Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Week 74: "Bear with Patience Your Afflictions"

Dear Mom and Dad,
This week has been kinda back to a struggle. We are running into a problem where we live 5 miles outside of town and on the weeks when we don't have the car we are having to find member rides everywhere and we can't always do it. So that's been the real frustration of this week. But life goes on we have the car now after we just got a huge snowstorm that's why I wasn't on yesterday. Dad I would have something more to say to you. I can understand what you mean. When people screw with you just to do it, it sucks. I have recently been going through some emotional struggles with the leadership of the mission. Basically the mission has turned into a sweatshop. In that I mean that the people asked to be in leadership have stopped focusing on us as missionaries, and started just caring about the numbers, and have completely forgotten that the purpose of numbers is the people behind them. And when me and Van Sickle get stuck 5 miles outside our area, they want to harp on us because we don't teach a whole lot of lessons in a week. And to top it off Elder Dodd is now my zone leader, which if you remember anything about my companionship with him, it didn't go well at all. I was made fun of on a daily basis by him and the rest of our district. But that is one thing I've learned on my mission that got me through that specific transfer especially and am now relying on, is that it doesn't matter what anyone else says. I know that's super cheesy, but for a long time I just had to learn to sit down and not say anything, and ignore what was being said. Because I know that as long as I will just ignore it and do my job, Heavenly Father is going to be the most happy with me. And because of that transfer I have been in basically only hard areas, but I know I'm where the Lord knows he can put me. Because he knows I'm not going to care how much my zone leaders whine about how I don't teach enough lessons and how I'm not a good enough missionary. I'm just going to go out every day and do my job. And if I please my zone leaders great, if not I don't care. because I know I'm doing what I'm supposed to. So the moral of that story is to bear with patience your afflictions. Patience is the worst christlike attribute to gain, in the fact that it's the hardest and most tiring, but it is by far the most worthwhile. Sorry I didn't want to get on a soap-box, but that's honestly what it's been like out here. A lot of patience learning. I'm not really a high-baptising missionary, but I go to places with not a lot going on, and I pick them up and get them ready for others to come and reap fruit. So dad, I know it's hard but learning to cope with others mocking you is a real blessing. I know it's gonna definitely help me when I get home. Sorry that was a long speal but I hope it helped some way. I don't mean to worry you guys it really is great out here, but there is a lot of the human aspect of missionaries you have to deal with. Anyway I love you guys and appreciate your support through all this time. I'll talk to you next week!
Love, Elder Braken Park

No comments:

Post a Comment