Thank you for the emails and letters you have sent. They mean so much. Thank you for making me feel cared about:)
OK, For this week's letter I thought I would go over my daily schedule so you can see what 'a day in the life as a missionary' is like :)
6:25 - Arise!
The alarm goes off and we know it is time to get up.
"I hear you, get up you say. Time to start another day" - Cinderella:)
6:30-7:00 Exercise!
For this half hour, my awesome companion, Sister Xayadeth and I have been going out jogging every other day. We have a nice neighborhood near us which is a mile if we run around twice. And it really boosts your spirits to get out and about and your circulation moving. When we don't go out we try to come up with a routine to last the half hour. It mostly consists of me trying to remember exercises I did on Wii Fit and Wii Fit U, Yoga poses and all :)
7:00-8:00 Prepare!
This is when we shower and eat breakfast! (Lots of yummy fruit right now in California. Trying to eat healthy mom!)
8:00-9:00 Personal Study!
We have one hour to read our scriptures, Ensign articles, General Conference talks by our Church leaders, and other approved Church materials. I've read so many wonderful and uplifting articles during my studies. I especially like the short stories at the back of the Ensigns, they always make me feel that each one of us is important to our Heavenly Father, that he knows us each individually, and cares about our circumstances and prayers. I highly recommend reading as many as you can. It is a great way to start the day. Btw, If anyone has a favorite story or talk they want to send my way, I would love to read them for studies! :)
9:00-10:00 Companion Study!
This is when we come together as a companionship and discuss what we learned during studies. It's a great way to learn new insights from each other. It is also amazing how much you can read the same things, and get different ideas and thoughts from them. Our Companion Study time is one of my favorites because we get to share our feelings and we really feel the Spirit and want to share that great feeling with others. It really motivates us.
10:00-11:00 Twelve Week!
Since I am new to the Mission, I have to be trained :) During this hour we follow a Booklet and learn how to teach others. We watch a lot of videos from The District, which is a fun part. They are videos from certain Missions that were filmed. None of the Missionaries are actors, they just show what it is like to be a Missionary. They are great examples! It is amazing to me that I get to be one of those Missionaries now and it helps me see that the Lord uses many different personalities to help bring knowledge to the people who want to learn. Everyone has something to share and give.
11:00-5:00 Time to go out!
This is when we leave for the day and begin to work. We enjoy visiting ward members to get to know them better, and the less active members in our area, and potential investigators. We also have spent a lot of time knocking on doors trying to find new people to teach who may be looking for more about our Savior or want to know more about Life's Plan. This is the scariest part though. You never know what to expect. I'll give you an example of three experiences that happened all within the very same hour:
At the first door we met a guy who seemed nice at first but then turned out to be a *basher. After talking with him for about a half an hour we just had to go and wish him well. We then went to the next house and I taught my first 'doorway lesson!' It was great and felt really good! The kind lady accepted a Book of Mormon and told us to come back when her family returns from vacation and she said she might have questions. It was so exciting! Then we went to one more house and knocked on the door. Nobody answered, but someone shouted really loud through the door "Go Away You!" So you never know what you are going to get when you knock on a door, but it is worth it when we find someone who is willing to listen or who show kindness to us:)
* 'Basher's- people who love to argue with us or like to twist words around. There are two churches in this town that Sister Xayadeth and I have a suspicion teach a lot of anti-Mormon classes. All the people we meet from these congregations always bring up the same type of arguments and say the same words. They try to have us "pray for (ourselves) to find truth in the real Holy Bible". We have to repeatedly say that we do believe in the Holy Bible and study it often (daily even.) :) Talking to these people can be really hard sometimes, very draining but the interesting part I have found is, I still love them and feel loving towards them. We share what truthful message we can and then tell them to have a good day :)
5:00-6:00 Dinner!
We do get a break for lunch in between the time we are out and we also get dinner with a family in the Ward. Everyone has been so nice, kind and caring and they always tell us when we are done "if someone cancels let us know and we'll make something for you! Don't eat alone" :) Everyone is so caring in this Ward. A lot of the families have little kids like my Ward at home, so it feels comfortable too which is great. Like I mentioned in my last letter, all the children seem to love to talk to us and show us their toys when we are over to their home. One little girl even told us to keep coming to visit her after we are done with our missions :) Most of them wave to us too when we are at church. It is so cute!
6:00-9:00 Work some more!
We keep working and visiting people until it is time to go in :) I can not say enough that I know God knows each one of these people we visit with, and He loves them individually. It is amazing to me how blessed I am to know that we matter and that these people matter to our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
9:00-10:30 Plan!
We plan for the next day; who to visit, who we will be teaching and what area we should go to. And then prepare for bed. Light's are out at 10:30. I always fall asleep right away:) because I am so tired. But I feel it means I've worked well, which is good! (See mom, no more staying up way late!) :)
This week has been hard on the work side, but I am learning more each day. I love being a missionary and wearing the Church of Jesus Christ missionary tag. It reminds me every day that I am taking on Christ's name to help others. I have seen how much happiness the Gospel has given me and I am grateful to have the opportunity to share it with others. Because I have found that when you have something really good, you just want to share it, like the cake pops Sister Xayadeth and I made this week! Even though they turned out looking like meteorites, haha, they still tasted delicious and it was fun to share them and brighten someone's day :) We all have light and we need to share it! One of my favorite scriptures is about that in the Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi 12:14-16. ".......Therefore let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in Heaven."
So that is about a day in the 'Life as a Missionary'.
I love you all and pray for you! Enjoy the week!
Love,
Sister Skinner - Karatassos
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