Another Round in the City...

Well, our mission is very interesting. We have 4 zones in the city and 3 zones that are upstate. It seems that most missionaries tend to spend most of their time in the city given the names "city missionaries" and the rest in upstate given the names "upstate missionaries". (I know, you are all smart and got that, don't ask me why I spent time explaining it) Anyway, I am once again staying in the City for this transfer which REALLY makes me a "city missionary" although we already knew that. Transfer calls last night were actually some of the hardest that I have gone through... weird, I know. Here's the story...
So, I have wanted to serve in CT for a LONG time... and this transfer Hna. Baxter is leaving, perfect timing for me to go. But from some news that I heard on Saturday I was pretty positive that I would be staying in Inwood another cycle. I got my whining out and came to grips that I needed to stay. So, last night comes around and about 2 hours before transfer calls come in President Smith calls me. Now, when President Smith calls you on the night of transfers, you know he is thinking up something. So he starts to ask about my area and how my companion is doing with Spanish and all this stuff. He had read my email and knew that I wanted to go to CT. I, of course, am freaking out a bit just because I was so sure I was staying but then my hopes went up again that maybe I would be going! I asked him but President just told me to "sit tight" next to the phone and he'll let me know. So the rest of the night I was just so anxious to get transfer calls. They finally came in and well, I am staying here. In fact, nothing with the Sisters really changed that much. But for some reason, I was being a grumpy guss because a lot of my favorite people to serve around were all going upstate without me. Here is the city girl STAYING in the city again (with only two more cycles after this one)... I kind of was feeling sorry for myself while we walked to our last appointment of the night. We went to visit a member who was baptized earlier this year. We sang the song, "I'll go where you want me to go" and the whole time I was thinking of myself and how I just wished where I wanted to go could have been where the Lord wanted me to go. After the opening prayer our member told us that her mom and passed away. She said that song was perfect because she knows that each of us have a purpose to accept the will of the Lord. I felt so selfish. The whole time I was thinking about myself when I was missing the bigger picture of it all. We aren't here to serve around our friends and to go where we want to go. We do what the Lord wants, and every time we receive the better end of the deal. This mission isn't for me, it's so I can serve others. I am so grateful that the Lord is over this mission. I know that we are in the places where HE needs us most. The good news is... I GET TO BE WITH HNA. ANDERSON AGAIN and I just love her so I am sooo happy about that! The Lord always teaches us what we need and if staying in the city again is where I need to be, then I am ready and willing. (Although I still am NOT to happy about another winter in the city... I was hoping for a car so I didn't have to battle the snow much :)

So, there are a lot of changes in the mission and it is going to be an interesting cycle. We have some really good potentials for this coming cycle on baptisms and we continue to work hard. This area kind of wears at your body because of all the walking so we are tired A LOT... but it is nice to know that we are tired because we are working hard and doing the Lords work. I love it! We had the chance to go to the temple today and I was so grateful for that time to take a couple hours out of the busy city life and reflect on the things of the Lord. I am so blessed to have a temple in my mission. That may be the last time I get to go before I come home... weird. Time continues to fly by and I find myself getting more lost in the work. I just feel like I still have so much to learn and do! I continue to be grateful that the Lord knows what I need and how I will best grow. Although we have challenges, we sometimes need to take a step back and look at the blessings we have. They always outweigh the bad stuff.

It seems that my family seems to be having a rough time with the whole health situation... my goodness, everyone needs to get these sicknesses out of the way please! Ha ha, I know it's not your fault and I will keep you in my prayers! I hope everyone is having a great New Year! I love you all! Until next week....
Con Amor- Hermana Passantino