Well...
19 months
3 missions
4 mission presidents
5 cities and 3 states
57 temple trips :)
13.5 companions
17 different beds
32 historic sites
5300 visitors
2876 strangers off the street
and 10,000 miracles later....I'm home.
AIRPLANE MIRACLES!!!!
So i'd been praying for a while that we would have awesome experiences sharing the gospel on the flights home and boy, oh boy, how the Lord answered my prayers! There were many cool things that happened but i'll just give you the 2 highlights:
RAMON FROM HOLLAND
the first flight i sat next to a kid. the quote this week is from him. he really hasn't had a belief in God at all or prayed on his own, but because of the things he's seen this last yr while living in the US, he's beginning to feel like there's something more and he really wants to find out what it is. as we shared beliefs about God in general, he mentioned something about the Mormon book. turns out his manager at work was LDS and before he left to fly home, his manager gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon with his testimony in it. Then he sits next to me on the way home. What the?! Coincidence? Of course not. He mentioned several times that he really is searching. I promised him that if he would read the Book of Mormon this week and pray to know if it's true that God would speak to him in a way that he will understand it and know that it is and that God's real. He was such a cool kid and we were both going home after a long time away and starting over so we bonded over that. Yeah, cool kid.
MARTIN FROM THE UK
So i got all the internationals, I guess. :) Martin is probably 40 or so. He's never been big into religion. He has a very successful business and just bought a nice new home that he was excited to show off. His family came on "holiday" to the US for 3 weeks but the two days into it, his dad became VERY sick and had to go to the hospital for surgery. now they've been here a month and are hoping the dad will be well enough to go home for Christmas. He's in the hospital in La Jolla so i asked if they've seen that big white building by the freeway. He said they had and had wondered what it was. I told him it was the temple and that if he goes with his fmaily and walks around it he'll feel peace and find answers.THis was the beginning of the flight and we still had about 3 1/2 more hours so over the course of the flight we just talked about life and God. He said that before he would've have cared about any of this but with things that happened with his dad, he realized he doesn't really care about anything other than his family. He has a lot of questions and WANTS to have faith but feels like he's seen some things that make him doubt. Over the plane ride we talk about the Plan of Salvation, about Joseph Smith and having a prophet on the earth today. We talked about what makes strong and eternal families. We talked about where we were before this life. It was so interesting because everything he wants to believe or believes deep down is right. Now he just gets to have more tools to get questions answered! I gave him a Book of Mormon and he felt so honored. He was really excited to read it and even before I said much more he said "I promise i will start reading this tonight! I'm really searching. I have a lot of questions. Can I get your email address too?" What a champ! He's very sincere right now and is going to be a great strength to his family. We really had a good plane ride and i feel so blessed that the Lord gave me so many chances to be around people who were so prepared and ready--even thirsting for the message we had to share. because of this i was able to work and teach and testify to the very last minute! I'm so grateful to my Heavenly Father for that. Also a miracle--the 1st flight was delayed and I VERY nearly missed the 2nd one. I was sprinting down the corridor with 2 50-lb carry-ons and in a skirt. what a sight! But i made it!
ARRIVAL
I was greeted at the airport by Mom & Kirk, Dad & Joanie, Katie & James, Scott, Joni Lilly, Kathleen and Lynn Muir, my aunt Gail (randomly in town from AK. Fun surprise!) and her boyfriend Dave, and of course, Kenley and Parker! It was very fun. Then we went to Scott's apt for CPK pizza and smoothies. More friends there. :)
GETTING RELEASED
Wasn't as bad as I thought. The only part that got me was in the closing prayer when my brother referred to me as "Andrea" and i realized i don't get to be Sis. Cartwright anymore. But it was good to have my family there.
SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE
so honestly i thought things would be more different when i got home. it really wasn't. kenley and parker are completely different people and there's a litter of new babies running around, but other than that, everythign's pretty much the same. i stayed up way late and had a sleepover with my sis then stumbled out of bed into my flip flops and went to get jamba juice. so i guess i'm acclimating fairly well. i even mouthed a few words to a song that was playing. that's not to say i didn't still try to contact people here and there or that i was ready to walk off by myslef in the grocery store. but i think i'm a little normal. scott parker was excited to be the first boy to hug me cause he wanted to help normalize me. luckily it was a good baby step since he's more like my brother. Also, I've been so excited to snuggle with Kenley when i get home, forgetting she doesn't actually like to. So I just had to wait til she was asleep then she didn't have a choice. Anyway, all in all, I feel like everything's pretty under control. I've been blessed to feel really calm and peaceful with everything. We're having a big family dinner today. I have many people volunteering to be my running buddies. Wahoo!
Alright, love you all. Gospel is true and from God. He has a perfect plan and if we follow it, things will go right in the little and big things.
"For behold, all things are done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things." -2 Ne 2:24
--ac
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Monday, December 1, 2008
“Of course I’m waiting up for my kiddies!”
Quote compliments of Sis. Ludwig last night when we drove down to the Mississippi after zone conf and came home a little later than expected. We said, “hope you weren’t waiting up” and she reminded us that of course she was and then promptly made us hot chocolate and popcorn. :) They really are our parents this weekend. Love them!
HOMECOMING BEFORE COMING HOME
Ok, so I always knew Nauvoo missionaries are spoiled (there’s really no arguing that) but now I’m officially among the most spoiled. I don’t think the other sisters get this email, so I can spill the beans. We came back to Nauvoo Sat around noon (after spending the night at the mission home in Peoria with the Ericksons). We then had lunch with the Ludwigs then went to the temple. It was amazing because afterwards we had nowhere to go so just sat in the Celestial Room for almost an hour reading scriptures and praying and pondering. Way cool! The first time in a LONG time where I didn’t have someplace to be immediately so it was so good to have the extra pondering time. :) From then on, just ridiculous spoiling. We’re staying at the Ludwigs house (in the general authority suite) and getting fed yummy food every time we turn around (in case we needed help gaining ALL our mission weight before we go home) and being hugged and doted upon by senior missionaries every time we’re out in public. Anyway, good, good times! The best part is that this isn’t how I necessarily would’ve scheduled the end of my mission. I would’ve had appts til the last minute. So I was worried I’d feel a lot of anxiety having all this “down time” and be a little resentful of getting pulled out of Peoria so soon, but I really have felt so peaceful about everything. It feels so fun to come “home” before we go home.
POWER OUTAGE ADVENTURE
K, so Sun AM we woke up and it was dark and there were candles lit. The power had gone out in all of Nauvoo at 4:30 AM. The coolest part was that there was a beautiful thin layer of snow everywhere. So we were all in our PJs in the living room by the Christmas tree snuggling up and waiting to see what would happen with plans for church and stuff. We said a prayer and thankfully the power came back on pretty quick after that. It was a glowing blue from the snowy dawn outside. So gorgeous! Anyway, we had church later in the day. We did a fairly impromptu musical # (wouldn’t be Nauvoo without one) and bore our testimonies in sacrament mtg. That was unplanned too but cool cause it really gave me a chance to reflect. So cool to see the city in snow! We ran up to the temple this AM and took pics in it.
TURKEY TROT TROT
So we got to volunteer at the YMCA 5 mile turkey trot on Thanksgiving. Next best thing to running in it. It was way fun. We hung out a lot of the time with the kid dressed up as a turkey and got to talk with him a little about the Church at the end so it was cool to be able to say we shared the gospel with a turkey. We got to be at the finish line the whole time and cheer people on as they came in. It was a dream.
SMALL, SMALL WORLD
So while cheering on participants, one crossed the finish line and looked up and said, “Andrea, what are you doing here?” What the? It was a kid from Poway, Aaron Young. He’s going to the chiropractic school out there. Then later than night I met someone at a member’s house who asked what part of SD I was from then asked if I knew Kathleen Muir. I was like “What?! Yes, she’s like my 2nd mom!” Turns out one of the ward members is her cousin. Then tracting on my last day we met people in their garage. They didn’t want to hear too much of our message. On the way out Sis. Montgomery who I was with was like, “Oh, who in your family plays hockey?” I told them my cousins play hockey. Turns out their kid is good buddies with Peter from Anchorage. The Currys. And we found them in a random garage in Bettendorf, Iowa. So they were a little more interested in getting to know us after that. :) Haha! Seriously, what are the odds?
SIMPLE TRUTHS
Our last lesson with Kayla (the 12-yr old) we went over the Plan of Salvation. We got to the part about the Atonement and as I explained it in little kid terms, it was suddenly so powerful to me. I asked her “have you ever felt sad or lonely or frustrated or mad? Have you ever felt like no one else knows what you’re feeling.” She’s a pretty quiet girl but she of course, had felt all of these things (she’s gone through tougher stuff at 12 then I have at 26). I got to explain that all of those yucky feelings she felt, Christ did too. And just for her. He knew her and loved her before she was born. She had faith in Him when she chose to come to the earth and He knew that she could pass this test successfully. He will be there every time she goes to Him with concerns, fears, or thanksgiving.
I’m so grateful for this gospel. I feel so privileged to have served the Lord and to have become a stronger disciple through experiencing greater resistance. I love the Lord and am excited to work this Christmas to feel a deeper connection with Him than ever before through study and prayer.
SCRIPTURE POWER
“Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.” –D&C 58:42. Don’t know why I put this quote. Not really related, but it just stuck out to me, so I hope it helps someone. This is the power of the Atonement.
Love you all!
-Sis C
HOMECOMING BEFORE COMING HOME
Ok, so I always knew Nauvoo missionaries are spoiled (there’s really no arguing that) but now I’m officially among the most spoiled. I don’t think the other sisters get this email, so I can spill the beans. We came back to Nauvoo Sat around noon (after spending the night at the mission home in Peoria with the Ericksons). We then had lunch with the Ludwigs then went to the temple. It was amazing because afterwards we had nowhere to go so just sat in the Celestial Room for almost an hour reading scriptures and praying and pondering. Way cool! The first time in a LONG time where I didn’t have someplace to be immediately so it was so good to have the extra pondering time. :) From then on, just ridiculous spoiling. We’re staying at the Ludwigs house (in the general authority suite) and getting fed yummy food every time we turn around (in case we needed help gaining ALL our mission weight before we go home) and being hugged and doted upon by senior missionaries every time we’re out in public. Anyway, good, good times! The best part is that this isn’t how I necessarily would’ve scheduled the end of my mission. I would’ve had appts til the last minute. So I was worried I’d feel a lot of anxiety having all this “down time” and be a little resentful of getting pulled out of Peoria so soon, but I really have felt so peaceful about everything. It feels so fun to come “home” before we go home.
POWER OUTAGE ADVENTURE
K, so Sun AM we woke up and it was dark and there were candles lit. The power had gone out in all of Nauvoo at 4:30 AM. The coolest part was that there was a beautiful thin layer of snow everywhere. So we were all in our PJs in the living room by the Christmas tree snuggling up and waiting to see what would happen with plans for church and stuff. We said a prayer and thankfully the power came back on pretty quick after that. It was a glowing blue from the snowy dawn outside. So gorgeous! Anyway, we had church later in the day. We did a fairly impromptu musical # (wouldn’t be Nauvoo without one) and bore our testimonies in sacrament mtg. That was unplanned too but cool cause it really gave me a chance to reflect. So cool to see the city in snow! We ran up to the temple this AM and took pics in it.
TURKEY TROT TROT
So we got to volunteer at the YMCA 5 mile turkey trot on Thanksgiving. Next best thing to running in it. It was way fun. We hung out a lot of the time with the kid dressed up as a turkey and got to talk with him a little about the Church at the end so it was cool to be able to say we shared the gospel with a turkey. We got to be at the finish line the whole time and cheer people on as they came in. It was a dream.
SMALL, SMALL WORLD
So while cheering on participants, one crossed the finish line and looked up and said, “Andrea, what are you doing here?” What the? It was a kid from Poway, Aaron Young. He’s going to the chiropractic school out there. Then later than night I met someone at a member’s house who asked what part of SD I was from then asked if I knew Kathleen Muir. I was like “What?! Yes, she’s like my 2nd mom!” Turns out one of the ward members is her cousin. Then tracting on my last day we met people in their garage. They didn’t want to hear too much of our message. On the way out Sis. Montgomery who I was with was like, “Oh, who in your family plays hockey?” I told them my cousins play hockey. Turns out their kid is good buddies with Peter from Anchorage. The Currys. And we found them in a random garage in Bettendorf, Iowa. So they were a little more interested in getting to know us after that. :) Haha! Seriously, what are the odds?
SIMPLE TRUTHS
Our last lesson with Kayla (the 12-yr old) we went over the Plan of Salvation. We got to the part about the Atonement and as I explained it in little kid terms, it was suddenly so powerful to me. I asked her “have you ever felt sad or lonely or frustrated or mad? Have you ever felt like no one else knows what you’re feeling.” She’s a pretty quiet girl but she of course, had felt all of these things (she’s gone through tougher stuff at 12 then I have at 26). I got to explain that all of those yucky feelings she felt, Christ did too. And just for her. He knew her and loved her before she was born. She had faith in Him when she chose to come to the earth and He knew that she could pass this test successfully. He will be there every time she goes to Him with concerns, fears, or thanksgiving.
I’m so grateful for this gospel. I feel so privileged to have served the Lord and to have become a stronger disciple through experiencing greater resistance. I love the Lord and am excited to work this Christmas to feel a deeper connection with Him than ever before through study and prayer.
SCRIPTURE POWER
“Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.” –D&C 58:42. Don’t know why I put this quote. Not really related, but it just stuck out to me, so I hope it helps someone. This is the power of the Atonement.
Love you all!
-Sis C
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