Thick of it...

Bil,

I was busting up laughing about my terrible English. Let´s be honest I never thought I would get to the day when I couldn´t speak right. Because I always thought that it was a stupid thing that happens to other missionaries, something  I would be able to control. But I find myself in the street thinking in English sometimes and I can´t find the words I want. Or I will be talking to some elder telling a story and mix up the order of my words. Cool.

Bil. You know how you say I´m in the thick of it? And then you get all nostalgic and I can basically see the dreamy flash back that is happening in your brain of your mission. Thanks. Every time I remember that phrase (Lizzie,You're in the thick of it), I just kind of step back and see the knee deep goop of happy missionary work that  I am in the thick of, and I realize that I like it. I don´t like being stressed, but that feeling after being stressed and everything goes fine, that's a pretty good feeling. Worth it, one might say. I read my journal last night from one year ago. The entry was from the 26th of May. My entry was from my night staying in the Mission President´s house when I got into the country. I was so nervous, and I had no idea what was coming. It was such a trip to flip through my journal and read some things I have written. I realized how much I have learned, and how many pages I still have to fill up. Last night as I said my prayer, I spaced out for a moment, and when I snapped back, it all became very clear to me, that I was kneeling at the side of a bed, at 11:00pm, in a room with a girl from Africa and a girl who grew up in china, in an apartment located in a place called Quinta do Conde, in a country far far away from anywhere I know, having been a missionary for over a year. When that all became clear I thought... I really am in the thick of it.

Bil this week was thick. Real thick. On Thursday Teresa and Rui were MARRIED....and then 5 hours later........BAPTIZED!!! The ward threw a party of all parties. This is the second wedding party that I have seen for recent converts and it was the better of the two. There was lots of good food. They threw a bouquet (flowers taken from outside the chapel, picked on the spot). One of the members is like Alex Wood´s status piano player and he filled the chapel with beautiful music the whole night. It was an incredible day, real joy, you know?

Then Friday we had out interviews with Presidente Torgan. It´s an all day event. It was the most incredible interview I have had in my mission. Normally Preisdente Torgan is a man of few words with me, because I am a woman of few words and questions with him...But this time was different. I know I already described the last interview from a few months ago, and I described how President Torgan is a great big bear of a man, well he just fills the room with the spirit. He´s got this big smile and tells it like it is. Well he told me like it is in our interview, but instead of it being a harsh critique (that for some reason I always expect and never happens) Presidente Torgan looked me square in the eyes and told me that he could feel how much trust the Lord has in me. His words were powerful and the spirit filled the room. I believed him. I knew he really felt that. I also know that Heavenly Father had heard my prayers and my prayers were answered, just in that one comment alone. The whole interview was an incredibly personal and uplifting moment of my mission that I will never forget. In the end of our interviews we kneel down and Presidente Torgan offers a prayer. He pleaded for me to our Heavenly Father. As he pleaded for me and my well being, he affirmed my abilities and the things that Lord will require of me in the future of my mission. It was like receiving a blessing of comfort. Did you remember powerful spiritual experiences around your mission president Bil?

While we sat in our zone during the trainings we receive in between interviews, I looked around and realized that there were only two missionaries in the room with more time in the mission than me. Which means, I am close to the end. I am ´´old´´ in my mission as they say. I still have 3 transfers, or 4 months. But I feel like this time is slipping through my fingers, all of a sudden I realized the thick of it one day will get thinner, and before i know it I will be walking up the escalator at the airport to find wy guy at the top, standing at a whopping 5 foot, and everyone else will be there too. And this will be a memory.

But for now Bil, I´m in the thick of it. There is nothing in the world like this. There is nothing in my life that will be just like this. I am so thankful to realize it, because that means that I can enjoy it, bask in the challenges, and see the miracles that come. Thanks for everything.

-Lizzie

P.S. just put this one on the blog will ya?