Week #62, Just making history....

Just another week in THE coolest city in America! Seriously, everyday I wake up and realize I am really here...that I live in Manhattan! It is one of the coolest feelings to walk out on the streets of Manhattan everyday with my missionary name tag on and know that I represent my Savior. That I am one of the lucky ones chosen to be here, among millions of people to represent the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. What a privilege it is!

Last Wednesday night we got to Skype teach Sister Richeson's parents. President and Sister Morgan were in attendance with us in the temple building at 8pm. We invited Brother Richeson to be baptized. HE ACCEPTED! He said he is not sure when, but he said he is sure he will be baptized someday! Later this week in Presidents exit interview with Sister Richeson, he told her that he father will one day get baptized BECAUSE she decided to serve a mission! What a blessing! President gave us a "hall pass" to be home late. Haha...we seem to get a lot of those. The spirit was sooooo strong during the lesson! It was incredible to see Sister Richeson boldly and lovingly (and with a good measure of nerves) invite her father to be baptized! I don't know if I will ever have that privilege again as long as I live!

Because we cover the entire island, we often see many of my missionary friends in our travels or we work directly with them in teaching appt's. I was so grateful to be able to have lunch with Sister Steele this week and a dinner with Sister Jensen and our member we worked closely with (Jeff Berglund). Both were my former companions. I have a lot of contact with all the missionaries throughout the island, so I consider that an extreme blessing.

This week was NYC Pride week...aka Gay Pride week. We got permission from our AP's to go to a gay Mormon picnic to support one of our gay less active members. We hoped to meet other less actives there too. We were a bit unsure what to expect since we have never been a minority in that sense before. In the church having same sex attraction is super taboo. But, we were VERY pleasantly surprised by the warm welcome we received! Everyone there expressed excitement for us being there to show our love and support for them. Most everyone there (about ten people) were all active members of the church, despite being gay. It was an eye opening experience. I got to talk to each one of them. I will always remember that night! A picture of us there reached Facebook. Without the context of what we were doing, it easily could have been mistaken that we were gay missionaries! We had to request 2 people to take it down before it spread like wildfire. Haha...that was a close one! But it was so touching to see these men who did not expect the church to change the doctrine, but to love them for who they were.

We did another Union Square chalk drawing accompanied with a video :) Check out my Facebook to view it! Haha...my creepy stalker found me in Union Square again after me being gone for 5 months. Geez...he is good at stalking! Lol. When he expressed pretended interest in the church, I quickly suggested that the ELDERS would love to tell him more. Haha. He is harmless, but super creepy. Lol.

Lately I have noticed that my testimony has not been tested for awhile. It is dormant. I don't like that. So, I have been praying for the spirit to be with me more, for me to have testimony building opportunities, etc. God gave me just that at church this week! Our branch is so incredible! I learn so much from our super intelligent branch members! During interviews this week I told President Morgan that I want to strengthen mytestimony. In his infinite wisdom, he suggested I spend some time pondering real questions I have and then taking my study time to answer those questions through study. Perfect idea! He said it may shake my testimony during my search, but it will be well worth it. I agree! I am excited to go through this spiritual journey! :)

My companion and I have also recognized we are not living up to our potential in opening our mouths to share the gospel with others. We are not taking every opportunity. We are hardly talking to anyone on the trains and in the streets actually. We both came from upstate, and are having to readjust to a completely new and unique assignment as well as a different way of doing missionary work. We made a goal to change that! Excited am I :) I want to be better. I want to show The Lord my gratitude for all my blessings and not just thank him for them in prayer. So we will see what lies ahead in the coming weeks as we implement our best efforts and try to dismiss our fears. We found our first potential investigator last night! Yay!

This morning I cut my hair again in that fancy studio! Only 4 or 5 inches max. I needed to get rid of some of it since it is too heavy on my head when I lift it up on the hot days...and every day is a hot day these days. Also, our entire mission is at the Yankees game right now! Yes, I am typing this up during the game. I got made fun for doing that last year, but it is 4 hours of my Pday that I can't afford to waste watching a game I do not understand ;) Maybe my cousin Jarrod can explain it to me when I get home! But it has been a fun experience. Yankees are losing. Oh well!

Well, I think that is about it for this week! But we are making history, bit by bit in this incredible city! I love this chance to be a missionary at this time! The work is hastening (D&C 88:73). Have a great week, be good, have fun, and seek the spirit!

Love Always,
Sister Weyandt