So there I was in church, sneezing up a storm when this high councilor comes up and says, "good news Elders. You get to be Captains in my army! I need you to help lead an a capella We'll Bring the World His Truth in my talk today!" I was like, uhhh. Can I just play it on the piano so its not all out of tune? He agreed, and so I was handed a children's songbook and then had 10 minutes or so before I had to go up and play the song without any actual practice. It turned out ok! And it was cool singing that when we wouldn't normally sing. What a good song.
When we told the mission nurse that we were sick, she said that it was probably allergies. She prescribed claritin for Elder Muhlestein and honey for me. I made sure he took his Claritin every day and then I went around, drinking enough honey to make Whinnie the Pooh jealous. Oh bother ;) though neither of these remedies worked, I did enjoy the suggestion. If you've served with me, you probably know of my craze for honey, and we didnt have any here, so we had an excuse to go out and buy some.
So one thing that I have pondered on a lot lately is the love our Savior has for the individual being. Even when we feel inadequate of his love, there he is with his arms outstretched. I hope it's a secret, but to some, it is no secret that I've been having a tough couple transfers. Various circumstances have been limiting my ability to see success in my own eyes. I had the opportunity to be interviewed by the mission president this week. I ranted to him of my troubles in my last email, and then I finished, sheepishly trying to justify myself, though the pessimist in me told me that I should stop complaining. My dear president held me in his arms and expressed his gratitude for me, calling me one of his strongest soldiers. He then said that 9/10 missionaries who have my similar struggles would've gone home months ago, and he is in awe at my diligence. He then said that I had him in awe and that he loved me, and so does God. It's not often you can get Elder Ruth to tear up, but it happened to me on this day. It was incredible to look at myself from someone else's eyes and see that I'm doing just ok, and even good. I was ministered to in my time of trial. Which brings me to my bigger reason for talking about this.
On Friday, when we were both sick, I felt that we should try and at least just walk around so people could see us outside. Doing so has planted seeds in the past, so we did that day. One person in particular had been on my mind for a little while. After sneezing too much without a tissue, I decided we should breach the sanctity of our 5-7 finding time and visit this less active man. He had a table almost ready for dinner, and we both took a nap during our dinner time earlier due to fatigue. He said that he had been waiting for us and he knew we would come. His daughter had undergone some very traumatic things leaving him with even less strength than usual. We helped him put his front room back together and just stayed with him for two hours, listening to his stories and sharing scriptures and comforting him. I was blown away by his faith in expecting us. He told us that he had been in pain for days and praying that God would send anyone, and he knew we would be the ones to show up. He teared up and hugged us in gratitude. If you dont believe in God, riddle me that. I felt compelled to bring us to a guy I've only met once in his greatest time of need. Needless to say, I testify that God is real and he cares about each one of us individually. It may not seem as apparent to you as it was to him, but God is watching over you and he is mindful of your prayers. As you draw nearer to him and strengthen your faith, you'll be able to feel his presence even stronger and receive answers to your prayers in more recognizable ways.
So yeah, that's just about it for this week. Oh, also, Elder Herem sneak attacked me at the end of church the other day and now I get to accompany him in a violin piano song at zone conference Wednesday. At least he gave me more notice than most people.
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