Week 102: Embrace The Imperfections

Okay I'm gonna be completely honest, this last week was so hard. Everyone we had on baptismal date had to be taken off and we experienced a lot of rejection. And to top it off, on Saturday night we grabbed our bikes to head to a lesson and my front tire was flat. Over the 2 years I've been on my mission I have never had a flat tire, which was honestly a miracle, but I guess I wasn't going to get let off that easy haha. I finally got to use the extra tube I've been carrying around for 2 years!

Needless to say though, this last week felt like a scooter to the ankle and every time I tried to get up the scooter swung back around. 

BUT... we're not gonna focus on that. Here are the good things that happened this week: 

- Chris and Rachelle came to church and got fellowshipped UP

- We stopped by an inactive member and he said his kids and wife are interested in taking lessons and coming to church !!

- Elder Christensen and I FaceTimed Rigo from Del Rio (a guy we taught) and he said he's going to come visit me before I go home!

- We had amazing lessons with our friends Matthew and Diego that we just met

- We taught some little kids how to pray and then they taught their siblings and helped them through their prayers. It was the cutest thing. 

- I got asked to bear my testimony on the spot in church yesterday. I wouldn't usually see being called on to speak in front of a large group of people as a good thing but I'm actually really glad I had that opportunity because it forced me out of my shell and strengthened my testimony.

- I played guitar for a musical number at my last zone conference ever

Something I learned this week was to be okay with set backs and imperfection. It's all part of the journey and that's what makes it truly beautiful. I played some wrong chords while playing guitar at zone conference and it didn't sound the best. And that's okay. I didn't say everything I wanted to in my testimony and I may not have been very eloquent. And that's okay. I thought these last few weeks of my mission would be full of baptisms which in my head was the perfect way to end these 2 years of being a missionary but that's not how it'll turn out. And that's okay. Life isn't meant to be perfect. These set backs and imperfections allow learning, character growth, and the opportunity to trust more in my Savior. As a perfectionist it's really hard for me to accept nothing but the best of performance and circumstances but I'm learning to embrace the imperfections in life and it's beautiful. 

- Elder Christensen

Pics

☆ The zone conference musical number crew

☆ Talking with Rigo!

☆ Coining ceremony for the graduating trainees at Lackland airforce base