Learning to be happy where we are

So missionary work is still hard, I still feel like crying sometimes, but I'm learning to stop focusing on me. I have learned two really important things this week. The first I learned in young womens (their normal interpreter was giving the lesson, and so they asked me to come and interpret for the 3 americans.) and the lesson was on happiness, and they talked about how happiness is created and worked for, it's not just something that some lucky few just discover. What they specifically focused on was not waiting for an event to occur in your life that will make you happy like marriage, college, etc, It is incredibly easy to do this as a greenie (I will be happy\ a good missionary when I can speak the language, when I'm not being trained, when I have more of a say...etc.) and I realized that I am really tired of passively waiting, I will not be happy until I start being happy with where I am, and what I'm doing. I also learned that if your priorities aren't in the right place, missions are terrible. They are difficult regardless, but they only begin to become worthwhile when you are sacrificing everything for someone else. If you are a missionary or planning on serving a mission, just get out there and work. Work if it's raining, work if you are tired. If you don't, the spirit won't be with you and it will be a terrible experience.


This week we taught our investigator Florine (from Romania, stopped the sister's on the street.) He has a lot of questions that he isn't willing to accept simple answers for. I think that he wants to believe in God he just has this desperate fear that he will reach out to Him and find that there is no one there. I know that he wants this and that it will make him happy, but he is too afraid to make the next step. Due to this fear the lesson was very off topic, very long, and didn't really have the spirit. We are hoping to teach him again tonight and try to keep it focused. I think that he needs the base and then he can begin to find, and accept the answers to his questions.
We are working with a less active named Thelma, and she has a great testimony, she even wants to serve a mission, she just doesn't feel comfortable in church, and I think she is afraid to start making the steps to make friends and start becoming part of the LDS culture. One of the young women's counselors is getting ready to serve a mission and she came with us to teach a lesson. She offered to invite Thelma to the next young women's activity.

We had 5 investigators in church this week!!!!! Two were long term investigators (who I still have not met.) But three of them came for the first time!!! Two of them we met while doing a mostra, and they were really receptive. The ward really really reached out to them, and they are excited to learn more. They are the cutest old men ever. One of them asked us for a copy of the Book of Mormon and gospel principles in English so he could make sure he wasn't losing anything in translation. The last investigator was Robert. Robert is the man from Bangladesh that we have been teaching. I have been wanting and praying for him desperately to come to church, but because of work it's seemed like it's not an option, but he works on a boat in the river, and because of all the rain this week (which seemed like such a trial), he was sent home early and instead of going home early, he made the trek across the city to come to the last hour of church, and he asked me twice if we had found a church for him in Bangladesh. I have learned more about love from this man than I have any other person that I have thus far met. He works constantly and he sends all of his money to his family. He is making such a great sacrifice. He sees that we have the truth, and he wants it for him and his family.
We also met women from Egypt this week, and I'm not sure how interested they are in the church. They are really really interested in Christ and in talking to the missionaries but I'm not sure how much they have truly latched onto the idea of the restored gospel. They are trying to become part of the Italian culture (they have both even changed their names to Italian names) and they were so touched that we invited them to a Thanksgiving activity. We spoke more in depth with the brother named Atta/Abramo, and I could actually see desperation in his eyes. He wants desperately to belong in this country, and I hope that he can find that in the church. He gave us flowers when we left. (he works in a flower stand.) I love these people and I feel so honored, that our Heavenly Father trusts me to help these people. I'm not perfect and this is really really hard for me, but I know that this is where my Savior and my Heavenly Father want me to be. I have thought about going home 1,000 times, but I know that leaving will be the hardest thing I ever do, and that my mission will become better and better as my priorities shift.

I love you all dearly, and I pray for you more than you realize. I hope that the holidays are wonderful, and that you are learning and growing from the experiences the Lord is giving you.