I've almost been in Apeldoorn for two whole weeks and it wasn't as hard of an adjustment as I thought it would be coming from Gent, a place that I loved so much; that is mainly due to my new companion, Sis. Hansen. We get along SUPER well. We fall on the floor laughing at each other nearly everyday. It's so much fun to have a companion that has the same kind of humor as you because it just makes those long days of contacting go by that much quicker. She is also fake-dramatic in the same way I am so we play off of each other really well. People think we're really funny together. I'm convinced that my mission and life just keeps getting better and better in ways that I've never expected or even hoped for.
Last Friday, we had zone conference where we met our new Mission President and his wife. They are so sweet and kind and we're both really excited to have them here. One change that is happening in the mission is HELMETS - it's terrible. And it's because two missionaries got hospitalized from accidents on their bikes. Ugh, even the members don't want us to get them. But nonetheless, obedience brings blessings...even if we have to look like dorks doing it. We're buying them today and Sis. Hansen and I decided that we're going to get hot pink helmets...because why not? Go big or go home. And we figured if we're going to get made fun of then we might as well get a laugh out of it ourselves.
On another note, something that I've been thinking about is our eternal progression and growth. Sis. Hansen and I came to the conclusion that it's really really hard to grow because sometimes it's painful but we both agreed that it's absolutely necessary. A few weeks ago, as I was still pondering about this subject, Sis. Fleming sent me this email that said,
You know what I love? The thought of eternal growth. I’m always the happiest when I know I’m progressing. Other faiths they believe we die, go to heaven and live in peace forever more but just like summer break is boring after a couple weeks I feel like I would get suuuuper bored just chillin for eternity! Instead we have the opportunity to keep learning, growing, and progressing through the eternities, increasing our family and experiencing joy. Now that’s what I’m talking about!!!
I was thinking about this because I read this awesome talk by Uchtdorf. He told missionaries to always think of themselves as being in the middle of their missions because then we don’t slow down or limit ourselves by thinking we’re too “green” in the land. He said ultimately no matter where we are in life we’re always in the middle. It’s like on a map- it might appear that there’s a point A and a point B but when you zoom out it’s really just a small section of a much bigger map. So is it with eternity. We have a day here and a year there but really it’s just the middle of eternity. Forever is made up of many nows.
And I was thinking how grateful I am for the ability to progress; that the only moment when I stand still is when my make the choice to stop progressing and growing. It's our choice and no one elses. To be stagnant is something that I never want to become because it's so incredibly boring! Staying as you are or who you were is boring! As I am yet again out of time I want to leave you all with the challenge to find out something that you feel stagnant in or something within yourself that you feel or know that you should change and then do it - no matter what it takes. Change. I promise you, you will never regret wanting to improve and change for the better every single day.
Love you all! Have a great week!
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