That's a double quote of Marcy Wahlquist and Elder Bednar ;)
To be initiated into the mission field, my comp and I have concluded that you must be bitten by a dog, hit by a car, and robbed.
So this week, I feel that I was officially initiated into the mission field. Por fin, right?
We got robbed.
True. Story.
WOW, talk about humongous desafio! Sparing you all the details of how we found our little house broken into, who we think it was, the quick packing and sleeping in different pensions and being confined to houses and moving all over again and searching for a new place to live and all...let me tell you more about the challenges and blessings that came from this..."initiation." First, the challenges.
1. We finally ended up firmly in a pension in la Plaza de Maipu, a 30 minute bus ride plus 20 minutes of walking away from our sector. There are all together 10 hermanas living in this house.
10. Hermanas. Ten. Diez. Translation- lots and lots of girls. Its an adventure. We walk to the bus stop every day to get to our sector and wrap up our day a little earlier than usual so as to get to the pension at a reasonable hour. With the ten other girls that we live with. We sleep on the floor, but at least there's a mattress between us and the hard wood, right? THAT'S a blessing!
2. For 3 days, we were going back and forth from pension to old, robbed pension to another pension, driving with the mission Pension keepers and walking just the four of us, cleaning and packing and searching and there was a lot of time just sitting and waiting and not being able to leave and NOT WORKING. We finally got to leave to work on Saturday, and it was delicious to just read the Book of Mormon with an inactive member or teach The Restoration to a new investigator.
Now, for the blessings. I really love that I could wrap up all the challenges into two points. I like thinking positive ;)
1. We had a big meeting with President and all his assistants on Friday with 3 other zones for training and such, and he told us that us being robbed can be seen as a sign that we are good missionaries. He explained that we are good, hard working, obedient, happy missionaries, we have unity in our companionship, we have success in our sectors, and Satan knew that he could not attack us through a point in the mission work. He had to use an outside source and pull out the big guns. I love my mission President. He is delightful.
2. The four of us that were living in the pension are SUPER tight, we have been together for a long time, and we basically know each other's life story. Throughout this whole week, we were together in every moment, and this was truly a blessing. We were able to support and love one another and be frustrated or sad or cry and it was ok, because we all understood. It's much more than being robbed. It's the sense of insecurity and violation, and we could all help one another make it through the week without exploding or drowning in emotion.
3. With all the downtime, I read A LOT of the Book of Mormon. I feel like Alma 44:3 and Helaman 5:12 apply pretty well to our determination to keep enduring and being awesome missionaries :)
4. I have come to the realization, as well as my comp, that I have come to acquire patience. True story, believe it or not, in comp inventory this week, Hermana Velazquez told me that I was incredibly patient throughout this whole ordeal, and she knows what a remarkably impatient individual I am. I have been working very hard, especially these past few weeks, to be patient, and it is paying off in the moment when I truly need it.
5. On Thursday I asked for a priesthood blessing. Through that, my testimony of the priesthood doubled. It is amazing to me that a worthy Elder can be an instant instrument in the hands of the Lord to tell ME what He wants me to hear, what I need to hear to keep going and to trust in Him,
to know He's there, to know that He loves me. It is amazing to hear words and phrases and assurances from my Heavenly Father that fit my exact needs, that make me feel more capable and less alone and MORE LOVED. The priesthood is real. I love that my testimony and love for the priesthood can keep growing.
So there you have it. I got robbed of a suitcase, all my jewelry, a purse with my sunglasses, and we are left pensionless and about an hour away from our sector. But we are BLESSED. We are safe and we are with those that we love, those that are more like our family than anyone else in Chile, and we are demolishing Satan's efforts to stop us from working in this marvelous work. Satan is such a jerk, but hes got nothing on me!
Stay rad, y'all. Do what you do. Be bold. Be happy you didn't get robbed this week :)
Hermana Harkins
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