Dear all,
This week is transfers, so we find out tonight if Sister Freeman and I are leaving the area. I absolutely love serving in Bethesda, but will be fine wherever I go. Today all of the sisters in the mission went to the mission home to have lunch with President and sister Johnson to celebrate meeting our goal for the Festival of Lights. It was a pretty fun Pday, but I don't have much time to email. We also got to have interviews with president Johnson this week. I have been really looking forward to it because we haven't been able to have interviews since I got here. Usually it is every transfer. So that was really great to talk with him and have him be able to help me with some of the things I've been struggling with. Missions are amazing!! I am learning to enjoy every second of it, the good times, the hard times, the sad times and the exciting times. This week for fast Sunday Sister Freeman and I decided to start our fast early on Saturday and then end it with the Sacrament. I have never done that before and so I was excited to see what it was like. We start church at 10:20, have Sunday school and then end with Sacrament meeting so it is a little different than what I'm used to. Ending our fast with the Sacrament was an experience I won't forget and want to keep doing. It was such a great reminder that it is only through the Savior and the Atonement that we can see the blessings and gain the strength for what we fast for. One of the things Sister Freeman and I fasted for was for a miracle in the Bethesda area. Later in church one of the members came up to us and told us about a friend they had that might be interested in learning more. They gave us his address and we went over later that afternoon. Before we went over we tried to prepare a door approach that would help him know that we had a message specifically for him. He is a single dad and has two little boys. We prepared a thought for his family if he were to actually let us in. We went to the door, hoping that He was prepared at the time and that he would be willing to learn more. We knocked on the door and when he opened I was still trying to think of something that he wouldn't be able to say no to very easily and that would touch his heart. Usually when we knock doors we say something along the lines of "we are the missionaries and have a message about Jesus Christ". When he opened the door and asked what brought us to his house I said, "We are the missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and we have a message that WE KNOW will bless you and your families life. Is there a time that we could come and share that with you?". He smiled really big at us and said, "perfect I'd love to hear about it!". He told us he had to leave soon, but he wanted to hear our message. Something that we have really been working on lately is stating our purpose more clearly when we go to visit people. Sometimes it's easy to just visit and then people don't understand that our purpose is to invite and bring people closer to Christ through faith, baptism, recieving the gift of the holy ghost and enduring to the end. So the first thing he asked us was, "So in a 30 second sound-bite, what is your purpose as missionaries". Sister Freeman and I were just smiling really big and told him what it was and he asked us EVERY single question to what we had prepared 10 minutes earlier in the car. He gave us his information and told us he wants us to come back when his kids are home. We were so happy, we just couldn't stop smiling the rest of the night. Heavenly Father knows who is prepared and all we have to do is ask Him, act on the promptings He gives us and trust in His timing. I love being on a mission and I know I was called here for a reason. I love you all!!!Love, Sister Haertling
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