Where do I begin, this week has been absolutely crazy!! On Tuesday we
had ambassador night at the VC which is a big event closed to the
public where ambassadors from countries around the world come. The
Marriotts host the event and the visitors center puts on a big
lighting ceremony. It's such an amazing experience but it is different
because as missionaries we aren't allowed to talk about the church
with the people there even if they ask us questions about the church.
If they do ask us we are supposed to let someone from the public
affairs talk to them more. It is a really formal event so we got
dressed up for it and they even told us to take more time getting
ready and look our best. It felt so weird because as missionaries we
don't have much time to get ready in the morning and usually are told
to always look professional but not take much time or effort into
outward appearance.. so that was different. Some of the things we did
at ambassador night and diplomat night were greeting them, passing out
programs/ushering, taking all the fancy coats, and handing out gift
bags. Being a missionary here in the VC feels a little strange
sometimes, just because of the events that go on and things we do but
I love it and there are so many neat experiences. There is usually
always a general authority at ambassador night and this year Elder
Stevenson was the one to come. He spoke about bringing hope to the
world through our examples. It was really cool because the ambassador
that helped turn on the Christmas lights was from Japan and elder
Stevenson served his mission in Japan as well as serving as a mission
president there. They had a choir come and sing as well as Sandra
Turley who is an amazing singer in our stake who performs on broadway.
After brother Marriott spoke and Elder Stevenson, they pressed the big
button that turns on the 800,000 lights. It's so amazing. When elder
Stevenson first came in I didn't see him but all of the sudden he was
right in front of me and shaking my hand. He asked me a couple of
questions about my mission and then left. After the ceremony he came
over to all the VC sisters and talked to us again. He got some
pictures with all of us (I only have one, but hopefully next week I'll
be able to get the rest). On Wednesday we had diplomat night which is
just like ambassador night but more people come from different
embassies and they hold the ceremony in the big theater downstairs.
They have a reception outside afterwards but it was pouring rain so
people didn't stay very long. On Thursday we finally could get back to
the normal missionary schedule and Festival of Lights finally started.
The VC is open now from 10am-10pm which means most nights we don't get
home until 10:45 or 11. Luckily we get an extra hour to sleep in the
morning. I had heard that Festival of Lights is crazy...but I didn't
realize how crazy..we had over 6,000 people in the VC just in the
first two nights. I was talking to one of the sisters who was here
last year at Festival of Lights and she laughed and said that in the
next week and a half we will have over 6,000 people in just one night!
There are so many non members that come into the VC that just love
coming to see the lights and the shows every night. On Thursday night
as I was walking around in the front of the VC I saw 2 guys that
looked familiar and realized it was Studio C! They had been at the
stake center next door for #lighttheworld collecting donations of
clothes and visiting with everyone there. I got a picture with them
and a sister I was with asked one of them to do his "lobster bisque"
thing from one of their skits. If you've never watched the studio C
skit with the lobster bisque then it's probably not very funny, but he
said "lobster bisque with sister Haertling and sister Stephan at the
Washington DC temple visitors center". We thought it was pretty funny.
So one of the rooms in the visitors center is filled with amazing
nativities from different countries around the world. Besides the
lights and performances, that room is why so many people come. I was
walking around talking to people on Friday night when a man came up to
me and asked me what the room was. His name is Pavell and he's about
60 years old. He barely spoke any English, so it was hard to
understand him. I could tell he spoke Russian and so since I know a
few things in Russian I introduced myself in his language. His face
lit up and started speaking Russian super fast. I told him that was
about all I knew and he was surprised because he told me he thought I
looked Russian. We ended up talking (or at least trying to understand
each other) for about an hour. He loved the new Christmas video and
after he watched it he wiped a tear from his eye. We both felt the
spirit so strong. I asked him if he would be interested in meeting
with missionaries and that they could give him a Russian Book of
Mormon. He said he would and wrote down his information so I could
send it to the missionaries. Later on that night I was walking around
and saw Pavell again but he was talking to some of his friends that he
came with. He waved for me to come over and said to them, "guys this
is my new friend I want you to meet her". It was so sweet! On Sunday
night a family of 3 came into the VC. They had a couple of questions
but the dad was just making little sarcastic comments about Joseph
smith and other things. We ended up talking for an hour and a half and
were able to clear up so many misconceptions they had about the
church. They said it made so much sense and that we had a lot of
similarities with their beliefs. We watched the new Christmas video
and the wife was crying at the end. I could tell they all felt the
spirit. They were so interested in the Book of Mormon and all wanted a
copy. We got their information and they said it would be okay for the
missionaries to bring it by and talk to them. The parents live in
North Carolina, but the daughter who lives here actually lives in the
Bethesda area so we get to teach her!! I have seen so many miracles
already with Festival and even though the nights are long and our feet
feel like they are going to fall off by the end of each night, it is
so so SO worth it to see how many peoples lives can be changed and see
the spirit work in them. I am so lucky and thankful to get to serve in
the VC and love being here in Washington DC!! Thank you for your love
and prayers!
Love, Sister Haertling
Middle picture: ambassador night
Bottom picture: beautiful temple in the rain
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