Where to begin? To be frank, this week was a trial. An absolute whirlwind involving my mental, physical, and emotional health.
So to begin this exciting story, let's start at last Monday. Last Monday, we took our car into the shop to get fixed from the hit and run that happened during an appointment a few weeks ago. While our car was in the shop, the elders graciously let us use theirs. So Tuesday, we have to car for less than 24 hours. We had the wonderful opportunity to go to the temple on Tuesday morning for the 11 session. We started heading out at around 9:30 to the church building because that's where our ride was. On the way to the church building that is less than a mile away from our apartment, we got in a car accident. Yes, my first ever car accident. Air bags, smoke, the whole works. Needless to say, the car was totaled and the other car was totally fine. We were so blessed though! Although we were in a state of shock, we were both perfectly okay! Yes, we were a little bit sore, but we were spared. It was one of the scariest moments of my life even though I don't remember the crash itself. And the most ironic part about it..it was on April Fools day. Seriously?
So my whole mission was changed in the split second of the car accident. On Wednesday, we got bikes and were given a ride to our area (we cover three wards and live 5 miles outside of our area). It was shortly we were left in Mountain View with our bikes that my companion tells me she doesn't know how to ride a bike. It's harder than you may think to teach an adult how to ride a bike. I tried my best to teach her for two whole days, but every day, we just ended up walking our bikes which was slowing us down. So we called the mission president to let him know that our situation isn't working. He told us to look into public transportation. Well, that's a whole new adventure in itself. Thursday and Friday were spent experimenting with the bus lines. We were taken to Cupertino and almost to Palo Alto a couple of times. On top of that, we've given up on the bikes and are now on foot. The cherry on top is that I have lost my driving privileges for the whole rest of my mission.
This week has been a crazy whirlwind and has tested my faith and desire to do the work. But I'll have you know that Sister Tuala and I have the attitude of champions. We figure you can either laugh or cry, so we try to just smile and press forward.
Luckily, we still got to go to the temple on Tuesday and we barely made our session! It was good even though I was still in shock the whole time. It was a sweet experience though because once we got to the celestial room, I just broke down. I was a complete mess on the one day I decided to wear more makeup than usual. The sweet part was that there were three zones of missionaries all there at the same time. I looked up and saw everyone's smiling faces and I knew that they were all there for me. And Sister Ferrin was there!
There have been soooo many tender mercies this week. Even though it has been a massive trial of my faith, the Lord continues to remind me that He's there and that He loves me. In those times when I start to wonder why this is happening to me, I'll receive a small blessing, reminding me of His love. Those blessings included nice bus drivers giving us free day passes, wonderful members that gave us rides, and just good people everywhere we go. The Lord is with us.
General conference was awesome! I really enjoyed every minute of it. It reminded me that I am a servant of the Lord and that I have a testimony of Him. I'll never let others shake that because I know what's right and I know the standards that He's set for me. The world can go down, but I won't go down with it. Conference is always amazing!
So in the midst of the crazy whirlwind that was last week, my sore, blistered feet, my totaled car, and my emotional trials, I have been blessed. And I've been blessed because of my foundation on the gospel of Jesus Christ. I was blessed because I wouldn't let the whirlwind shake me. As my mission president says, bite off more than you can chew and then swallow it. Story of my life this week. No matter what is thrown at you, remember the Savior and His love and sacrifice for all of us.
Ever onward!
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!
Sister Julie Catherine Harris
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