Hey
everybody, Happy belated 4th of July! Hope everyone's weekend went
well. :) We had a good 4th. During the day, it was a bit of a downer
because proselyting is really hard on a holiday when everyone wants to
be left alone to their BBQing and family activities, and on top of that
it was raining on and off...but the night was really great! We got
together with other missionaries, friends, and a few YSA members, and
hung out for a bit until the fireworks started. It was really awesome to
celebrate Independence day in good ole Alabama. We also got transfer
calls that night, and I found out that I'm leaving Tuscaloosa. This Wednesday
we'll drive to Birmingham for Transfer Meeting, and I'll find out my
new area and companion. It's so weird to think about being in a new area,
but I'm ready.
We had a tender experience the
other day. We were making the 45 minute (on foot) journey from a park
back to our apartment, and on the way back we decided to stop at little
family-owned "Bama" store, that sells UA stuff and other
clothing/jewelry. We were just looking around, and Sister Hall decided
to buy a watch. The lady at the counter saw that we were missionaries
and she told Sister hall that her watch was free, and then told me that I
could pick something out too. I picked out a cute bracelet with a
cross. Then we asked them if they knew anyone that could use a prayer.
One of the workers, who was an older lady, told us that she could use a
prayer and to pray for her health and her son. So we prayed with her.
After the prayer, the workers in the store seemed to get
teary-eyed and told us to keep up the good work, and thanked us for what
we are doing as missionaries. Even a customer who was shopping there
thanked us. We left feeling blessed at such a sweet moment, being
edified by each other, understanding that even though we were of
different faiths that we're all on the same team.
A
similar thing happened a few days earlier: while out tracting we met
this awesome Catholic lady who was not interested in having us teach
her, but gave us an abundance of fresh veggies hand-picked from her
beautiful garden. Blessed!
I thought I'd
mention a little bit about our experience with prayer, and how the
Southerners do it. For us as missionaries, it's perfectly normal to meet
someone on the side of the street, at the park, or in the frozen aisle
in Walmart and say a prayer with them. It might be awkward, but you just
have to push past those limits of what's socially acceptable. :)
Usually it will come about by us asking someone if they know anyone that
could use a prayer, or maybe if we're talking about something
Gospel-related. It's really awesome to be able to come together with
strangers and pray. I can't count how many 1-2 minute prayers I've had
with complete strangers that I may or may not ever see again.
Southerners have a very interesting way of praying (not that it's bad,
it's just different from what I've known!) Some pray holding hands with
each other in a circle. They are also very vocal during prayer. While
one person is saying the prayer, others will quietly whisper, "Yes",
"Thank you Jesus", etc. At first it was really distracting for me to
say a prayer and have people do that, but I've gotten used to it. I like
the fact that I know they're listening to what I'm saying, by their
agreement of or comment on the content.
Well, next time I talk to y'all I'll be in a new city! Hope everyone's week goes well :)
Talk to you soon,
Sister Griffith
 |
| The veggies that a nice lady gave us! |
 |
| I calcluated the distance from here to home on my GPS! |
No comments:
Post a Comment