WHAT WE DO!

WHAT WE DO!
Sister Marlowe...Week #5
January 8, 2017

Hi everybody!

Okay so I have just a teeny bit of time left to email today, BUT. I wanted to share a few things! We have been listening to lots of talks while driving this week, one speaker I LOVE Is Hyrum W Smith! He is amazing. One thing I love that he said: (it has become my motto) funny how I get a new wonderful motto like every other week hehe

"What you do depends on how you feel about what you know." Look up this talk! It is a life-changer!

WOW. I thought a lot about that! The fact that I am here hopefully is a testament of how I feel about the things I know! I don't claim to know a lot. I'm not the smartest, brightest, most spiritually enlightened person on the earth, or even in this mission, BUT. I do know I have a heavenly father who loves me and every one of you, a Savior Jesus Christ, and because of him i can be with my family forever and I can be absolutely happy, EVEN when the hard things come and we have to roll with the punches. Like I said, I don't know a whole lot, but some of the most important things! And I feel strongly enough about these things that I now live in a different country at 19 years old, have minimal contact with my family at home, I live in a tiny little old apartment with another girl I met 2 weeks ago, and I walk the streets in Melbourne Australia when it is 38 C (100 F) because of HOW I FEEL ABOUT WHAT I KNOW. and sometimes I have to remind myself of those things I know and how I really feel about them!

My favorite thing anyone has said to me thus far on my mission was from my Filipino District Leader Elder Casil--I was feeling nervous about teaching a lesson for district meeting and he just looked at me and said (in his heavy Cebuano Filipino accent): "Ayyyyy don't be nervous! You are a daughter of God man!" And i was like "WHOAH. I AM!" It was fantastic. I guess it would be better if you could just hear the voice he said it in but it was like a reminder-brick that hit me right in the heart! And what a good reminder. 

It's been a busy week! It's weird how sometimes I feel like we don't rush rush rush all day and there's not a thousand things we're doing, but I'm still exhausted!!! There is such a huge mental/spiritual aspect in this and it is SO DRAINING. but in a good way! One song I love that we listen to is about missionaries and it says "hardest thing I've ever loved to do" TRUUUUUUE.

We have a few investigators with baptismal dates--PRAYERS ARE ACCEPTED! Also it is soooo hot some days that I can feel my body melting. But the good thing about Melbourne is that the weather is sooo all over the place that every couple days it will cool down again. Thankfullly. Bless up.

There are so many things I'd love to share, but I decided I might as well tell you all that I had my first real meltdown of my mission on Saturday night--just visited a woman who is going through some struggles and really feels strongly that God is punishing her and hates her. I just CRIED at my little kitchen table because as a missionary I can't just GRAB PEOPLE BY THE SHOULDERS AND SHAKE THEM AND MAKE THEM KNOW THAT THEY ARE LOVED. By me! By the people around them! By God! They are loved. And people can be so blind to that fact. I see people on the street and I think "I could tell that person right now that they can be with their families and with God FOREVER" but there isn't enough time in the day to tell every person! I wish I could! And of the people I do get the prime opportunity to talk with, 95% of them ignore me on the street or reject me on their porch, or outright yell from inside their front door "NO GET OFF MY PORCH" 

It breaks my heart but I know what I know and I know how I feel about it. And I pick myself up and knock on another door. Maybe one day I'll see these people on the other side and maybe, just MAYBE, they'll see my face. and remember that I'm the girl. I'm the one who told them. And they'll realize "Whoah that little American girl with the curly hair that is dying in this heat was right." And I will give them a hug and say "it's okay"

Wish I had more time! Til next time. Cheers folks!

Sister Marlowe