Durango Week Fifteen

Hello, friends!! This week has been total madness! But of course, it's been great! 

Monday was P-day and probably the highlight was that we set a goal to be in and out of Walmart in 15 minutes and we got out of there in 13. That's the fastest grocery trip I've had as a missionary I think! We only got to work for a little while on Monday because then we had to drive to Farmington for a big meeting the next day, but we did meet a great lady named Celeste who invited us in and told us, "Excuse the mess, I just finished filming my first movie." 

Tuesday I spent the day with in Farmington with Sister Jones while Sister Higgins was at MLC (Mission Leadership Council, a meeting that happens once a month that she goes to because she's a sister training leader). We got to help an older lady clean out all the leaves and weeds from her flower beds and it was so fun! And she was such a neat lady. While we worked when told us all about her 3 kids and her favorite vegan foods. At about 4 o'clock, Sister Higgins got out of MLC, and we went on ANOTHER exchange with the Cortez sisters. This time Sister Higgins was in Cortez with Sister Corpus and I was in Durango with Sister Munk. She wasn't feeling very well so we took the evening kind of slow, but it was great to get to know her! She is such a sweet sister!! 

Wednesday Sister Munk and I went to Sunshine Gardens (and old-folks home for people with various forms of dementia) and I saw that the picture I had colored the previous week was up on the wall! It was such an honor! As soon as we got out Sunshine Gardens, we got a call from the elders saying that the food bank desperately needed some more help so we went home for a quick lunch and then went straight to the food bank. I guess they were having an inspection the next day and there was a bunch of stuff they needed to do to get ready because they had gotten flooded with food the previous 2 days. So we helped out there for a good while and that's always one of my favorite activities of the week so I was happy to do it! By the time that was over it was basically time to drive up to exchange back with our other sisters. It was so nice to be back with Sister Higgins! That evening we had an appointment with Daniel Plummer, who had been on date to be baptized on May 5th. Little update on him: he is working really hard to quit smoking and live the Word of Wisdom, but he doesn't have a firm testimony that this really is Christ's church in the earth. He's not sure if Joseph Smith was a prophet and he doesn't know if he wants to be a member of the church. Basically, he wants to be baptized to be baptized, but he doesn't want what comes after baptism, when you become a member of the church and endure to the end. So we're working with him to help him understand that and help him learn of these things for himself. Pray for Daniel, please!! 

Thursday we had a zone conference in Cortez and were there from 8 AM to 4 PM. It was such a great meeting! And Sister Higgins and I did a special musical number with me on the piano and her on the violin playing "Be Still My Soul". It was VERY scary and very difficult, but we did it! I haven't gotten to see the video of it yet, but hopefully it sounded okay! It was lots of fun to play together though, despite how stressful and last minute it was. (We were asked to do it last Friday and were able to practice 2 times between then and when we performed it). It was just another little reminder to me that I can do hard things with God! He was definitely helping me out!

Friday we had a crazy long planning session talking about the needs of everyone we're working with. We do that every Friday but for some reason this week's felt extra long. We always start with a prayer where we pray for each investigator and returning member by name and for their specific challenges. I said the prayer this week and as I was praying I was completely overwhelmed not only by the love I feel for these people, but also by the heavy weight of responsibility to care for them and to know what their individual needs are and how I can be God's hands in helping them. I felt the strongest assurance that these are His children and I also felt the greatest fear that I'm completely in over my head and I have no idea what to do for them. That's a lot of feelings to feel all at once and it brought me to tears as I pleaded to my Heavenly Father on behalf of myself and Sister Higgins to please help us know what we are meant to do. Later that day, we had interviews with President Adams and we talked a bit about all this and he reminded me of what I already knew but sometimes forget: this is the Lord's work and I don't have to do it alone. He stands with us and He will not let us fail. What a blessing it is to serve alongside Him! 

Saturday was filled with service, lessons, and finding. It was a much-needed, normal missionary day and it helped me refocus and recommit to my purpose! The rest of the week was so hectic Saturday felt like total relief! 

Sunday we did our special musical number again but this time for Sacrament meeting in front of our whole ward. For some reason, that was a LOT more intimidating than playing in front of the missionaries! I was honestly shaking so bad that I could barely even control my foot on the pedal! At one point during the middle of the song I was really freaking out and I remember just thinking, "Please, help!!" And almost instantly I felt a rush of calmness go over me. It didn't stick around too long, but it allowed me to gain my composure again and I got through the most difficult part of the song without too much trouble. It was a little reminder to me that God cares about the little things in our lives. He helped me during a little musical number that didn't mean all that much in the grand scheme of things, but He knew it mattered to me and He helped me with it. I've said it before and I'll say it again... God is good, my friends!!

Lots and lots of love,
Sister Bohman



Some nice things to read:
-“You may enjoy music, athletics, or be mechanically inclined, and someday you may work in a trade or a profession or in the arts. As important as such activities and occupations can be, they do not define who we are. First and foremost, we are spiritual beings. We are [children] of God and the seed of Abraham” (David A. Bednar, “Becoming a Missionary,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2005, 47)
-President Nelson's talk from conference "Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives"