Week 44 - Independence Visitors Center

Hello,

Good week! I absolutely cannot believe it is already July 12. The summer is almost over! And so is the transfer! It continues to amaze me how fast time goes, and the longer I am on my mission the faster it goes. Not fair!

Anyway, like I mentioned last week, we moved! We moved to a much cleaner, much quieter, and much closer-to-the-VC apartment this last week. We still haven't had time to unpack or anything, but that is the plan for today. The first night there I actually had a hard time sleeping because it was so quiet. At our old apartment, we lived by a busy street and also we had window AC units- it made for a pretty noisy place. But now I am used to it and life is

good! The day we moved was actually pretty funny. On Fridays (which is the day we moved) we always have training meeting at the VC where our sister leaders train us on things we need at the time. But this meeting we just went over to our VC director's house and they made us breakfast! It was a blast. Then we rushed home, threw all of our stuff into boxes (we had had no time to pack of course- when do you ever have time as a missionary?) and loaded them into the trailer they brought over for us. Then by the time we were done with that, of course we were all sweaty and gross because Missouri is humid and hot and gross, but it didn't matter because we had to go to an appointment 25 minutes away in Lee's Summit. On our way I felt so spiritually unprepared! We hadn't had time to study or really pray together or anything. But we said a little prayer and it all worked out. Then we rushed back home and made sure everything was finished being loaded into our new place, and rushed over to the VC for shift. I think in 70 years when I have dementia and someone asks me about my mission, all I will be able to remember is rushing around all the time. But it's ok! It keeps us busy and out of trouble. :)

We also of course did exchanges this week, actually only one this time. Just two more this week and we will be done for the transfer! It has actually been pretty fun to be able to work with so many sisters and go to a bunch of other wards in Independence to see what they are like. This week was funny- I was with a sister who hasn't been out that long, so it was kind of fun. Even though sometimes I don't feel like I have really learned anything on my mission, remembering how I felt at the beginning of my mission helps me realize that I really have grown and learned a lot! Although, sometimes I see these new sisters and think I am way behind...but really, we all are at different levels. But something I have learned is that the Gospel is a great equalizer. When the Spirit is present, it doesn't really matter how much you know or how much experience you have. I have learned so much from all these amazing sisters around me!
Well, two other amazing experiences this week and then I will be done for the day.

Experience #1: This last week a man in our mission presidency died. He was amazing! He has been battling cancer for a while so it was coming. But he had a really big impact on me even though I never really talked to him one on one just by his example. He did a training at our last zone conference even though it took every ounce of energy and strength he had. Anyway, the funeral was Saturday and I got to go and be a part of a missionary choir that sang at it. It was so great because every one of his 5 kids got up and said something about it, but each of them also took the opportunity to bear a powerful testimony of Christ and the resurrection. It was a witness that he and his wife lived good lives and taught their children well. But as a choir we sang a really great arrangement of "I Know that My Redeemer Lives." There is one point in the song that we all sing in unison and just sing loud. It was so powerful! I could hardly even sing because the spirit was so strong. It really just helped to solidify my testimony even more, especially after last week, of the reality of the plan of salvation. It is true! Death is not the end.


Experience #2: I was at the VC this week (surprise right) and it was about 8 pm. We close at 9, and it had been a long day, so of course I was super tired. I was also up next for a tour, but didn't think much about it because not many people usually come after 8. So then all of a sudden this big group comes in- they were all non-members. I thought, "Great! this is going to be horrible! I do not want to do this right now." But of course, as missionaries you have to do lots of things you don't want to do, so I took them. They are a group of high school kids mostly from the east coast who are all Jewish doing a habitat for humanity thing helping to build houses and volunteer in the area.

Awesome. They also had a couple of leaders, most of who are training to be Rabbis. Also pretty cool. So they just came in and wanted to learn about the history because they had read about our VC somewhere. So we went to do the history tour. Crazy. At first, I didn't even know where to begin. But somehow it worked out. At the beginning I asked them if they knew who Joseph Smith was, because you can't explain the history without knowing who he is. Only a few knew who he was, and I asked them what he knew. So great. They knew that he was the first leader of the church, that he transcribed the Book of Mormon, and something weird about talking to animals. So I clarified and explained a little about him, then we talked about Zion and what it is and why it was important to these people. Anyway, we were about halfway through the tour when they started to feel really comfortable with me I guess and then they started asking TONS of questions. It was awesome. They were just super curious about our church and beliefs and what we are all about. It was like a spiritual workout! I got to tell them about the Restoration, the Book of Mormon, explain apostasy, what prophets are, the role of women in the church, what missionaries do, why temples are important and what they are, and all kinds of other stuff. I was also grateful that I had just read an article in the Ensign about sharing the Gospel, because they asked me about polygamy and I knew exactly how to answer it- I haven't really known what to say about that before when people ask. You should read the article, it is amazing. Sharing the Gospel with Confidence I think is what it's called. Anyway, it was just cool because I was able to explain to them kind of why we have these beliefs, not just what they are. Then I offered them referral cards if they wanted free DVDs or missionaries to come by or anything, which no one really wanted. But when we went upstairs one of the leaders wanted a Book of Mormon, and I gave him one. Then he said, "actually, I think a lot of the kids want a copy. Do you have any more?" That is like music to a missionary's ears, so I went and grabbed a big stack. I think I gave about 10 away, and gave them all cards with our website on them. It was just a really neat experience. Who knows what will come of it, but now these kids actually know a little about what we are about and some misconceptions are cleared up. And they have access to more info. So of course, I was grateful I just did the tour even though I didn't want to, because it was the best thing ever!

Well, that was my week! I also heard my mom spoke about me in church this week...I hope I didn't sound too horrible. :) I love you all!

-Sister Hafen