We get onto the email on Mondays in the Family History center. It gets pretty crazy in there!!
We got to clean the temple this
week! We drove down to Kona and spent the morning there. We checked all of the
shirts, pants, dresses, etc. for loose buttons or rips and then did some
mending. We wiped down some walls and then our last job was to clean the
chandelier in the Celestial room. It was HUGE and it took 4 or 5 of us about an
hour to clean it - crystal by crystal…. and we wiped every single one. They
lowered the chandelier down to our height so it wasn't too hard though. It just
took a while. And the strands of crystals were so loosely hung on that
sometimes as we would clean them they would fall off but We just hung them back
up after. When we finished, we were waiting in another room and sister p went
to fix her hair (it was in a loose bun) she took her bun out and a small strand
of crystal fell to the floor! Luckily she found it while we were still there!
Then while everyone else ate, sister p and I got to just sit quietly in the
celestial room. It was so beautiful! Then the temple matron came in and turned
on all of the lights!!!!! It was amazing!
Then the temple president took us
all into the maintenance room, then up a spiral metal staircase, then up
another ladder, then into the attic, down a couple hallways where you have to
duck under, and step over pipes and ventilation, then up a few more ladders and
then into the top of the temple! It’s all hollow and echo-ey. You can look up
and see the very top of the steeple! It was cool!
The next day was the mission tour,
where elder Schweitzer of the 70 came to see our mission. Our zone did the
musical number: a compilation of Onward Christian Soldiers and Put your
Shoulder to the Wheel. Sis p was the pianist and I was the conductor! it was
really fun!
Also, this week, RB was baptized! He
is so sweet! When sis p and her old companion met him a few weeks ago, he told
them he was an atheist. His mom told the sisters that she wanted him to believe
in God. So they started meeting with him, then I came in and met with him also ,
and he has come to know for himself that he has a loving Heavenly Father and
Savior, Jesus Christ. We had interviews with president earlier in the day
before the baptism, so president, his wife and the assistants all stayed for the
baptism! It was neat to have them there! Rb was pretty nervous before but
afterwards he said that he felt so calm.
Yesterday, President and his wife
came to speak at a fireside in our chapel. Before the fireside, one of our
members had president, his wife and us over for dinner. We met president at the
church and then he and his wife drove us to the dinner! it was fun to get to
spend some time with them!
TO answer the questions:
Right now I am studying in the book
of Mormon in 1st Nephi and in the Old Testament in Genesis. I just started the
book of Mormon over again and I started reading genesis recently. I am also
studying Preach my Gospel and Our search for Happiness. I’m learning a lot
about Charity, and about doing the things that Heavenly Father has asked us to
do. Obedience can sometimes seem like a sacrifice, but we know that
"Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of Heaven" so we end up being
so blessed for our obedience that it isn’t really a sacrifice after all.
The most fun thing I have done to
let people know that I am out here and love the gospel is.......... I don't
know...... probably the craziest thing for me is just tracting. We knock on
random people's doors and ask to pray with them. It is kinda crazy because you
never know who'll be behind the door! one of the most fun things that we do is
talk to people on our p-day. When we are at the park and all playing ultimate Frisbee
or something fun, sometimes we will be able to talk to other people at the
park. They often ask what group we are and we get to share a little about who
we are and what we do.
I love you all,
Sister Rachel Hodgson
