Week 71: Plot Twist....Surprise Ending!

Ha, just kidding. I probably will tell you the plot twist pretty soon here, actually.

So this week was pretty full of new things. New snow, new illness (an annoying cold. I've had a sore throat all week, and now it's transitioning to a runny nose. Only the second time I've been sick on my mission, and I do not cope well. I complain), new bishop (he's going to do a great job), new companion...

Wait, what?

Haha. Well, here's what happened. On Tuesday we got a call from the assistants (it's still an adjustment, getting regular calls from the assistants). Actually, we played phone tag with the assistants for about four hours, but eventually we got to talk to them, and they told us that Sister Martinez was going to be going to Glen Carbon IL to be with the STL there, because an STL was going home unexpectedly, and the STL there is going home in a week and they wanted someone to learn the area so that it doesn't fall apart. So Sister Martinez went there, and I got Sister Herdman (I think she's going to be my killer) and her past companion, is with two other sisters. Or more accurately, they're with her. And all these switches went down on Friday! So, from about Tuesday on, our life was fairly hectic. And it has yet to slow down :)

Oh, also, Thursday was Sister Martinez's birthday. I sneaky planned all sorts of fun stuff. We had breakfast with an investigator, a surprise birthday-themed district meeting, lunch at Olive Garden, dinner with our ward mission leader... It was great. It's hard to be sneaky when you're with someone 24/7, but I managed!

I like change though. I think I thrive on the challenge of adjusting to it. Sister Herdman is great. She's from Provo, and she loves missionary work and people, and is a great missionary. Like I said, I suspect that she'll be my last companion. No guarantees, of course. But I hope so, because I think that I have a lot to learn from her.

The latter half of the week really flew by though, because Sister Herdman and I went on exchanges to Jacksonville on Saturday, which meant that we had been together for less than 24 hours when we went on exchanges. Crazy! Haha. Seriously though, I'm being kept on my toes, which is the best thing for me, I think.

For my personal study this week, I have really been focusing (still) on the Atonement. I received a priesthood blessing a week ago Sunday, and one of the pieces of counsel I received was to study with a purpose. So I pondered what my purpose is while studying, and I decided that the greatest purpose I could have would be to strive to understand and apply the Atonement more in my life. Today, I was reading the definition of the Atonement in the Bible Dictionary, and this sentence really stood out to me: "The Atonement is conditional, however, so far as each person’s individual sins are concerned, and touches every one to the degree that he has faith in Jesus Christ, repents of his sins, and obeys the gospel." I loved that last sentence. The Atonement is applied in our life as we follow the basic principles of the gospel! There's no secret formula for bringing the Atonement into our lives. Have faith. Repent. Live the gospel.

Have a wonderful week everyone! Transfer calls are this Saturday, but I'd be pretty surprised if anything happened... You never know though!

Sister Barret