people are interested and when to let go. I'm going to learn a lot from her, because I already have. She is really cool and has been out for about 9 months.
I don't have a lot of exciting investigator news except that Joshua is still progressing and doing so well. I think his story is interesting for 2 reasons:
1. He was a member referal and he is being taught in the member's home. I have really realized how critical members are in missionary work. Joshua has that support and it is so important for his progression to have Hna. R there to help him as he learns more and prepares to make covenants with the Lord. Give the missionaries referals, because it is the most effective kind of missionary work!
2. He is young and therefore naturally humble. I feel like since he is a student he is already humble because he is in a situation everyday where he is being taught by others and he realizes everyday that he has so much to learn. I think a lot of adults forget what it is like to have a teacher, or someone who is trying to guide them to knowledge they need. He is so thirsty for knowledge and he has great questions and doesn't feel stupid asking questions. He realizes he has a lot to learn and is comfortable in that situation, whereas a lot of adults haven't been in that situation for a long time and so they are uncomfortable in the situation that kind of compels them into humility. Especially when it is young people that are teaching you. Anyways. I thought those two things about him were interesting.
We taught him a lesson this week (Hermana Reid and I) and she is really excited about him to, because she could see the excitment that he has and his interest in the gospel. I'm excited for him to. He came to church yesterday, which is great. Three weeks in a row. :) Happy, happy, happy.
So, something that happens here every now and then is a water outage. Yeah. It's like a power outage, but with water, which I'm sure happens in the states, I've just never experienced it in the states. We've already had like 2 or 3 here in Bayamon in the time I've been here, but they are usually a couple hours, or the longest was one day. Well, the water went out on Saturday and according to word on the street (literally...random people we meet and invite to learn about the gosple tell us these things) the water will not return until Tuesday at 6pm. It is really interesting because nobody even seems phased about it. I've always taken running water for granted, but I never will again. We have a ton of water stored in our apartment, but we mostly have to use it for the toilet. We have filters so we can drink it, it is just really weird.
So, we called Hermana Martineau last night to ask if we could just come over and shower, because we hadn't showered since Friday morning and although everyone else was in the same situation, we thought a shower would be nice and maybe even beneficial for the work. She invited us to spend the night, because she is so cool. I love staying in the mission home, because it feels like a home, whereas our apartment is nice, but it just feels like a dwelling. The room we stayed in upstairs actually had carpet, and I haven't seen carpet since I got to Puerto Rico, because everyone's house is just all tiles here. It was so nice! Just a special treat. So, we still don't have water at home, but we're getting by with a little help from the love of our leaders. They're awesome.
That is about it that happened this week. I hope everything is going great back at home and in school, and all that good stuff. I'm sad I didn't make it to the cousin party, but I'm sure it was fun, even without me.
Love,Hermana Miller
ps. So, I'm still getting letters from the DR every now and then, and I randomly got one delivered this week from a new elder, who was delivering it from the CCM President's wife saying that a box of cookies arrived but that they were unfit to be eaten. Haha. The letter enclosed with the cookies says they were sent the day after I left Provo. That was like, 4 months ago! I guess the system is not completely untrustworthy, just a little slow. Haha. Thanks for the thought.
We were tocing doors over in Bayamon and there was a dog that was following us. He was so cute! There are a lot of stray dogs here and it isn't the first time a dog has followed us around, but he was especially cute. He reminded me of Aki, escept his tail wasn't docked. When he met us he was just so happy and his tail was wagging so much that the entire lower half of his body was going with it. I loved it. We were doing a circle around a neighborhood and he started following us right at the beginning of our ring. He would just follow us and then patiently wait for us as we talked to people and lay down in the grass or go and play in another yard, and then when we were done he would come back and follow us again. It was just so cute. I called him Chico. And the really exciting thing is that he started responding to it by the end of the night. When we walked by his house again, he walked inside as if it was perfectly normal to follow three missionaries around the neighborhood. That is probably the most exciting thing that happened on Wednesday and Thursday. I'll never forget Chico. :)
So, I worked in the Bayamon ward for 2 days and it was really great. The bummer thing this that we had to cancel everything in our area, but as usual, no one answered their phone, so we just didn't show up at the appointments, and that also means we have no return appointments. Ahh! It is kind of crazy how fast an area can fall when you aren't working for two days. Because we didn't do any contacting here for 2 days either (planned or otherwise), which means we didn't have a lot of appointments for the rest of the week. But, we're picking ourselves back up again and working hard.
Hermana Reid finally arrived on Thursday night (she was supposed to be here on Wednesday morning), and so I worked all day Wednesday and Thursday with the Bayamon sisters and then we went to do the switch-off on Friday morning.
Like I said, I really like Hermana Reid, and I think we're going to get along really well (knock on wood). She is kind of like a mix between me and my CCM companion, and so naturally she is pretty cool. :) We have a very similar teaching style and also similar beliefs on other aspects of mission culture, including how to contact and how to tell if people are interested and when to let go. I'm going to learn a lot from her, because I already have. She is really cool and has been out for about 9 months.
I don't have a lot of exciting investigator news except that Joshua is still progressing and doing so well. I think his story is interesting for 2 reasons:
1. He was a member referal and he is being taught in the member's home. I have really realized how critical members are in missionary work. Joshua has that support and it is so important for his progression to have Hna. R there to help him as he learns more and prepares to make covenants with the Lord. Give the missionaries referals, because it is the most effective kind of missionary work!
2. He is young and therefore naturally humble. I feel like since he is a student he is already humble because he is in a situation everyday where he is being taught by others and he realizes everyday that he has so much to learn. I think a lot of adults forget what it is like to have a teacher, or someone who is trying to guide them to knowledge they need. He is so thirsty for knowledge and he has great questions and doesn't feel stupid asking questions. He realizes he has a lot to learn and is comfortable in that situation, whereas a lot of adults haven't been in that situation for a long time and so they are uncomfortable in the situation that kind of compels them into humility. Especially when it is young people that are teaching you. Anyways. I thought those two things about him were interesting.
We taught him a lesson this week (Hermana Reid and I) and she is really excited about him to, because she could see the excitment that he has and his interest in the gospel. I'm excited for him to. He came to church yesterday, which is great. Three weeks in a row. :) Happy, happy, happy.
So, something that happens here every now and then is a water outage. Yeah. It's like a power outage, but with water, which I'm sure happens in the states, I've just never experienced it in the states. We've already had like 2 or 3 here in Bayamon in the time I've been here, but they are usually a couple hours, or the longest was one day. Well, the water went out on Saturday and according to word on the street (literally...random people we meet and invite to learn about the gosple tell us these things) the water will not return until Tuesday at 6pm. It is really interesting because nobody even seems phased about it. I've always taken running water for granted, but I never will again. We have a ton of water stored in our apartment, but we mostly have to use it for the toilet. We have filters so we can drink it, it is just really weird.
So, we called Hermana Martineau last night to ask if we could just come over and shower, because we hadn't showered since Friday morning and although everyone else was in the same situation, we thought a shower would be nice and maybe even beneficial for the work. She invited us to spend the night, because she is so cool. I love staying in the mission home, because it feels like a home, whereas our apartment is nice, but it just feels like a dwelling. The room we stayed in upstairs actually had carpet, and I haven't seen carpet since I got to Puerto Rico, because everyone's house is just all tiles here. It was so nice! Just a special treat. So, we still don't have water at home, but we're getting by with a little help from the love of our leaders. They're awesome.
That is about it that happened this week. I hope everything is going great back at home and in school, and all that good stuff. I'm sad I didn't make it to the cousin party, but I'm sure it was fun, even without me.
Love,Hermana Miller
ps. So, I'm still getting letters from the DR every now and then, and I randomly got one delivered this week from a new elder, who was delivering it from the CCM President's wife saying that a box of cookies arrived but that they were unfit to be eaten. Haha. The letter enclosed with the cookies says they were sent the day after I left Provo. That was like, 4 months ago! I guess the system is not completely untrustworthy, just a little slow. Haha. Thanks for the thought.
2 comments:
Unknown said...
Hi Janae, I am not sure if we should make comments on your blog. It is really nice to hear from you and to read about your experiences. You look so happy in your pictures. I hope all goes well. Uncle Milo
Mom said...
You are more than welcome to make comments onto her blog which I will relay to Janae.