It won't always be like this: Those
were the words that President Riggs started off our Zone Conference with. And
this week, they've rung so true to me.
Monday was the first example of this
being true. Last Monday, one year to the day from when I first pulled my
hamstring, I was finally able to play a full game of basketball without limping
off the court. I remember so many times in the past year thinking I was just
going to have to settle with always having a limp, but the Lord has come
through and I'm experiencing a full recovery. :) I definitely wasn't at the top
of my game though.... :P
Tuesday, we had a zone training with...
well, the zone. Elder C is in our zone now, which is way fun! I've hardly seen
him since I finished training him, and it's awesome to see him doing so well.
Wednesday was Zone Conference, which
President opened with those words: "It
won't always be like this." The only thing you can count on, he said,
was change. There are few things in this mortal world that are absolute, but
one is change. Things will not always be like this. If things are good, that's
great! But, they won't always be. If things are tough, stay strong, because
things won't always be like that either.
Zone Conference was also fun because
I got to see a ton of people I used to know! Or... still do know actually, but
haven't seen in a while. Elder R, who was one of my trainers, is on his last transfer and was there. some other Elders I've come to
love who you wouldn't recognize names of... haha And my MTC companion, Elder R
was there, too! I'm pretty sure it was the first non-transfer meeting I've seen
him at! He has some new developments as
well! One of the Mt. Vernon Zone Leaders injured his knee and is home on sick
leave, and Elder R was called to be a
Zone Leader by ET ( emergency transfer) ! He was crazy nervous, but is leading
his zone very well. He's always been one to accept any challenge the Lord
throws his way with a smile.. It's getting harder and harder for the Lord to
challenge him... haha
One other thing President Riggs said
at zone conference that stood out to me. He spoke about how the Lord gives us
what we really want. One of the examples he used was: "if you really want
to find new investigators, you will find new investigators." Finding has always been something that
I am just not able to do. I get out, I work hard, I talk to people about the
gospel, I teach many people about our church…but I have not found someone…someone
who wants to hear what we believe and wants to change their lives. . So, I concluded that I simply don't want to
find enough... That I was happy working hard, serving, and teaching people others
had found. Well, that certainly wasn’t
for me! So, I spent the next day or two recommitting myself to finding, and
sure enough, when I want it more, it happens!!! Thursday evening, we went out
and hit the ground running with a firmer desire to find, and we came back that
evening with Friday, Saturday and Sunday all FILLED with return appointments!!
It was amazing!
Oh! At the Zone Conference, I also
won the ironman award!!! It's the award
given to the missionary who has been the longest consecutively on bike :) It is an honor J
So, Friday, we received some sad
news. I got a phone call from President Riggs letting me know that Heidi
Greenwood had passed away. It was very sad news, and I just want to let the
Greenwood family and all of Heidi's friends know that they're in my prayers. Incredibly
enough, I had chosen Friday to wear a purple tie... The world will miss that amazing young lady.
So, I decided after the loss of a
friend, the best thing to do was go work hard... so, after dedicating my
missionary day to Heidi, we went out, and in the next 3 hours we found 2 new
investigators, contacted a referral, sent a referral and put someone on date
for baptism. It was amazing! I know she
is the ultimate missionary now and I must work hard to make her proud.
The coolest finding story was
Ambrose. We were riding to an apartment complex we often spend time in. On our
way there, a random man asked for a pen. He starting writing a note, and by
some miracle, he read it aloud as he wrote it. He wrote (and said) his address,
and, miracle number 2, I recognized it by memory as the address of an
investigator who we haven't been able to contact in a while. I asked him about
her, and found out more than I wanted to know, but definitely what I needed to
know. After stories of armed muggings, missing apartment keys, etc. We decided
it is not safe to continue trying to contact this woman. So, we went our
separate ways, and a little bit down the road, I felt like we should follow the
man. I brushed the thought aside, but then it returned stronger. "Elder,
there are children at the park down the street and I want them safe from that man." Pivoting on one foot, I
simply said to Elder Porter: "We're going this way." Picking up our
paces, He said "yes we are" and we hurried up and over a hill into
view of the park. At the top of the hill, we were by a new road we hadn't been
by. We did not see the man but hung around for awhile and made our presence
known. We stood searching for him for a
bit, then deciding the children in the park were all safe, we turned to return.
"Elders!" We suddenly hear as a car pulls up. Ambrose leaned out the
window and asked if Elder Church was around. Elder Church has been home for
months and hasn't served here in Annandale in over a year. We told him he'd be
stuck with us now, and he said that was great and invited himself to church!!
Then he just drove off. Elder Porter and I just looked at each other and said
"I'll never understand how God works. I'm just gonna hang on and enjoy the
ride." It was incredible, how we were brought to where we needed to be in
the park with the children and by that road to meet Ambrose when he needed us.
Anyways, long story short, it won't
always be like this. Just tell yourself that whenever things are good as a
reminder or whenever things are bad as a comfort. Until this week, I was the
missionary who couldn't find. It won't always be like that. It's snowing today.
It won't always be like that. The work is going well in the mission field. And I love my companion…..
It won't always be like that. But the most comforting of all, is though we
trudge through the ups and downs of mortality, suffering pains and losses -
like our sweet Heidi - we can always find comfort in this frightening world we
live in with this simple phrase: It won't always be like this.
-
With love, Elder Hodgson
