Weeks just FLY BY here in the Northland. It honestly feels like I was just barely sitting here in the library emailing yesterday! But alas- it was a full week ago!
Do you realize that my 3 month mark is this week? Weird? Yes. Yes it is.
So - this week has definitely been full of ups and downs, especially for me. Struggles in feeling a little bit like a failure, struggles in not knowing how to help other people around me, and struggles in feeling like I'm not good enough or don't have enough faith to be the kind of confident I want to be. BUT THE LORD HEARS OUR PRAYERS. It's true. He listens to our concerns and finds new ways to help us!
I don't want you to think I'm depressed, because I'm not. It's just that the start of this week began with seeing Sister Boiteux's progression after she had been with Sister Tapuala. She was suddenly "talking" with people and had less "fear" than before. ...Things I'm still working on.
So: LESSON #1 that I learned - You can't compare your weaknesses to the strengths of others. It's just not fair to yourself or the other person that you're getting annoyed with because they're just plain awesome. All you can do is WORK ON YOURSELF. So - my envious moment came from Sister Boiteux inviting TWO people to be baptized this week! The FIRST being Pearl. She's the sweetest of sweet, and we knew she wanted to be baptized. She's the daughter of Dennis, a less active in the Paihia branch, and they're just wonderful. So we've set Monday nights for Family Home Evening with them now, to not only teach Pearl, but to also try and get Dennis (and Honey/the family) back to church! It's going to be great! :)
So... that was our P-day Monday. Ah - and seeing the Stone Store (which: fun fact, sounds like "Stone Stall" in a British accent... it took us a long time to figure out what it actually was. But it's a beautiful little iconic tourist area with cute little cottage-type buildings—some of the oldest in New Zealand's history, and a beautiful river and bridge. :)
The week continued on with Sister Boiteux and I—the work is slowly getting more difficult in our Matauri Bay area, and in searching to find new ways of finding people. I started feeling a bit like she thought I wasn't working hard enough to find people, but I was honestly trying my best.
Anyhoo. Then came ...Wednesday? The day Sister Boiteux invited her SECOND person to baptism - Tunisia! I love Tunisia. And I'm so crazy excited and grateful that she was able to do that, because she said "yes," but wasn't quite ready to set a date. Just a "when I know it's true, I will get baptized." So... This resulted in me feeling a little down on myself again because my brain is telling me "I'm the older one/trainer and she's only been out for four weeks, and I should be better at having this confidence in myself by now (because I had the same prompting/feeling that she needed to be invited to baptism)." ...And then I realized I sounded like a jerk in my head! But - it did lead me to LEARN AGAIN that you can't compare others strengths to your weaknesses... and also, LESSON #2: It doesn't matter WHO asks the question - the work is all about helping our brothers and sisters!
Thursday came and went with me ending up feeling like I just straight up wasn't good enough for Sister Boiteux anymore. ...This was after receiving the news that we all had to drive our own separate cars to the Whangarei area for Zone Conference, rather than driving down together (because of car inspections) ...Thus crushing Sister Boiteux's "fun" of being with Sister Tapuala again. (At least that's how it felt to me.) But all was well. We stayed at the flat for an early lunch and cleaning the car for Zone Conference the following day, and I'm so glad we did - because Sisters Tapuala and Pointer showed up! And... I got to have a mini pitty party moment with Sister Pointer while the other two were talking outside. I got to tell her how I'd felt like a bit of a failure that week, and like I wasn't doing anything right, and how Sister Boiteux wasn't getting anything from me when I was trying to give advice to the questions she had. It was nice... and then I got over myself! Then Sister Boiteux and I ventured out to do the Lord's work — discovering that we couldn't get in to a good portion of the people we had set out to see, and ending the day with Jemmeka getting offended by something that was said and running away from us... Struggles!! But, I had a moment, as we were driving home (much too early for the night) of feeling like we needed to go visit the Puru's—a less-active older couple in Takou Bay. And I'm definitely glad I did. It was a LITTLE LIGHT at the end of the night for me, helping me to feel like we HAD accomplished something! And it just made me happy to get to know her a little better. I truly hope she'll come back soon, because they're just so sweet! This day ended with me singing, "One Prayer Away."
But it also ended with seeing Sister Pointer and Tapuala again because we still didn't have a phone for mid-week reports, so they came to our flat so we could talk with the District leader. Sister Pointer came in, put fresia flowers in some water on my desk for me, and made me some strawberry tea — isn't she wonderful? And the night was even better. :)
FRIDAY. ZONE CONFERENCE. We all drove to Kawakawa junction to meet up... at which point Sister Pointer realized she wasn't feeling well at all and that it wouldn't be the best idea for her to drive... therefore, she and Sister Boiteux switched places so that the other car could have a legal driver. (Sister Tapuala doesn't have a drivers license.) Zone Conference was LOVELY. And OVERWHELMING, and INSPIRATIONAL. President has been putting a large emphasis on "raising your vision" and focusing on the doctrine of Christ and obedience. So it was a lovely meeting.
Following the meeting, Sister Tapuala and Pointer met with president to work out more through their struggles together —and then: President called in Sister Boiteux and me. He asked if we would be okay with doing an "emergency transfer" type of thing with the sisters — Me going with Sister Pointer and Sister Boiteux with Sister Tapuala! So: It's official. We've switched companions, and Sister Pointer is now my new companion.
I've honestly struggled with this as well, just because it's almost like I "failed" at training... But I've also come to realize that NO, I didn't fail at training - It's just what the Lord knew all of us as sisters needed at this time. To help each other at different times and in different ways. It's all truly been a blessing in disguise.
AH! Happy Birthday to Janine and Hannah and Josh last week, and Brett coming up.
And thank you Mom for your stories about Dad, and about quiet energy. You definitely know exactly what to say when I need it! I don't know how I got so lucky to be with such a beautiful set of parents and the wonderful family in my life, but Heavenly Father sure spoiled me long before I ever realized!!
MUCH LOVE! And kisses and hugs to all the peeps!!
Sister Mckenzie Ann Ottley
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| DRIVER'S TRAINING with the Reeve's... They purchased McDonalds for us afterwards. :) |
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| Sister Pointer and Me! |
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| ZONE CONFERENCE with Kaikohe and Whangarei Districts (Whangarei is the northernmost city and the northern regional capital of New Zealand.) |
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