Hey! How is everyone doing? Happy Birthday to Julia and Sabrina!! I hope you had a fantastic one. :) I love you both, and I am so grateful that you were born, and I am so grateful for the wonderful ways that you have taken your life thus far. Good luck to Julia as she enters Young Women's and goes to the Temple. It is an incredible opportunity, and I hope you never forget it. Good luck to Sabrina as she continues with school and Soccer and everything else life has to offer at 15. :) That really is a great year, enjoy it! I love you both!
I hope Jenessa enjoyed Homecoming. I know she is rather busy, but I would really like pictures, if they are available. Good luck to Allison, Kaylee and Madison as well. I'm glad Allison (M&M means they held hands, kissing would be ice cream or dinner) is having a great time. ;) She was always a little too much of a flirt to be boy-less for long. And I'm glad Kaylee is flourishing at BYUI. I hope Madison is able to enjoy Boise at some point. :) That would be incredibly difficult, and I wish her all the luck in the world. And congrats to BYUtv! The members here love it, and can't stop talking about how amazing BYUtv is.
Answer to Dad's questions 1- Yes! I can now do a lesson in 5 min without speed reading and hitting every section. I've learned that I don't have to pack every point of doctrine into a lesson, and I don't have to expound on every one. I just have to cover some of them, and expound on the ones that the family really needs. So, yes. I would do it differently. Also, I would use the Book of Mormon a bit differently.
2- Erm... I'm not really sure how relationships are changing in my life. :) I'm REALLY REALLY bad with self-evaluation. Pretty much I feel like I'm the exact same person I was in high school... and then I get around high school kids and I remember that I've changed quite a bit, but I can't tell how. I guess everyone means more to me, and I've been working on letting them know that. I've also learned quite a bit on making individuals feel more important and loved. It really makes a huge difference when you stop and talk to people, little things like that change relationships. I'm also quicker to apologize and forgive. So I guess its changed a bit. I don't really know... I wish I were better at understanding the lessons I am learning and the ways I am growing. It would be a lot easier if I could see that perspective.
I know Father’s day was a while ago, but I feel as if this week has helped me understand Dad just a little more. Dad, you’ve always told me you didn’t like cats. What you didn’t tell us was that you didn’t like cats because on your mission you got sick of the disgusting flea infested cats trying to swerve around your feet and beg for food. Or that the smell of a house infested with cats and belonging to a woman that smokes, is absolutely putrid. I also know that you’ve always been big on Defensive driving. What you never told us, you are so big on defensive driving because serving in the South gave you the opportunity to practice. Because everyone drives RIGHT behind the small car that is only going 7 over and is liable to slow down any second. We’ve also laughed quite a bit over Dad using the word “y’all,” but what he never explained was that “y’all” quite simply just is the easiest way to say “you” to a large group of people.
Yes, I feel as if my mission is helping me understand Dad just a little bit better. :) The part I can’t understand is the peanut butter and bananas. Those are the two cheapest things for someone with no money to buy! But alas, I don’t like them either, so instead I am stuck buying ham, cheese, lettuce and bread every time I want to eat a sandwich.
In other news, I have the most fantastic mission president's wife ever. She is just fantastic. I told you last week how she spent 30 min talking with me in the temple, and she promised she would send me a poem. Last Monday she didn't send me it, but I really didn't think twice about it. I just thought she has 250 missionaries to worry about, tons on her plate, and probably forgot. Honestly, just the fact that she would spend so much time with me in the temple was incredible. Well, on Tuesday Elder Kospichke came to visit us, and she gave me a big hug and said, "Oh! I'm so sorry I didn't send it yet. Don't worry, I didn't forget. I just found something else that I think you might like. Don't worry, I wrote you on my hand so that you wouldn't forget. And on my heart." And sure enough, there on her hand was written "Pratt." Elder Kopishke said a lot of incredible things, and I learned a ton, but I'm sure none of it meant as much to me as that small "Pratt" on her hand. It really touched me.
Now, once again, if we were to stop right there I would be blown away by her consideration and thoughtfulness, but on Thursday night I got a call from her. One of the questions I asked her in the Temple, she said, "You know, I've always wondered that myself, but I just don't know." Thursday at 10:28 she called and said, "Guess what! I heard the coolest thing!" She then proceeded to explain another missionary's explanation to my question, and a thought from Elder Kopischke about that explanation. It was incredible. It just blew me away. Not only was the explanation incredible, but the thoroughness and thought that she put behind answering my question- I being a single sister of no particular consequence in a multitude of missionaries, absolutely blew me away. It was amazing. I am so grateful for her example of Christ like love.
(She also sent me the poems this past week. And one of them made me cry. I might try to memorize it, it was so beautiful.)
Elder Kopischke also came (I REALLY REALLY hope I am spelling his name correctly...), and it was fantastic. I loved every min of the 7 hour conference. :) He really focused on asking questions and having the Spirit guide the conference. I also loved how he talked about working hard and with faith. Faith is a principle of action and of power. He said it is simply wrong to connect faith with baptisms- God is the Lord of the Harvest and decides how much we need to reap, not us. We do not decide. What we can do, is work as hard as we possibly can, and then ask the Lord to "touch the stones" and make them glow. As we do that, we will begin to see miracles in our mission.
Well, I love you all tons! I hope you have a great week!
~Sister Pratt
p.s. The Pictures- last Preparation Day we spend the day with the Cahaba Sisters- Sister Schwediman and Sister Williams. Well, we always go with them because the Elders need our car, but last Monday we decided to have a bit of fun. We went to their mall and had an amazing time eating Chinese, looking at the Cookie shop (What a seriously genius idea!!!) and going inside the toy shop. I thought of Sabrina and all of her stuffed animals when I passed by. :) It was a great day! And these are the pictures.
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