Lessons Learned

Okay so I've learned a few things this week:

1. If you are in a big huge beautiful hi-so mall with an investigator and your companion and trying to find a place to sit, and hoping that this place will magically be peaceful and quiet and....you pass like five furniture stores in a row that have lovely furniture and peace and quiet inside and no customers....and so you think that maybe you can just go in there and sit down and teach a lesson in the midst of this beautiful hi-so really expensive nice furniture...and the investigator is just laughing super awkwardly like, "Who is this nut case farang trying to teach me inside of a furniture store inside of this mall...." ...as I'm tip-toeing in and scanning the furniture to find a set that is as far from the workers as possible so maybe we can get like 7 minutes without an invitation to exit....Haha anyway. FYI, it turned out fine because we finally found a place (other than said furniture store) to teach. Anyway. The great thing about white washing is that there is tonnnnnns of stuff to learn. I guess that's just the great thing about life.
2. This is how to treat a missionary in your ward or if you aren't yet a member, in your area or on the street or whatever:
-Tell them they are great (even if they aren't yet. The fact is that they CAN be and your belief and encouragement will help them BE great).
-Thank them for their efforts, even if you haven't witnessed it yourself
-Assume that they are having a hard time because if they aren't that very moment, they probably had a hard day within the last six.
-Don't ask them questions about home or about what they are studying or about who they are writing or if they are dating someone.
-Offer to help them teach
-Help them teach, and when you do so, share short, powerful, simple testimonies that are ONLY related to what they are exactly teaching.
-Pray for them:)
-Ask them about their missionary experiences that past week
-Tell them you appreciate them.These are things I've learned from being in the Bangna ward. It's so wonderful that I'm here because I'm learning things about building the kingdom that will benefit me the rest of my life. So lucky.

3. 8 FULL hours of sleep doesn't ensure untiredness:)
4. It's possible to have a spurt of not liking rice. But...it's impossible to avoid eating rice:).
5. Sister Monterrosa rocks. And still studies her scriptures in Spanish. Isn't it rad that she's fluent in three languages??? She's so cool.
6. Despite how badly I want to help people taste and feel and power of the gospel and the knowledge of a Savior, they still have agency. Agency is a gift.
7. All the good things that happen in our life aren't necessarily directly related to our efforts: especially the measurable, visible things. It's true. All the good things that happen are simply and truly tender mercies; they are evidences of Heavenly Father's love and mercy. Material/temporal blessings aren't direct results from our faithfulness. Otherwise, all the most faithful people would also be rich and healthy. This just goes to show Heavenly Father's tender mercy: He looketh upon the heart. That is where true success and productivity and faithfulness is measured; and that is where it is definitely rewarded.
8. Prophets get stressed, too. Meaning, probably, that it's okay if we do. The true measure of our character and growth is what we DO with the stress or stressful situations. In Mosiah 26:10 and 13, Alma (who rocks) was "troubled" in his heart. But he didn't let this "troubledness" stick with him or drag him down. Instead, he acted. He "poured out his soul" to Heavenly Father, because he knew he couldn't do anything on his own. And then (this is the best part), "after", and only "after" he prayed mightily, he got a clear, powerful, loving answer (17 verses worth of it. How rad would that be.).
9. We can be Almas, too:).
10. I love you all so very very much. But I already knew that:).
Love,Sister Roper