The Veil Of Ugliness

Rewind almost 16 months ago before I left on my mission, one of my favorite things was when the Sister Missionaries texted me and asked if I would be willing to go on splits with them. I had so many awesome experiences that I will never ever forget and it was quite honestly the best mission prep I could have had. I remember though there was this one Sister that I went to a couple of lessons with and we pulled up to the last house we were going to try and on the drive over we had been talking about how I was going on a mission and I had asked if she had any advice for me. What she told me freaked me right out but has since proven amusing and also true. She said to "watch out for the veil of ugliness" when I asked what in the world that was she said... "your sense of style will disappear and you will gain weight... it's pretty inevitable but won't last forever." Yeah.... so that is sooooo not what I wanted to hear!!!! But guess what? She was so right!!! I beg you not to do this but if you were to scroll back a ways to about a year ago when I was in Rockwood you will definitley notice that I gained a bit of weight. You hear about the "freshman 15" there's probably the equivalent to that when you are first out on your mission. And then the other part of the veil of ugliness was you lose your sense of style... Which I was pretty convinced that with my sweet mama sending me clothes I was going to be ok and not have my style slip away. But yesterday I was at church and a sweet ward member complimented my black shirt with those "bell sleeves" that I thought were super cute and in right now with my tan skirt with black lace overlay and my black tights and shoes and said "No offense but you would make a really cute witch." Hahaha!!!! Glad she at least used the word cute it made it slightly less shocking. But the story doesn't end there this morning an Amish woman at Wal-Mart complimented Hermana McCune on her dress, it's gingham and kind of flowy and she looked at me and said "if an Amish woman likes it it must look Amish!" It was so funny. So yeah I've experienced the so called "veil of ugliness."

But just like the missionary told me all those months ago it wont last forever.  The weight I gained didn't stay forever Sister Allen and I tried this wonderful diet suggestion from an Elder nearby called the chicken and rice diet and it was horrible. We made it about a week and a half, but since then I've been making healthier choices and seeing the results from it, I feel better and hope look a bit better too. And the clothes thing, all is not lost. I'm sure when I get home I'll find my way back to not looking like a witch or a librarian. And you know what sometimes life gets a little ugly, its inevitable... BUT it won't last forever.

Like this week we had the MOST amazing experience with an investigator who missionaries have been working with for about 7 months. She has only been to church once and said she hasn't felt like she got an answer about whether or not the Book of Mormon and if this church is where she needs to be. We prayed a lot a lot a lot and decided that we needed to go and tell her that we were going to not come by for a little bit so she can see if this is really what she wants in her life and what she would be willing to sacrifice in order to come to church. I was very nervous going into the lesson, I love this lady so much and it was killing me to have to make an executive decision about her. Let her use her agency really. We can't want it more than her, that's not conversion. So we went in and sat down and she proceeded to tell us that all that week she had been reading the Book of Mormon during her lunch breaks and it was the only thing that had gotten her through a rough week. She then said that as she read the day April 15 popped into her mind and that was the day she wants to get baptized on. We have extended three different baptism dates to her but this time she came forth and brought one to the table. We pulled up the baptism interview questions and she answered them like a champ. The Spirit was so strong and she later said she felt so good after that lesson. Well fast forward a few days later and we went back, we walked in and immediately knew something was wrong, unfortunately she had been anti'd pretty hard at work and had a LOT of questions. She was very shaken up about it and we did our best to answer her questions and help her as best as we could to not betray or deny the experiences she had already had and that it was completely normal for Satan to up his game right as she had. That situation has a bit of a veil of ugliness over it, but I know it won't last forever. It is inevitable that trials and temptations and doubts come, but it is our choice how we let it affect us.

I have learned so much about opposition on my mission, as much as I don't like it I know it is neccessary, through the difficult we grow, through doubts and quesstions we can find the importance and blessings of real intent and faith and yes... through the ugliness we find real beauty.

I am so grateful for all the many lessons I learn on a daily basis. And for the love and support that I feel on a daily basis.

Life really is beautiful even though it at times has a veil of ugliness cast over, it is inevitable but not forever. '

Love y'all! Hope you have a fantastic week!!!!

Love,
Hermana Hall