Hello!
This week has been really good. I honestly can't even tell you why it's been so good but it has been wonderful!
This week we went and ran by a lot of members’ homes with bags of chocolate and a cute spiritual quote with a nice note for them and it made them really happy and lots of them came up to us on Sunday and were like, "Thanks so much, we loved it! Can we feed you and give you referrals?" Which obviously we are totally fine with! Honestly, it has been really amazing watching the level of trust increase, and the relationships that we have built improve in the last 7ish weeks.
We also have really been trying to improve our relationship (as all the missionaries in Oldham have) with the ward council and the bishop and listen to their advice and really implement what they are telling us to do. I feel like we're improving on that and really gaining trust with them which is amazing!
This week was a mix of lots of rejection, but also some really amazing friends and blessings! We were able to make 4 really amazing friends (2 of which speak French!) and they all were really excited to meet with us which is very rare in Oldham! So of course we made return appointments and all of them so far have been keeping in touch with us and haven't ghosted us yet!
This week I've been studying a lot about obedience and it's been interesting so far. A lot of the repeated themes, especially with the different laws and commandments, is that we don't obey or listen or do them out of blind obedience, we do them because we love and understand God and His character. That's been an interesting perspective that I try to better use or visualize as I work on safeguards, mission rules, and missionary standards in general.
On Saturday, we fed the Elders in our mission and gave them pretty good first class service. We gave them folding chairs to sit on while they were waiting outside our flat (they can’t come inside the Sisters’ flat), some blankets, hot cocoa and cream with marshmallows, fajitas, and mug cakes. You're welcome, Elders. If anyone needs food in Oldham, let me know.
Overall mission life is good! It definitely has its extreme highs and very deep lows, but it is wonderful and I wouldn't give it up for anything! I love it here and I love my experiences.
So that's my week!
Hope you are having a lovely week!
Photographs below :)
Sister Patea eating my fajitas - I am her personal chef
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Weekly Letter #15: January 13, 2020
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Oleh
John Pursglove
