Hey there!
I'm soaking in the Vitamin D and toasty heat as y'all enjoy your snowmen and icicles:) first off, I'd like to acknowledge the fact that my baby sis, Allison, will be following the family tradition and joining the Cougar ranks of BYU!! Wahoo!
So last Monday was a total blast--our mission president invited my zone to have a play day at his house:) We had lunch, played a ton of sports, and went to the dedication site of the Dominican Republic for missionary work. That was really special; I've read the dedicatory prayer before that Elder M. Russell Ballard gave in 1978, and it's wonderful. It's amazing to think that less than 40 years ago, 2 families and 10 Elders from the States introduced the Gospel here, and only 22 years later, a temple was built. No other temple outside of the U.S. has been erected that quickly after beginning missionary work there.
On Tuesday, I had to go back to the migration center to renew my Visa, and guess who was there? My entire MTC group who went to the East mission, including my half-comp Hermana Carpio from Honduras!!! We were all freaking out!! You have to understand, there are never more than 75 missionaries in the DR MTC, so you get super close, and the majority of them went East. It was so much fun getting caught up on how everybody's doing, seeing them all look a little older; man, I've missed my CCM brothers:)
Then on Friday, Hermana Black and I were reunited as companions for splits!! Talk about blast from the past, hands down the happiest day of the transfer:):) Well, nobody wanted to talk to us, so we only had 1 lesson the whole day, but we were just so glad to be back together that we couldn't even be sad. But yeah, rejection was kind of the theme of the week. Everyone was gone and nobody let us in. Members who were going to teach with us bailed. None of our investigators or less-actives came to church. Does that mean I'm a failure? No. Am I going to keep working hard and do all I can to be obedient and share this gospel? Absolutely. Preach My Gospel says, "Your success as a missionary is measured primarily by your commitment to find, teach, baptize, and confirm people and to help them become faithful members of the Church who enjoy the presence of the Holy Ghost." I know why I'm here and what I need to do, and there are a lot of people who need saving, so I'm going to go to work and do what He needs me to do. Keep your chin up and remember that He knows you perfectly! I love you, buena suerte esta semana!
Con amor,
Hermana Randall
The San Geronimo zone at the DR dedication site for missionary work
I'm soaking in the Vitamin D and toasty heat as y'all enjoy your snowmen and icicles:) first off, I'd like to acknowledge the fact that my baby sis, Allison, will be following the family tradition and joining the Cougar ranks of BYU!! Wahoo!
So last Monday was a total blast--our mission president invited my zone to have a play day at his house:) We had lunch, played a ton of sports, and went to the dedication site of the Dominican Republic for missionary work. That was really special; I've read the dedicatory prayer before that Elder M. Russell Ballard gave in 1978, and it's wonderful. It's amazing to think that less than 40 years ago, 2 families and 10 Elders from the States introduced the Gospel here, and only 22 years later, a temple was built. No other temple outside of the U.S. has been erected that quickly after beginning missionary work there.
On Tuesday, I had to go back to the migration center to renew my Visa, and guess who was there? My entire MTC group who went to the East mission, including my half-comp Hermana Carpio from Honduras!!! We were all freaking out!! You have to understand, there are never more than 75 missionaries in the DR MTC, so you get super close, and the majority of them went East. It was so much fun getting caught up on how everybody's doing, seeing them all look a little older; man, I've missed my CCM brothers:)
Then on Friday, Hermana Black and I were reunited as companions for splits!! Talk about blast from the past, hands down the happiest day of the transfer:):) Well, nobody wanted to talk to us, so we only had 1 lesson the whole day, but we were just so glad to be back together that we couldn't even be sad. But yeah, rejection was kind of the theme of the week. Everyone was gone and nobody let us in. Members who were going to teach with us bailed. None of our investigators or less-actives came to church. Does that mean I'm a failure? No. Am I going to keep working hard and do all I can to be obedient and share this gospel? Absolutely. Preach My Gospel says, "Your success as a missionary is measured primarily by your commitment to find, teach, baptize, and confirm people and to help them become faithful members of the Church who enjoy the presence of the Holy Ghost." I know why I'm here and what I need to do, and there are a lot of people who need saving, so I'm going to go to work and do what He needs me to do. Keep your chin up and remember that He knows you perfectly! I love you, buena suerte esta semana!
Con amor,
Hermana Randall
The San Geronimo zone at the DR dedication site for missionary work
Can you believe I have 3 of my companions in one zone?:) Hermanas de Leon, Black, and Flake
-Not everyone was in the picture, but here are a bunch of CCM family members from the East mission!
-The migration center is right on the coast, caught this at sunrise:)