Hey!
Sister Kitahara and I are having such a good time together. I am so amazed everyday how the Gospel can bring two people from such different languages and cultures so close together! I am learning so much from her. I really have never met a missionary who has just such a pure desire to serve more than her. It can be a little pressing at times too though because she does not know American culture well, so she relies on me a lot to be the example for her even in the smallest of ways like how she bikes or how she eats at dinner, but it also makes me feel very needed which I like most the time. Her English is getting better all the time, I wish I knew how to help her more in that way but I am just relying on the spirit and I know it will show me what to do when I need to do it.
We worked really hard this week, probably one of my hardest working weeks I have had yet. We were just out every second of the day and since we do not have many people to teach right now, much of the time was spent biking around trying to find those who the spirit has prepared. There are a couple of people who are taking lessons here, but this week we only could get a hold of Monique to teach. She is doing really awesome, we brought a member to her lesson and they really connected. It will be such a strength to her. She didn't come to church though this week which we were sad about. I just love her and I want her to feel the peace that I do that comes from the Gospel.
This week I have done more tracking than I ever have before, we know there are people here who are ready and need the healing power of the Gospel. We are trying every way possible to find them. I forgot how much diversity Mountain House has, it always surprises me. A lot of the people we meet during the day are Hindu or other similar non-christian religion. It can be hard to talk with them sometimes because they don't have a background or prior belief in Jesus Christ. So when I say that our message is centered in Jesus Christ..they are like "cool...I don't really know much about that guy..?". After a few of these conversations this week I really started to ponder the basic truths of the Gospel and how much they truly affect me. How we really do have a loving Father in Heaven who created us, loves us, and wants to hear from us. And I asked myself, who really is Jesus Christ? How did I get to know Him? At some point, I too had to start from ground zero with my relationship with Christ. As I thought about this all week, I remembered a lot of moments when I prayed and didn't even know if there was anyone actually listening on the other end. I remembered trying to read the scriptures and it all just seemed like a bunch of good- even powerful- stories, but nothing that could ever happen to me in my life. I could relate in way, to how they felt about what we were sharing. I started to gain so much more compassion for them and love as I began to understand where they were coming from. Each time we have the opportunity to talk with people who are not very familiar with Christ, I hope to give them a glimpse of what it is like to have Christ in their life by just bearing my simple testimony that He lives. That He can be more than just a man in a book. That Jesus Christ has become a real, living part of my life. He listens to me when I have no one to hear me out, He loves me when I feel like I am alone, and He strengthens me when I face burdens far greater than my capacity. I love 3Nephi 27:14 where we Christ tells us He was lifted up on the cross, so that we could be lifted up from all our mistakes and weaknesses. I am really grateful for the opportunity to step back and really think about the fundamental truths of the Gospel. I know that I am a daughter of a Heavenly Father Who loves me, and I am made whole by His son Jesus Christ.
all my love,
Sister Neeley
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