A series of unfortunate bike-related events

 Large Plates

A series of unfortunate bike-related events

Hey everyone! Yes, it’s me again haha. we have our pday today because we’re going to the temple!!!

Although it has only been a few days since I last wrote, a lot has happened. I moved into a new area, and basically have 3 new companions. What an adventure it has been. The 4  of us hermanas share an apartment, a shower, a car, and a ward, among other things (like sweet potatoes and the keyboard I’m writing this on!). It’s been very chaotic but I wouldn’t change it for anything. These girls are the best, and though we’ve had some hurdles to jump over, there’s no one I’d rather jump over those hurdles with. 

Day one of this area (Tuesday) was the craziest. We met up at the church by the mission office and it took several hours and multiple trips to coordinate and carry everything that needed to be coordinated and carried. We needed to fit all of the belongings of me and hermana Parmley, two new beds and frames, 4 girls, and 2 bikes in/on one car. as much as we wished it were possible, there was no way to do that in one trip, which meant Hermana Parmley and Hermana Ratcliff took two trips to the mission office that day. They are champs and I love them for it. 

While they were gone, me and my new companion Hermana Madsen got to work trying to make our apartment less of a disaster haha. Before this week, there were only ever 2 missionaries living here at a time, so we had a lot of rearranging to do. I’ll spare you the details, but after a lot of thinking, sweating, and heavy breathing, everything was where it needed to be. Somehow we had room for it all!! Miracles. 

The hermanas made it back from their trip and me and hermana Parmley still didn't have any food to eat, so we headed to the store. Even the grocery shopping was chaotic but we got it done. 

So, in a nutshell, that was day 1.

Then there was day 2. 

Because we’re sharing a car, we all also have bikes. This day, me and Hermana Madsen had the car, and Hermanas Parmley and Ratcliff were on their bikes. Hermana Ratcliff had low air in one of her tires, so they asked us to drop them off at a Wawa so they could fill up the air before they hit the road. So, we dropped them off and headed to our lesson. We were almost there when they called us. They had opened the valve on Hermana Ratcliff’s bike and all the air went out, and Wawa didn’t actually have a way to fill it up. So, we turned around, drove all the way back, and they drove with us to our lesson. 

The lesson was chaotic too. We got there late, and the member who was coming with us got lost so she got there even later. We had started talking with our friend Mercedes while we waited for Hermana Calderon to find us, and then she called. Long story short we went on a walk with Mercedes to find her, and then we all got into Hermana Calderon’ car to drive back to Mercedes’ apartment. It ended up being a very good lesson though!

Day 3 was pretty good, except for the part where my bike tire simply fell off. I was carrying it down the stairs and it tire almost beat me down haha. So, I took Hermana Parmley’s bike for the day. 

We also had District Council with a HUGE district that day. They added multiple companionships into the district, so there were 14 missionaries sitting in that circle in the Relief Society room. To put it into perspective, my last district was 4 missionaries, and the 2 zone leaders who come to DC. 

The hermanas had to go to the mission office again (another long story) so they had the car all day. But it was okay!! We rode around on bikes for the day and it was actually pretty fun. We met some great people and even rode through a construction zone with a cop’s permission. What an adventure. It’s all good though. We got it fixed. And then it fell off again at the end of the day. We have yet to fix it the second time, because I lacked the energy to do so at 10 pm. 

Okay, I promise this is the last thing I’ll tell you about; I know this email is getting long already. One of the main perks of having roommates is massage chains. Last night, we were all just absolutely wiped out, so we sat in a line and gave each other shoulder massages before bed. That was way better than fixing a bike tire. 

Small Plates

Know ye that

I was reading in Mormon this week, and something stood out to me that hadn’t before. In Spanish, verses 2-5 of chapter 7 all start with the words “sabed,” Which is the command form of “to know.” The prophet is not only inviting the people, and us, to know. He is commanding us to do so. What are the things he commands us to know?

1. We are the house of Israel

2. We must repent to be saved.

3. We must lay down our weapons of war (i.e. not do harm to anyone)

Whenever the Book of Mormon references the house of Israel, which it does often, I try to take a step back and then dive a litle deeper. Ever since Elder Bowen did the mission tour here, I’ve been fascinated by the doctrine of Israel and the Abrahamic Covenant. I’ve talked about this before in another email, but there is one overarching theme I try to look for when the scriptures mention Israel. I often see a pattern, which was highlighted to me by one of the books I’ve read while I’ve been on my mission. 

Often, when the scriptures refer to Israel, they mention the God of Abraham, the God on Issac, and the God of Jacob. For me, any time I read that phrase, I remind myself that in Abraham's story, God promised. In Isaac's, He provided. In Jacob's, he prevailed. So, every time I see reference to Abraham, I look for evidence of a God who promises, provides, and prevails. 

In these verses, it didn't take long for me to find the pattern. He tells us:

1. You are of Israel. God made a promises with Israel, and those promises apply to each of us. 

2. He has provided a way for us to keep our end of the promise: repentance through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

3. He asks us to let Him prevail by laying aside our sins and casting them out of our lives. 

I love this pattern, because you can see it all throughout the scriptures. Its the story of the God who promises, the God who provides, and the God who prevails. 

I also love this pattern, because it sets a pattern for our lives. We need to try every day to use God's promises, trust that He will provide, and let God prevail.