Why wait?

One of the most challenging things about missionary work is the balance between bold and loving. Missionaries who are too bold come off as pushy or self-interested, and missionaries who are just love love love have a hard time getting anyone to do anything except hang out or have lunch or whatever. The senior couple in DeFuniak has it down. Elder Habel is all bold and Sister Habel is all loving and together you look and them and wonder how their marriage has worked out for 50 years, but you don't wonder why they are successful missionaries. Everyone they teach feels loved, as well as compelled to do things.

Sometimes us younger missionaries go through the boldness cycle, similar to the pride cycle in the book of mormon. We are scared so we are all love, then grow into boldness, then somebody gets mad and we go back to love. Haha, anyway that's what me and sister milne have been working on this week. We decided to be all love, church, and baptism. Bold and loving. I'm exhausted, but we set a baptismal date! Nobody we committed came to church, but the kingdom of god wasn't built over night, yeah? Probably could be, but instead God chooses to let us serve Him and build it slowly. How sweet. :D

I am super stuffy from all the weather swings between ice and frozen trees to short sleeve weather, plus all of the sick and stuffy missionaries I come in contact with. This morning my companion may or may not have tried clearing my sinuses by Breath Essential Oil  on my face and instead accidentally poured it in my eye. I shouldn't say "instead". My stuffy nose became a thing of little concern to me when I was washing the lemon juice-peppermint oil out of my eye.

I've got a book of mormon scripture for y'all. It's from Moroni 7

If a man be meek and lowly in heart, and confesses by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, he must needs have charity; for if he have not charity he is nothing; wherefore he must needs have charity. And charity suffereth long.

Basically, he or she who knows Christ and is a Christian should be willing to suffer long and be patient. That is charity, just like charity is love and kindness. Whoa.

This is why Charity is going to be my first child's name.

Love y'all
Sister Laura Cooper