Norma

Hi everyone!

Our adorable front door

 
 

The Main Room where we workout, eat, study, and shake

Study Area

Just in case you are interested, here are a few pictures of my new apartment








This week flew by! One of the highlights was having a "mini missionary" come along with Sister Gledhill and I for a couple of days. If you don't know what a mini mission is, people 16 and older can choose to see what a mission is like if they are thinking about serving one by following a couple of missionaries for a short amount of time. Amanda is 25, from Snowflake, AZ, but has been living in Massachusetts for a few years to gain new experiences. She considers herself a convert because last year the missionaries came to her when she was in-active but had done some things that threw her off the straight and narrow path. She's had a complete change of heart and new set of actions. She has a strong, sweet spirit and I felt so privileged to learn from her for a couple of days.

Cradles to Crayons Community Service

Here in Waltham we've also had some opportunities to become involved in the community. We did a service project with Amanda and a few members from the ward at a place called Cradles to Crayons, where we sorted clothes for young kids in need. We also attended the Waltham Public School graduation where moms learning English while developing new skills earned their diplomas. It was neat to attend and Sis Gledhill, the Elders, and I (in place of the previous Sister who was here) were recognized for a service project done a little while ago.) This week we have a meeting with a few public rep's to put together an English class that is set up by the church. We will see how it goes and it should be ready to begin around mid-September.

This week has been a little slow because a lot of people are still out of town and we are getting the word out about our Ward Mission plan--how we do not knock on doors and rely on the members to invite friends and co-workers so we can teach them. However, we are still visiting referrals and in-actives. One in-active is Norma. She moved from the Dominican Republic to another part of Massachusetts and was active in the church, then moved to Waltham, but her records were somehow lost and she never knew there was a church here....for 10 years! About a month ago the Elders here found her and so Sister Gledhill and I have been checking up on and visiting her. I'll tell you though, she is a faith powerhouse! She lives in a humble adobe and the last of her children just moved to New Jersey. Whenever we teach her, the spirit is strong, and she shares stories about how her faith has helped her in life. She is determined to attend church (she is not just saying that) but things have come up such as having to her boyfriend not following through to give her a ride to church or her son needing help moving. As soon as she is back from New Jersey from visiting her sister she is planning on attending. I cannot wait for the ward to meet her.

When we visited Norma this week, she discussed how our faith in our Heavenly Father strengthens us. We shared with her the story of the 2,000 Strippling Warriors, and how they were taught by their mothers, telling Norma that she was like one of these mothers, teaching her children how to believe in the Lord at all times. She thanked us, but also explained how after we shared a talk in the Ensign with her (President Uchtdorf's talk on the Hope that comes from the Lord's light) she went back to the magazine later and read a direct message that Heavenly Father loves her. She couldn't read it all because she was crying so hard. She pointed to us, eyes locked on ours, stating that she knew right then our Heavenly Father loved her, and that we all need to respect God at all times and have faith in him. Amanda, Sister Gledhill, and I were immensely touched by her example. I love learning from the examples of the people we meet, whether they be members, investigators, or in-actives.

For what's coming up soon:

I've also realized that lately Sister Gledhill and I have been teaching young kiddo's lately--whether it be for their upcoming baptisms, in sharing time, and more. Yesterday we taught about how the scriptures teach us how to pray in Primary during sharing time and this upcoming Sunday we will teach the CTR 6 class. Usually kids seem to feel awkward around me but I feel like there's some improvement haha. It's been a fun experience teaching them :)

 -Sister Roy

Line of the week:

If you didn't know, I tend to say awkward, embarrassing, or out of place things without thinking when I'm tired...

During companion scripture reading:

It was my turn to read a verse...

1 Ne 15: 27 "And I said unto them that the water which my father saw was filthiness; and so much was his mind BLOWN."

Was it embarrassing that I actually misread it as "Lehi's mind was blown?" Yes, it was, but we could not stop laughing once I realized what I said. :) It would be kind of funny if the scriptures contained verses like that.