Dear family,
It was awesome getting all of your emails. I absolutely love all of them. Before I forget, Congratulations Rachel!! I hear your ACT score was awesome! That is so cool. Sorry I didn't write much last week. We were cleaning the apartment and getting ready for exchanges. It was a really crazy day. (We talked to the senior sister who does the apartment checks and she said our apartment was 100 time better then when the elders where there. Yeah us, but really its probably because we took the random junk off the walls and got rid of 3 of the 5 desks.)
We did exchanges from Tuesday to Friday, which I don't think has ever been done before in our mission and we were really confused about. I have a lot of mixed feelings about the exchanges. First I think because our focus was on contacting it was really good to have a longer exchange although both sister bean and I think it would have been fine to just have 3 days instead of 4. Sister bean went to temecula and I stayed in La Costa, which I was a little bit worried about because I felt like mommy was leaving for a few days and I was in charge.
I think I did an okay job but I'm really grateful for the exchange because it taught me a bunch of lessons I didn't think I was going to learn. During the exchange I really felt like our area just began to crumble and I was barely holding it together. I learned that I know how to be a really good missionary, I just need to trust my instincts and the spirit, and not throw out everything I've learned and know out the window because my companion says otherwise.
I know that there were things I could have definitely done better and I'm frustrated because I think at times I was getting prompting to say and do things but I didn't because I was to concerned about what sister heath would say. Because of this exchange I learned not to be worried about that. My first loyalties are to the Lord. Ah! why does that have to be such a hard lesson for me to learn. I am proud to say that I did follow some promptings during that meeting and I was able to save our relationship with that investigator.
It was a really interesting experience because everyday during personal study experiences from the past day would come to me and I would clearly see what I needed to do better and how I could improve when the next situation arose. I really feel like it was private tutoring form the spirit. I don't think I would have learned these things if sister Bean had stayed with me the entire transfer, so I really am grateful for this exchange. Poor sister bean, she came back from a great exchange and had to do some damage control in our area. It was a rough exchange but a good one... I just read in her letter to the president that she wants me to train, so I can really solidify who I am as a missionary. That idea scares the be-gee-bees our of me but I actually think it would help. I think I'll just trust the Lord on how he wants me to grow.
I'm spending thanksgiving at a members house and hopefully we are going to have a second thanksgiving at an investigator the encinitas elders want to pass off to us. I hope that happens. I'm trying to think about how you can make your thanksgiving more special... Oh gosh I don't know. I'm sorry. Honestly I've barley given thanksgiving a second thought. It seems impossible that it is thins week.
Well I hope that your week goes well. I love you all a ton.
love Sister Allred
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