The Measure of Success

I've made it through my first full week in the field. P day came so much faster than I anticipated. Getting lost in the work is actually easier than I thought! All you have to do is get up in the morning, run, eat breakfast, study, and then work as hard as you can until 9 pm.

This week Sister Bennion and I spent a few hours at a retired couple's house making a huge map of DeFuniak and marking every less-active member and investigator on it. We hope that it will assist us and all the DeFuniakan missionaries following us to find out where the heck they are going! We have GPS's, but sometimes a visual aid is helpful. Though we hope that some of these people will eventually be ridded of their need to be on the map.

AKA they will get baptized or come back to church and become the most excellent members of the ward. :))

Also this week we had a district meeting and a new missionaries of Fort Walton zone meeting at the chapel in Crestview. It's hard on the mileage on the car, but it's great to see the other missionaries from time to time. Sister Imlay is still in this zone, so it's cool to see her, and her trainer who I knew at BYU!

This week a lot of lessons fell through, and we worked some with active members to try to get the work going, so when it came down to yesterday morning and our numbers were really low for the week, me and Sister Bennion both were feeling pretty stressed. We talked about it in the car and over a picnic lunch (yeah outside during a flash flood warning... ). Although Sunday was going great and our numbers were starting to pick up, we took our philosophy back to Preach My Gospel and reminded ourselves that the measure of a successful missionary is not an elder or sister who has appointments set up every hour of every day. It's not who is best liked of all the missionaries in the mission. It's not the one who never gets lost or stuck out in the rain. It's not the one who gets the numbers they want... It's the one who commits to find people to teach and bring unto Christ! You can make all of your goals and never help anyone feel The Spirit and come unto Christ. But as long as you are striving to help and invite people, and to introduce them to or remind them of the gospel, you are excellent by Heavenly Father's standards. People have their agency to get to church or get to Fort Walton beach, but we do all we can to help them feel that there is a right answer to that choice. :)

I miss each of you at home, and I send you a hug from me, but know that I love this work! This is the truth, and DeFuniak needs to hear it! :)

Love,

Sister Cooper

                                          This is me trying to survive a rainstorm
 

                                           Me and my companion Sister Bennion

                                             The turtle we found!!!!

                                                         The view from my window! Right onto lake defuniak. :)