Saturday Night Fever

First off- shoutout to my amazing dad! Happy Father's Day! The best advice I've ever received from him was: "If a boy ever tries to mess with you, just tell him your daddy has a shotgun, a big backyard, and he ain't afraid to go back to prison." Haven't had to use that line just yet dad, but I'll keep you in the loop. Love you!

If you think weekends in the real world are more exciting than those precious 2 days in the mission field....actually, you'd probably be right. But while people were out partying or going on dates or doing whatever real people do, Sister Xiong and I spent our Saturday night massaging an old naked Hmong grandma and getting saved from a gang-brawl by a random black lady on the street. So I think we might win out on this one...just this once. 

So, we went to see our investigator Tais Paj, who is this super deaf old lady with a heart of gold. She was making this super weird Shaman concoction on her stove (that honestly just looked like kale, but I won't judge) and said she was going to pour it on her back to heal her. So while we waited for the elders to come give her a priesthood blessing, Sis Xiong offered to rub her back for her. Tais Paj got super excited and literally ripped her shirt off and sat down waiting for us to get to work. We looked at each other, debated it for a hot second, and decided that service was an important aspect of missionary work. So there we are, rubbing her back while we sing hymns to her, and it's one of the most awkward moments of my mission, and we're trying not to laugh...but she really appreciated it, and rewards us with cantaloupe that's been in her fridge for about 6 months. I really love Hmong people. 

Afterwards on the walk home, this car keeps honking at us. We ignore it and keep going, because at 9pm no one wants to pull over their car and talk about the gospel. So we keep going, and they keep persisting and honking. We felt the Spirit say it was okay, so we stop and go over to the car, and this black lady is like "I need to pray with y'all real bad." So she gets out and grabs our hands and starts pouring out her life story to us. We stand with her for over an hour, and we pray with her and talk with her, and try to comfort her as best we can. Meanwhile, 6 cop cars go BLAZING by, and pull into the food place right across the street from our apartment, where we walk by to go home. So her phone rings, and it's her friend saying "Did you hear what just happened? There was a gang fight at Pappy's, the po-po are everywhere." And if it weren't for this woman stopping us, I can't help but think if we would have been right outside it when it all went down. God really protects His missionaries- and gets us investigators! And it was so heart-warming to hear this woman's story that we don't even know, and to help lift her burdens, even a little bit. That's what being a disciple of Christ is all about. 

We did a mini-mission with Cindy, who leaves on her mission to Japan next month! It was such a sleepover- I felt like I was in middle school again. While we were walking a giant monsoon hit, and the rain poured and poured and poured. Saying we got soaked is an understatement. It was so much fun, and we ran home laughing and crying and sopped from head to toe. It's crazy how when you make the best of a situation, it turns into an adventure!

Ruth and Sarah and Mor are still progressing! They're so solid, I love them so much. Excited for their baptisms!! We had a huge branch picnic with enough food to feed all of Africa. It was fabulous. 

This was the week of one-liners, so I'll leave you with 'em before I wrap up!

"What's this on my leg? Cellulite? I serve the Lord and this is what I get- cottage cheese legs??" -Hermana Chavez

"When you think the grandma is bringing out that huge bowl of spaghetti for everyone, but she puts it down, points, and says, 'YOU.'" -Elder Lucero

"This is an outrage! Where's my table to flip?" -Sister Xiong

Me: "Missionaries have too many restrictions- calories shouldn't be one of them."

Hermana Andrus: "Can we write that on the 10 Commandments or something? Cuz I really feel that."

"Quit swimming in the pity pool. There's probably pee in it." -Elder Lao

"Until he sealed, he can be stealed." -Hermana Chavez First off- shoutout to my amazing dad! Happy Father's Day! The best advice I've ever received from him was: "If a boy ever tries to mess with you, just tell him your daddy has a shotgun, a big backyard, and he ain't afraid to go back to prison." Haven't had to use that line just yet dad, but I'll keep you in the loop. Love you!