Episode 34: The One with the Temple Trip and a Pinched Nerve

Hello everybody! It has been a great week, with some surprised thrown in the mix.

To start, I am back to just one companion. Another sister had to go home for more intensive health care, and Sister Knudsen got transferred up to Silverdale to fill her spot until next week when we get some new sisters. The life of a missionary is never boring!

Also, this week we got to go on our annual temple trip! It is usually in March, but the temple was closed in March for some maintenance. Anyway, it was awesome. I love the temple!! 

Here is my zone in front of the temple. I think Sister Blatter got so excited about the beautiful missionaries, that she cut off the top of the temple, but that is alright.

And this is just a goofy picture of the tree zones I went to the temple with. See, missionaries are real people, too! Plus, we got to ride in a school bus for an hour, and that was pretty exciting. Sister Pen was shocked that there were no seat belts.

In other news, I pinched a nerve in my ankle, and for about 20 minutes I thought I was going to die or else they were going to have to amputate my foot. i'm a little dramatic, what can I say. After walking it off (a lot!), wrapping it, and Sister Pen putting magic Cambodian balm on it for 3 days, I no longer think I'm going to lose the foot or my life. 

We have a really awesome new investigator named Bong Sina. She is super sweet, and her two daughters are so cute! They mostly speak English because that is what they learn in school, so Sister Pen and I taught them how to count in Cambodian. Imagine that, me teaching a Cambodian person how to speak Cambodian! Bong Sina has a lot of what we call "real intent": she has a very sincere desire to learn the truth for herself, and she is really willing to act on what she learns. I'm really excited to work with her more.

We also went to a funeral this week for an amazing lady in our ward. She has served 3 missions with her husband, and she brought Sister Baca to church every week from the time she was an investigator, which was 12 years ago! It was really cool to hear about all the amazing things this lady had done in her life, and to see what an impact she had in the life of others. It mad me think about how I want to be remembered when it is my time to leave this earth, and how I need to be living now to make that happen. Perspective is a way cool thing!

Also at the funeral, we sang a song that I absolutely love, and I actually have part of the lyrics written on the back of my planner. The song is How Firm a Foundation, and the whole thing is amazing (10 out of 10, would highly recommend singing it, or at least listening to it), but I particularly love the 7th verse. It says:

The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose

I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes;

That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,

I'll never, no never, I'll never, no never,

I'll never, no never, no never forsake!

I love that! Trusting in God can be hard, but I can testify that it is SO WORTH IT! It is the only way we can overcome the foes, both literal and figurative, that face us every day.

I love this gospel, I love serving as a missionary, and I love all of you! Have an awesome week.

Love,

Sister Lemon