hello my little elves!!
it has been a great week here in villa rica! every day is a new adventure & boy does it keep me busy!
i am not even sure where to begin this email, kind of all over the place! our monday was super awesome. we received an anonymous letter from someone in our apartment complex who accidentally got one of our letters in his mail. after figuring out what it was & putting pieces together we received this from him:
I'd like to open this letter off with saying sorry that I opened yours. It was a complete accident I promise; but like the curious creature that I am, I then proceeded to read it. It helped me remember the time I attended your church back home in the Northwest. You as a church saved my life and helped me find strength where I thought I had non left or didn't have any at all. I may not be a follower; but I am grateful and in great regards a supporter.
I will start this letter off with a brief description of myself and to start off, I am in fact a neighbor of yours. I'm a homosexual male, you may not see me around a lot because of the amount of work I do and I enjoy keeping myself busy. I have noticed you girls in and out at times and I don't agree with the comments made about you both by the fellow community.
I was introduced to your church "Mormon," latter-day Saints, if I'm correct by Sister Fuller, she was a missionary in our area and I still have the bible she gave to me with her personal message in it. She would come in and out every week and she was always happy and accepting and made my week. She however did not know what was going on in the home. My brother and myself are victims of abuse by our mother and she was the one who selected your teachings and company. I couldn't ask for help, I was scared and have felt hopeless forever as long as I can remember. It wasn't until I started to get involved with the church when I started to feel safe. My mother wouldn't go, but I would sneak out to attend. (Sneaking out to go to church, go figure.)
They had a bus at times that would pick us up, but to keep it from my mother I'd walk. I was on drugs and didn't take the greatest care of myself, especially when my younger brother was taken away from us and my older brother left to get away. Then you guys stopped coming by the request of my mother. I can only remember a handful of times going but I remember when I started to pray. It was during one of her tyrants and after the beating, I was alone, scared, cold, and hungry on the streets again. I heard his voice for the first time, "Everything is going to be just OK." This has become something I'd say to myself everyday since then, all 8 years now.
I can't put down all the hurt I've felt in my little life. The pain, the loss, and the lost innocence, but I can put down that I was scared. I somehow found the strength to leave and move all the way to Georgia at 18 and not look back. I may not be a follower in your church, but I am grateful for it. People don't realize that you guys up and leave your families to help others directly or individually.
I miss Sister Fuller, and I think of her, and I still pray everyday. It clicked in an odd way on how one finds God.
I've never been the greatest at English and writing. So if my letter doesn't make sense, I'm sorry. But I just wanted to thank you and your church. I never had the chance to say it. And because of the letter I opened, I found the opportunity to do so in an odd way.
God bless you and have a safe journey!
i am still in awe at the affect that being an example can have on a person. you never know who is watching & what someone is in search for. remember that. reach out to those who need someone. be bold. serve others. smile.
my week got even more exciting when i got to hold a parakeet!! i know that loving birds is so weird & i have no idea why i am becoming this animal person.. but it is happening nonetheless. his name is spike & he is adorable. he loves having his neck rubbed, i was beaming because i think it was my happiest moment yet.
THEN, life got crazier when we got a flat tire & changed it all by ourselves!! yep, we are superstars. out there in our skirts and everything. i am pretty proud i have to say.
on sunday we got to make hawaiian food again because now we have an elder in our area who is also from hawaii like my companion! we went to the allens with the elders and made musabi's, google it. it is spam. gross! but it was really fun & we watched the christmas devotional afterwards. i loved it!
i am so glad it is the christmas season, there is such a strong spirit in the air & it reminds me to remember the true meaning on the holiday. i am so grateful for my Savior and for the ultimate gift that He so freely gave to me. i want you all to know that He is there for each of us, no matter how far away He may seem or how little you might know about Him. He is there. & He loves YOU.
i love being a missionary, some days i think that it is all i will ever be & i am okay with it! serving others makes me the happiest. i am so grateful. i love you all! have a great week.
love,
sister bell.
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