One Positive Thing 1/31

This Tuesday was pretty great. There were a lot of positive things that happened, like sleeping in until 9:15, getting to eat lunch with Jake, class being 12 minutes long, finishing my book, and then at the end of the day, going on a double date with some dear friends of mine!

I'm a convert to the church and I was able to meet with several missionaries during that process. The very first missionary I ever had was Elder Durtschi. He taught me for quite a few months and I think he finished his mission in Coppell. Ever since I got baptized in 2013, we've stayed in touch. We don't talk every week by any means, but we know what each other is up to and don't feel awkward texting each other! So, this past week, he texted me and said that we should all go on a double date. And we actually planned one! I told him that bowling sounded fun and he and his wife agreed so we all met up today. It was so fun to see them since it's been over a year since I last did. His wife is 7 months pregnant and looking great and we just caught up with each other and promised to hang out again in the future. It's fun having married friends. ;)

During one of the times we were all 4 sitting down, Jake asked Durtschi a couple of questions about what I was like when I was taking the discussions. He said something like, "Trouble maker", but then was like, "No she was really awesome and inquisitive." He told a story that I hadn't heard before how the bishop at the time told them to stop teaching me because I was too young and it wasn't going anywhere. Durtschi had then gone to go talk to the Stake President, President Blake, and told him that I was no longer going to be "under" that Bishop, but I was going to be under the mission. President Blake then went and talked to Bishop York and told him what was going on and that it was okay for me to be taught. Basically: Durtschi saw potential in me and wasn't going to give that up just because I was 14 years old.

When we got in the car, Jake said, "I almost started to cry!" I said, "Why?" And he told me, "Because, I was just thinking about how important his role was in your life and now in our lives. If he hadn't fought to keep teaching you, we wouldn't be here . . . Who knows where you'd be?" And it was so true. I'm grateful that missionaries see potential in not only their investigators but in themselves, too. I'm so lucky to have been taught by some of the best missionaries and am even more lucky that we're still friends to this day! I'm also grateful for my husband that he is able to recognize the Lord's hand in everything and that he is willing to acknowledge the blessings of missionary work. The day couldn't have ended any better.