Week 34: The Edge of (Being a) Teen

This is the last day my angst can be socially acceptable.

I got to hold a hamster owned by one of the people we’re teaching! When I took off my mask to take the photo, the kids said that I looked like “the girl from the movie.” Very specific, I know. They showed me the DVD case, and they were talking about Dorothy from “The Wizard of Oz”!

That’s right! Tomorrow, I will have officially been alive for two decades. That’s a whole score, for those of you who aren’t aware. I have been sitting with anticipation since Saturday afternoon to open my birthday package, but I have withheld, and tomorrow, I’ll finally be able to crack open that bad boy, along with other events. I won’t spoil all of the surprises I have in store for my festivities, but tomorrow, I’ll be on exchanges with Sister Smith! I’m sure that’s going to be one hoot and a holler.

A birthday letter?! How exciting!

As always, what a fun week this has been! So much has happened. Probably too much. But I’ll cover as much as I can for the viewers at home.

First of all, I really love my district so much. Elder Gambill and Elder Yanez are the funnest district leaders. Definitely in my top five out of the four that I’ve had. They’re so kind and thoughtful, and so is everybody else in our district. It’s such an amazing gift to know all of those missionaries!

Hermana Aguilera taking a picture of me taking a picture of Hermana Aguilera

Also, I got to sing in church! The elders’ ward had asked Elder Yanez to do a special musical number because he’s a phenomenal pianist, but he didn’t want to brave through it alone, so he asked if one of us hermanas would be willing to sing with him, and of course I volunteered because (spoiler alert) I love to sing!

Anyway, we performed “I Will Walk with Jesus,” which is such a sweet song. It’s a little newer, so some of the older kids on this list may not know it, but trust me, it is so good. And it was so fun to sing! Shout out to Sister Haver, a member of the 2nd Ward who’s related to one of my mom’s friends, Ronna Park! We were able to say quick hellos after sacrament meeting, and she said hi from my mom! Which was so fun.

Getting Dairy Queen to celebrate Hermana Reddish’s nine months!

We also got to meet with Caleb, whom the sisters who were previously in BG1B were teaching, but he had been up in Alaska bear hunting, so we hadn’t been able to meet with him. But let me tell you: I am meant to be here for Caleb. He has some really good questions, and a lot of them can be addressed by just becoming a member of the Saints book club. Which he now is.

We happened to be in a lesson with Caleb on Monday when, as we were finishing up, we got a call from President Weaver. Caleb was kind enough to let us answer. I was very confused as to what President Weaver could possibly be calling for, because I legit had no clue. But then he asked to specifically speak to me, and it turns out that they’re starting to process my visa application for Guatemala!!! I don’t know when I’m leaving or anything, but for now, it sounds like I’m going to be making it. I am just so grateful and excited and in awe of this amazing blessing. Talk about a birthday present.

Riding up to district council, as per usual

For district council this week, Hermana Aguilera and I got to do part of the training. As part of it, we shared the story of Naaman, found in 2 Kings 5. Naaman is a captain for the Syrian army. He’s pretty highly regarded, but he has contracted leprosy, which, at this time, is an uncurable disease. So he goes to the prophet Elisha to heal him:

10 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.

11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.

12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.

13 And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?

I love this story, and in part, I think it’s because I’m very much Naaman. Both of us had an expectation of how the Lord would treat us. I expected to go to Guatemala, and Naaman expected for a prophet to come out of his house and grandiosely heal him. But that’s not what we received.

Expectations are really hard to combat. We’re always trying to anticipate what comes next and to make things go our way. But if things had gone my way, I never would have served with the missionaries here. I never would have had the experiences I wrote about this week in my weekly email, or any of my weeklies. I never would have gotten to meet the amazing people of Tennessee and Kentucky, who have changed my life in a very real way.

I am so grateful for my mission, and I am so grateful for the journey ahead. That, above all, is the best birthday present I could ever ask for.

— Still 19,

Hermana Newton