This week has been full of ups and downs! I'll start with the downs, and finish with the ups.
Unfortunately 3 of our sisters are going home early due to mental health issues - all in this last week! It has been devastating! One after another. We kept getting a phone call from President Brown letting us know of another sister going home. Because of it, our week has been full of hugging and crying sessions with these amazing sisters who are heartbroken to be going home, helping them pack and get things organized, transporting them to the Dublin airport to fly home (2 of them had to leave within a day or two and the other one leaves tomorrow morning), and making arrangements for their companions who now don't have a companion. Like right now we have been in a temporary trio with Sister Galbraith and we'll be driving her to Belfast today to be with another sister whose companion is going home tomorrow morning. And as a result of all of this, our mission has to close down a sisters area because we don't have any new ones coming in this transfer. Ugh. It's been so hard to see these sisters going home. I really love each of them so much and I was not a brick when we were seeing them off. It's been heartbreaking to see them leave early.
The highlights of the week though was me being able to go on exchanges down in Waterford with Sister Henkel! Oh, that was just AMAZING to see her and everyone down there that I love so much! It was a dream. Waterford has such a special place in my heart. It felt so normal being there with Sister Henkel - I loved it.
So one of my goals before coming home was to find a family of 3 to be baptized in Terenure. It's been my vision and what I wanted to see happen before I leave. I've been praying for it every night but we haven't found a family of 3 yet. But then yesterday, some members in our ward brought their relative, Juliet and her 2 sons to church for the first time. They are from Nigeria and the members asked us to teach them! They are a family of 3!!! I am so happy! And they absolutely loved church. Juliet was commenting during classes and soaking in all of the hugs and welcomes and had a big smile the whole day and told me that this is the church she wants to start attending. She is a doll and we connected with her right away. We are teaching them for the first time on Saturday! YAYYYYYY! Heavenly Father really is a God of miracles. I have seen it so much on my mission!
So yes, a lot of ups and downs this week, but we're doing well overall. :)
I love each one of you. It doesn't seem real that I will be seeing you next week - I wonder when it will hit me! Probably when I am actually home. I'm so grateful I chose to serve a mission. I know without a single doubt, that this is where I needed to be for the past 18 months. The spirit has confirmed that to me on many occasions, even though it was such a hard decision. I really can't imagine what the rest of my life would've been like without this experience. There is so much work to be done and I am so grateful that Heavenly Father trusts each of us to be involved with His great work of saving souls!
I'll see you next week!
Love,
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