9 Months in, 9 More Months To Go

Hi, Everyone! 

Since January 16th, I hit my half-way mark in my mission. At first, I was excited. Next, I didn't know what to think. Later on, though, I feel a little stressed. This means that I need to work even harder in the work. There are many missionaries who feel the need to slack on their last week in the field, but that is not going to be me!

. . .

One of our investigators came to church with her son. She has been to sacrament meeting enough times to be baptized! She is still thinking about a Baptismal date. 

. . .

In this post, I wanted to state the Missionary Purpose. Our purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ, though the 5 basic principles of Christ's Gospel, which include Faith, repentance, Baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. 

I also want to state what goes on within missionary work. 

As missionaries, we visit Active Members, Less-Actives, Potentials, and Former Investigators. We have many teaching records for these people and we also write down what we've taught them, how they responded, and we keep a record of their Book of Mormon reading. As missionaries pass through the area, they get to see what previous missionaries wrote and what they had previously taught.

We..

Wake at 6:30 AM

Exercise until 7:00 AM

Get ready

Eat breakfast at 7:30 AM

Be at studies by 8:00 AM

Personal Study until 9:00 AM

Companion Study until 10:00 AM

12 week training until 11:00 AM (our whole mission is doing the training)

After that, we have Proselyting time until 9:00 PM (or, be in our living quarters by 9:30 PM).

9:00 PM is nightly planning. The next day starts at 9:00 pm. 

In Bed by 10:30 PM.

And it starts over again.

I can honestly say that I feel a little burnt out after 9 months, but I know I must continue in the work. 

Missionaries cannot listen to the radio.

We cannot watch TV.

We cannot look at the Magazines in stores, or read any other books unless they are from the mission library.

We cannot keep pets.

We cannot call home, or talk to home except through emails on Monday (We have 1.5 hours here in my mission) or Mother's Day or on Christmas, for about 40 minutes max. 

We cannot hold children in any way.

We cannot give the opposite gender, hugs. 

We cannot have dinner appointments with the Elders, or sit with them at church. 

We cannot stop and visit other people just "to talk;' It is not allowed to visit Elders to 'just talk,' either.

We cannot visit the beach, and we must be about 2 blocks away. 

We cannot proselyte in businesses. 

We cannot tell you our first names; it's part of the sacredness of the calling.

We cannot Bible-Bash. That drives away the spirit.

We seek to find the elect, those who are ready to accept the message. 

We cannot give council to people with specific problems in their personal lives, or tell them what decisions they need to make (For example: "You should take this medicine!" "You should dye your hair this color!" "You should stop dating this person!" "You should eat a Ham-and-Cheese Sandwich!" ) but we can invite them to come closer to Jesus Christ and the people will receive the revelation they need in their own personal lives; the Lord can help with the choices they need to make in life. 

This is a brief list of what we missionaries do. It helps us to  focus on the work, and I have a testimony of this.  

. . .

The longer I am out, the more the newness wears off. Missionary work is exciting, but not in the same excitement that one may find when going to an amusement park, from receiving a package in the mail, or from going to a new movie that just came out. I am excited about the spiritual progression of other people, and I am excited about how I can help someone out in my mission area. With this excitement is tied with immense love, patience, anticipation, and maturity that only comes from serving a mission. 

. . .

As missionaries, we love receiving letters in the mail. I love receiving letters from my family, even though I've personally received very few.  Our mailman got in an accident about a week ago and this past week we did not receive any letters in the mail. 

. . .

I appreciate every email sent out to me, and every package received. 

Anyways, I miss you all! 

-Sister Marshall