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| At the Temple with the Sisters and the Elders in the Zone |
It has been a pretty crazy week here in Georgia! Now that December has arrived, things are warming up and the weather is beautiful! I'm loving it. :)
On Monday, we only had a half-preparation day because...
We got to go to the Temple on Tuesday! It was pretty much an all-day event, so we made sure to take plenty of pictures! Our whole zone went, so everybody was really, really excited. Why? Because there is so much peace to be found in the House of the Lord. It was especially wonderful to me because it has been just over a year since I went through the Temple for the first time. So much of my understanding of and perspective on life has changed since then, and it was interesting to me to review all those changes. I could see the hand of my Heavenly Father behind each one and also how each challenge I faced has helped me become a stronger, happier person. If you haven't been to the Temple lately, I highly recommend it, even if you aren't able to go inside.
On Wednesday, I got to go to a conference with Elder Weatherford T. Clayton of the Quorum of the Seventy. He gave a group of us missionaries a whole lot to think about, and it may take me the rest of my mission to apply it all. Nevertheless, I am going to try! Directly after the conference, I found out that I was going to be personally interviewed by him, along with the other 3 missionaries who went from Athens. He gave me an opportunity to ask any questions I had and, of course, my mind went completely blank. I managed to come up with a half-decent one that has been on my mind lately, but nothing extraordinary came of it.
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| a quick image of the Nativity event (pictures were allowed and even encouraged) set up in the cultural hall of our church |
The next interesting day of the week was Friday, when we had a zone conference (our second this transfer) with Elder Clayton. He talked to us about a lot of the same concepts and ideas, but I was able to get a whole lot more out of it this time around. He talked about teaching simply, what our mission funnel is (walking through our key indicators), and what each member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is like in real life. Everything was a little bit less heavy than it was on Thursday, and I was excited to get to work afterwards! However, we got back to Athens just in time for our Stake Nativity Event (a display of 400+ nativity scenes from around the world with a live nativity outside- complete with live donkeys you could pet!). Which was still work, but not the kind I envisioned during the trainings earlier in the day. Sister Nielson and I went around trying to talk with everybody in search of those who had never been inside an LDS church before. Probably my favorite part of the day was the choir performance during the last hour of the event. And by "choir performance," I really mean the solo of "Carol of the Bells" done by the world-class organist in our congregation. You had to be there. It was amazing! We spent Saturday evening the same way and it was even better the second time!
The biggest miracle we experienced this week was Seleta. She showed up to church two Sundays ago, and came again yesterday. Afterwards, we managed to pull her aside for a lesson and now she is planning on getting baptized next Saturday! Sister Nielson and I are feeling SUPER blessed to be able to work with her, and it is going to be a busy two weeks until then!
I love you all and hope you have a fantabulous week! Don't forget to #LightTheWorld this week (see mormon.org) and enjoy this Christmas season!
Love,
Sister Houghton
Apt. 12-F
Athens, GA 30605
P.S. Transfers are next week, so probably hold off on mail after today until I let y'all know what is happening next Monday. :)
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