Kenz in Knox: Not Numbers But Children

I had an experience this week that if you can even believe it, humbled me! How crazy is that?! Another opportunity to be humbled? I must be on a mission!!!! K but really joking aside this really was a cool experience. For those of you who have been counting up the days since I've been out (Mom) you may have noticed that I'm about to hit six months (ahhhhh!!!) and not only that but I've had a new companion for six weeks which means another transfer has gone by. Which means transfer calls happened... which means, drumroll please.... I'm staying in Rockwood!!!! They just can't get rid of me! I told a guy at church that he isn't praying hard enough to send me away, he in his infinite sarcasm said that he hasn't been praying at all but he figures he better start now see if his luck changes next time. Ha ha very funny. So yeah I'm sticking around this area, I've got a great comp I'm not one bit sad to be comps with her for another transfer but if I'm being honest part of me was a little bit like, "You know Heavenly Father I've been here for over 4 months are you sure I'm needed here? Am I really making that big of a difference that you want me here longer???" Now, I have learned enough out here to realize that we should be like the stalwart examples of my absolute favorites: the Anti-Nephi-Lehis who knew that trials should be faced on their knees...(side note I love the Anti-Nephi-Lehis SO much I've learned more from them than I ever thought possible. I could write a whole email just about them and things I learn from their story, maybe I will one of these days, but back to the point) I took this need and concern to Heavenly Father in prayer, I told him of my willingness to serve Him and that I truly do love this area but I was confused at why I'm still here... I'm willing to be here but would like some reassurance that He really does want me to spend a third of my mission in this area (note that I have thought and divided my mission up into all of these numbers and time increments) as I was having one of these borderline selfish prayers the thought came to my mind "I don't care about numbers, I care about my children." .... whoa. Humbled to the dust... He doesn't care that 6 months, 1/3 of my time, 24+ weeks, will be spent in Rockwood. He doesn't care how many hours of tracting Jacobson and I do, how many people we contact, how many less actives we visit, how many people come to church, how many members we take on team ups, how many miles we drive. He is a God of order yes we need numbers for things to be organized, BUT more than that He is our loving Father. He has a plan for each and every one of us, a plan that is not bound nor measured by numbers. He cares about His children.
He cares about the man at the flea market that sings to us a song he wrote about Christ, He cares about the less active that smokes while you read the book of Mormon, He cares about the investigator that has never heard of the plan of salvation or that there isn't just death or hell there are more chances for every one of us, He cares about the woman that has taken like 16 religions and made them her belief (the same woman that thinks that Christ didn't really actually die, He hid for 3 days and then escaped to France... THAT was a new one), He cares about the sweet old woman that is no longer responsive and is ridden with dementia and alone in a care center He cares about the guy that chats your ear off about Mardi Gras and 89 cent eggs. He cares about the Elders that gave me and Jacobson the "hottest pepper available in legal American markets" that made us cry and our noses run and entire bodies sweat. He cares about the young mother who has been drug free for four months, about the man that laughs at us at the door and shuts it. He cares about the single mom that is living off 70 dollar house cleaning jobs and just lost her car and is near to losing her house. He cares about the old man whose heart is failing, the old woman who is 100 years old. He cares about each and every one of them... He cares about each one of you and He cares about me.
Right after this prayer I went to my scriptures, I'm reading in Luke in my Bible study and Alma in my Book of Mormon right now and happened to open to Alma 26, which is an absolutely classic missionary chapter, it is also where my mission scripture is found: Alma 26:37 "And thus we see that God is mindful of his people in whatsoever land they may be in"
It struck me that He is mindful of me, not only in Tennessee but in Rockwood Tennessee, in Rockwood Tennessee on South Kingston Ave, in the back right room sitting at the study desk on the left. He knows me and He cares about me, He knows where I am and what I can be. He cares about His children more than He does about our numbers.
So let's think about that each day... that we have a loving Heavenly Father whose love is immeasurable. You can't put a number on it because it's infinite.
Love y'all and to go along with that there is the classic mission line: don't count the days make the days count! If you've got to number something than make it count!
Have a blessed week!
Love,
Hermana Hall