Learning to Work Smart

March 3, 2014

Karee and her new companion, Sis Garcia at the Boston temple

This week has been a bit abnormal. Last Monday when we were playing soccer, Elder Rivera twisted his ankle pretty bad. So we have had to make a few adjustments to our schedules to make sure he isn't walking too much. We also had zone conference on Thursday in North Brookfield, which through us off a bit (we had to get the car cleaned, plan a day earlier, and had a whole day without work).

I am not sure I have ever done so much planning and organizing in my life. It seems as though when you are brand new in an area you have to really take the time to get organized so that you can work smart, or you will find that nothing that you do is worth it.  So we have been going to city halls to get maps of the areas

Thursday at the Zone Conference, there was a Stake President who spoke about visions or plans for the area. He was so inspired because I have been praying for the past few days, maybe even weeks, that I could understand how better to work in the area and better receive inspiration to guide the area. But what I really needed to be doing is getting the big picture from the leaders. Mostly I was just grateful that Heavenly Father had inspired someone in answer to my prayers.

We won the prize for the cleanest car... which I am sure had something to do with our ride through the car wash. We did some work too, vacuumed the inside and cleaned the tires and rims. 

 I think that one of the things I have learned about being a missionary, is that things hardly go as planned. That you have to plan and make sure things are set up, but then expect and welcome delays or interruptions. There is nothing wrong with them, and they are usually an opportunity to meet someone new or keep us safe from something that could have happened. This week we had the opportunity to ride the train and bus systems. One night we took a bus going the wrong way and didn't find out until we made it to the end of the line. Then we were stuck in the cold at the station for 30 minutes until the next bus came. That had to be the longest bus ride of my life. Followed by a long cold walk home. We might have gotten home late that night. Saturday we got stuck in some heavy traffic and ended up being almost two hours late to an appointment. The other part  of that of course is making sure the people on the other line are aware and expecting delays as well.

There was a women's conference yesterday, and Susan Jones gave a great talk about covenant keeping. It made me think a lot about why covenants are so important and why we need to remember what we have covenanted. I am going to be studying the baptismal covenant this week. This morning we were reading together in Alma 34 about faith and repentance, when we got to the end verses 40-41 are talking about enduring to the end and remembering the covenants that we have made. It is really important to remember the covenants that we have made. Heavenly Father will always keep His end of the promise and it is up to us to keep ours.

I love you all!