Her is her letter from Monday, May 5th! I get to talk to her in just 3 days!!!! Happy Mother's Day to me!!!!!! As always, I appreciate your support and love. Love, Dawn
Hi everyone!
Whew what a week!
Sister Black is amazing and is an answer to a prayer I didn't even realize I had. (God knows what we need.) Honestly we have had just a very consecrated week. We are working so hard to have at least 20 conversations a day, and we are seeing miracles.
-A less active I worked with in a past area ran me down at the transfer meeting to give me a hug and tell me she wants to go on a mission.
-We have been working on talking with everyone, but we were super late to an appointment and walking to the car with purpose. Then there was this older woman powerwalking by in her work out clothes with headphones on and we thought it was too awkward to stop her. Then! She turns around about 20 feet past us and yells "You Mormons?" "Yes!" She looked completely dumbfounded at herself. I asked if she saw our tags and she said "No! I have no idea why I thought you were Mormons or even asked you if you were Mormons." She was embarrassed, but we were excited. We talked to her for just a minute (she got antsy for exercise), but it was a solid minute contact. Then we stopped to talk to another man by our car and talked to him and she powerwalked past us again, held the visitor's center card in her hand, and called out to us "I will come!!" Must. Talk. To. Everyone.
-Sister Black is adjusting to the...prideful...people in our area and is experimenting with different ways to get their attention.
"Hi! can we ask you a question?"
Grumpy old man just stops and stares at her.
"What gets you through hard times?"
In the rudest voice possible he says "myself" and stomps off.
That seems to be working for ya there buddy.
-I tried to warn Sister Black that Santa Monica is where everyone who is homeless or has special needs comes because there are so many good government programs here. But no amount of warning can really prepare someone for the streets of Santa Monica. Sister Black studied some clinical psychology and such at school and tries to diagnose everyone we meet. It is highly entertaining to watch her.
-Saw a woman reading Of Mice and Men on the street corner, so obviously I had to stop to talk to her about how that book taught me about friendship and how God is my best friend. Her name is Linde and we met with her the next day and here is how part of the conversation went,
"Will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized?"
"Is that where you go backwards in the water?"
"Yeah!"
"Oh yeah. I can do that. I'm a good swimmer."
Nailed it.
-One of the people we tracted into last week that let us in, called us this week and she said she didn't really know why... She is looking for a sense of spirituality right now. God knows where we need to be at every moment. It was an awesome conversation.
-Can I just say God is real? Merciful!
-We met a kid on the street about a month ago. He didn't live in our area so we referred him through the system to the LA YSA sisters without thinking twice about it. They told us yesterday that he is already reading in 2 Nephi and is getting baptized at the end of this month. WHAT. God's timing is so unreal.
-I hate cigarettes. They are addicting and are destroying some of our people's progression. Plus way too many young people in Santa Monica smoke. So please just don't ever start. Okay? Okay.
-My testimony was strengthened this week that God calls the weak and simple (holla at me) to do His work. Not because He needs us. But because if we listen and obey, He lets us participate in this marvelous work and a wonder that is going on right now.
-We had some great lessons with our investigators this week. They are slowly but surely progressing and teaching me a lot about patience and faith and hope. Thanks so much for your prayers!!
-I can't believe it's been a year since Sister Oldham and I volunteered at that children's carnival, but they asked us to do it again this year. Did we get to wear Asian farming hats and cheer on kids as they blew through straws to race sailboats? Yes. Hilarious? Yes. Was pop music playing in the background? Yes. Good to know I haven't missed much quality music in the past year and a half.
-A few couples from our ward and us (plus the elders in our ward) had a fireside at President and Sister Weidmans home on member missionary work. IT was incredible and mostly I just love this work and being a member missionary is going to be so fun.
-Sometimes it's really hard to do God's will. We needed to stop teaching someone because the environment and her personality were hostile along with so many other things (never towards us. But to other people. Plus her home. Can't explain it right). Anyways, we needed to stop teaching her. It broke my heart, but I knew I could rely on God as we spent so much time knelt in prayer begging for guidance. Sometimes God asks us to do hard things, but if we just trust Him, it will all work out. I know I'll be able to teach her in the spirit world when she is in a much better situation mentally and emotionally, so all is well.
-So for the first 6 months of my mission I ran every morning near the temple on Santa Monica Blvd. Almost every morning I would run past this homeless man, Robert. Sometimes he was awake and I would shout hello as I ran past or sometimes he was curled up in a doorway asleep. I seriously have had multiple thoughts since I left that area that I should go back sometime and look for him and give him a pillow. Interesting how some people just always stick in your mind. Anyways, yesterday in downtown Santa Monica, Sister Black starts talking to a man at the stoplight. I interrupt, "Hi!!! Do you remember me?!?!" I barely recognized him, but IT WAS ROBERT!!! He looked completely different and is in a much better place in his life. It was such an incredible moment.
All is well and I am working working working. I love this work and I simply love the Lord.
Make it a great week!! Love you all!!!
Sister Atkinson
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