JAMBO! HABARI ZA WIKI HOMIES! NASHUKURU SANA KWA MESHENI WANGU NA NINYI PIA. MUNGU AKUBARIKI.
If you would like to meet me at the airport when I come home, I will be flying into the SLC International Airport, landing at about 2 pm! So, if you can't wait longer than that for a Sister Copeland hug, I'll see ya there haha.
This week was definitely one thing for sure, and that is cold. The temperature is slowly but surely dropping! It is not too cold yet, and I'm leaving right before the cold gets to be too much, but luckily I get to enjoy the changing of the seasons right now! It rained, which I was so happy about, and even snowed just a little bit! Welcome to Idaho winter haha.
One awesome experience I had this week was a Sisters' Conference! We got to go down to Pocatello with all the Sisters in the mission and go and listen to some awesome talks about trials, and then one about communication. One thing that the presenter, Deanna Ford, said was that trials are how we "learn Christ." When we experience trials, we have a chance to then understand how well Christ knows and loves us. We get to learn and understand his love more fully as he succors us, and also as we grow stronger to become more like Him. She also talked about communication and how to communicate in the way Christ did, instead of doing it contentiously. It was an awesome Sisters' Conference. Sister John was able to give a short talk about Christ-like attributes, which was amazing, and I got to perform the song I wrote as well! I've had a million people ask me about when the recording will be done, and the answer is hopefully soon! My song even made this girl cry, and it honestly was a really sweet moment for me!
Also, during the Sisters' Conference, we got to walk through the Pocatello Temple Open House again. It is even more beautiful the second time! It is just so bright and beautiful there. It really is the Lord's house. If you're wondering what I'm talking about, in Pocatello, they just built a new temple for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints! Before they say the dedicatory prayer, they allow the public to go through and look at it! It is so beautiful and is so special. It's also a massive temple, which is good because that means a lot of work can happen!
We have been grinding out recording and editing our Swahili class videos. It's been such an awesome experience to film these. It makes sure that I know Swahili well enough to teach it, as well as helping the members of our branch, and actually people all over the country, learn Swahili! We have been working with some missionaries in Tennessee who are trying to open a Swahili area, and they said that the videos are super helpful for them! I'm so glad I have the chance to help Swahili work all over America, instead of just here in Twin Falls.
A time lapse of Swahili class haha
We also got to go to Fausta's choir concert this week! She did a Halloween/fall concert and invited us. It was so much fun. We brought some members and really showed Fausta how much we love her. She sang the song, "Double Trouble" from Harry Potter, so that was so fun. At the end of the concert, she was doing these awesome poses and getting pictures haha. She's the cutest!
We, also, got the chance to help with some service! We got to help this community quilting project tie their beautiful quilts to give to those who need some warmth in the winter! I'm kinda a master at it now, so come to me for your quilt tying needs lol.
This week was, also, super fun teaching wise. We got to teach Niyankiir and her kids again, and we shared with her a general conference talk from last year, about losing a loved one, because she just lost her sister. She was able to watch it, and she really really loved it. She said she would love to watch more of them. It's fun to try and teach people that don't speak English or Swahili, because we have to be creative, but, we get to teach through Google Translate and Arabic conference talks which is awesome! They're a very sweet family and we love them.
We, also, taught Faith and Muhindo this week, who are both doing well! We gave Muhindo a chapter to read in the Book of Mormon, and that night he messaged asking where the page was again. He was so sweet and as soon as we sent it, he read it! He really loves the Book of Mormon, which is awesome. He is, also, learning English really well, which is cool to watch him grow in.
We went over to Amuza's house this week and told him that we have some general conference talks to share with him, because a lot of them answered the questions that he had. We went over, and as soon as he opened the door, he said, "I found the answer to my questions." We said, awesome! and he explained what he had learned. It was an awesome answer, so we asked him where he found it, and he said, "The Book." We were so happy that he is finding his answers in the Book of Mormon!
Also, it was one of the missionaries' birthday today, and all she wanted to do was pet a horse. So I went, and braved it for a second to pet a horse. I'm slowly but surely conquering my fear of horses. So yeah lol.
For my spiritual thought this week, I want to share with you what I learned about Christ-like communication. We have to communicate every single day of our lives. Whether that's with others, God, or even ourselves. So, we need to make sure that we are trying to be like Christ "in word" as well as in our actions. We talked about how Christ spoke with forgiveness, and gentleness, even when it was things that may have been chastising. We also talked about how Christ's words were, as the Book of Mormon puts it, "bold but not overbearing." He knew what he needed to say, and he said it, but he never went too far. He knows exactly how much we need, and he's never going to give us more or less than that. So, as we communicate with others, we need to make sure, especially if it's a possibly difficult conversation, to speak with kindness and forgiveness, but also say what needs to be said, without taking it too far. Let us all strive to be more Christ-like in our communications, especially when most of the world is very hateful right now.
Anyway, thanks for tuning in for another week. Tune in for the next three as well!
Love you all and see you soon,
Sister Copeland
Pictures of the Week:
1. Really pretty pic of Joseph Smith
2. Our fire alarms went off for no reason
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