Note from Dawn: This is late this week because for a couple of reasons. First, her p-day was not until Wednesday. Second Ali alludes to a situation with her Grandma Atkinson who lives in Utah. Grandma's husband has been diagosed with lung cancer and his wish is for her to move back to West Virginia as he will be unable to care for her. She has demetia and also falls alot. So since Tuesday evening I have been busy making arrangements for her to move in with us. I will be in Utah, Sunday evening and flying her back home on Tuesday. Next week's blog post may also be late. I hope to link the youtube video she references and post some pictures as well, soon. Thanks for your support of her, I know it means a lot to her. Dawn
March 13, 2013
Hello hello hello!
Wow! So much to say today!
First off NEW MISSION RULE
WORLDWIDE!
The Church has recently issued the following policy update:
"Missionaries are to write to their families each week and are also
authorized to communicate by email with friends, priesthood leaders, and new
converts. Mission presidents should allow sufficient time on preparation day for
missionaries to write emails and letters. While in the mission field,
missionaries should receive authorization from the mission president before
entering into communication, including via email, with converts and others of
the opposite gender within the mission boundaries (see Missionary Handbook,
36–37)."
This is from my mission president with rules specific to
us:
1) You must follow the policy of obtaining my permission BEFORE writing
to anyone inside the mission of the opposite gender.
2) As a general
guideline, we have encouraged CLAM missionaries to spend no more than an hour
writing emails weekly. This continues to be our guideline. You should be
considerate of your companion and not spend long periods of time emailing as
there are many other things that need to be accomplished on preparation days.
3) It is critical that each companion monitor and CORRECT the behavior of
their companion if they are not following the guidelines in correctly using the
computer.
4) This policy revision does not change the following: a) You
should continue to use only your approved missionary email account for writing
(do not access old personal email accounts). b) You should not enter ANY website
that is not affiliated with the Church (ex: mormon.org, lds.org, etc) without my permission. c)
Please remember to write the mission president each week to report your
stewardship! d) Additional computer time may be used to become familiar with
missionary materials found on mormon.org.
So!
Anyone can email me and I can email anyone. However, I
already have trouble trying to find time to use only an hour to email my family
and my mission president, so there are no guarantees that I will be emailing a
lot to my dear friends that write me :) But! I will print off your emails and
try to respond via letter or email within a few weeks. I especially love
pictures. So if you ever want to email me pictures...just saying. And I still
LOVE letters...just saying. But! Beggars can't be choosers. any questions on
this? ask my mom and I will try to respond. oh wait, you can email me. and i can
try to respond. AH CRAZINESS. alexandra.atkinson7@myldsmail.net
CONGRATULATIONS JESSICA AND BRETT! My mom is a master creeper on facebook
these days and she forwarded me a picture of beautiful Echo. I feel like an
honorary aunt. I am so happy for you!!! She is a beautiful baby!
So is Grandma Atkinson now in West Virginia? I am so sad to hear about Doug.
Please send him my love. He is in my prayers. Grandma is in my prayers. You all
are in my prayers. I know this new transition will not be easy.
We got to go to the temple this morning! Which is why my P-day is on
Wednesday this week. Next week it will be on Monday.
This week I am overwhelmed with gratitude. As I sat in the temple today, I
was overcome with feelings that I have been having all week. I cannot deny that
my Savior lives and love me. I know that He understands exactly how I feel. I
think I always get emotional when I go to the temple because I feel like I am
going home. I don't let myself sit and ponder about home while I'm in missionary
mode. I am here to dedicate all my time and attention to serving the Lord. So
work work work! But as I get the opportunity to sit and reflect in the Lord's
House I ponder how one day I will return home to my Father in Heaven. How badly
I want Him to say "Welcome home, my dear daughter. You have been faithful. Enter
into my Kingdom and my rest." This week we
discovered a newer Mormon Message entitled "Mountains to Climb". Youtube
"mountains to climb eyring mormon message" and it will come up.
Everyone--please please please watch this and focus on how you feel. Give 5
minutes of your time to feel power and love from above. During good times and
bad, our Savior is there. Build a foundation on Him, and you will find hope,
peace, and perspective. This video has changed many people's lives this week.
Let it brighten up your day. :)
Sister Barney's birthday was this past week! You know me. I really get into
birthdays. So I had to get creative with what missionary means I had. aka:
ga-hetto. I will send pictures home soon. Mom, thank you so much for the ankle braces
and the new picture sd cards. I will send more pictures home! If you promise to send them
back :)
Ashley passed her baptismal interview last night and then texted us a few
hours later and said she wasn't being baptized. We have no idea what is going
on. We are very stressed, but felt peace and comfort in the temple today. I will
let you know on Monday if she actually was baptized! Sigh.
This week it felt good to help and serve some members in our wards. A lot of
them are at hard places in their lives, trying to make difficult decisions. They
love going out with us to lessons and always say "it is just what they needed".
So many miracles this week. So many. I'm already at 20 minutes left and have
to email my mission president, so I will only talk about Megan.
One day Sister Barney looked through old records in our area book to find
people we could call up, while I made some phone calls. (so much of missionary
work is phone calls, planning, and paper work.) She found a former investigator
that she felt prompted to call. We called her a few days later and said she
would love to meet with us. WHAT. Unusual. Then she shows up to our lessons. I
have never ever meet anyone more prepared to hear and accept the gospel than
her. We taught her the first two lessons and she came to church. She is one of
the most genuinely kind people I have ever met. She is 30, single, and an
attorney. She met a Mormon friend in college and she has always been impressed
by her "humble confidence" in her faith. She went to Salt Lake a year or so ago
and had a very spiritual experience at Temple Square that has never left her.
She is overcome with the Spirit during our lessons and cries as she feels God's
love for her. She has had a lot of questions about things that she felt her
faith never answered. As we teach her, her eyes widen as she is relieved that
questions that she has had for years about her Savior, the afterlife, the world,
the Fall of Adam, etc. are finally answered!! She takes notes during our lessons
(what?!). She prays. She reads. She told the bishop on Sunday he would be seeing
a lot more of her. WHAT IS HAPPENING!
I feel like I don't deserve the COUNTLESS blessings that I am receiving. I
seriously don't understand why Heavenly Father is pouring out the blessings. I
am trying to humble myself and work harder to try to feel more adequate. I love
this Gospel. I love you all. I am so happy and so blessed. Pray for Ashley.
Email me. ;) Watch that 5 minute video! Thanks for yours prayers!
All my love,
Sister Atkinson
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