Hello
my beautiful friends and family!
Wow! I do not even know where to begin this email.
I think I could possibly sit here at
this computer for 24 hours straight to even just begin to recap these last two
and three weeks that I have experienced, but I think I just need to begin with
saying THANK YOU. Thank you; thank you, every
single one of you. Thank you for your
words and your prayers and your fasts and just everything. I seriously feel so blessed. I have received many emails and want to
respond to each and every one but I just figured this would be easiest to give
a low down of what has happened here. I
am so sorry for how long this is. Basically
to spare you all, I am alive and well (: and if you have no time, you can end
here hahaha!
Man about two and a half weeks ago we were out knocking doors
and that was the first that I had really began to hear about Irma coming. I wasn't even thinking about it for a second
but as the days began to go on every single person we talked to started talking
more and more about it and people started showing us videos and pictures of the
other places it had hit and then they started talking about it being a category
5 and 6 hurricane and I was like "what in the heck you crazies there isn't
even such thing as a category 6!!!!!" and then we started having mission
wide conferences daily and then shutters started coming up and the grocery
stores started going nuts, water was gone, gas stations were out of gas and
next thing we know we were being told to start packing up and getting ready to
evacuate! You best believe we decided to
take some good meal time sitting inside any fast food that was still open that we
could find that had a TV with the news so we could even begin to feel like we
knew what the heck was even going on. That’s
the only time when it really sucks not having access to the outside world haha!
Seeing videos that people would show us
was just nuts, and then we got told it was supposed to come straight for Miami
so we thought our house would for sure be gonzoo (and honestly it should have
been probably), so we pretty much packed up everything that we could.
We were told we were going to be evacuated to our Stake Center a
few miles up north and that we as a zone and the Miami zone would all be there
together. For a few days we were just
going around out only on bikes to not use any gas and just in service clothes
to help offer any service and put up shutters etc. Everything just became like World War Z status
here and people were going pretty crazy. We helped a guy who had paid like $80 for a
piece of thin wood to cover his window, which he had to drive clear up to
Orlando to get. NUTS! Well when we had our final call all together
before leaving, Sister Garns had told us that she had heard from Sister
Richardson (our old mission presidents) that they and all the returned
missionaries who are now at home and all over the world, all got on a giant
conference call and had a big "mighty prayer" (like we do in the
mission) and were praying for us. When I
heard this and just heard of how many prayers were being offered it was just so
comforting and just gave me the chills and I was just so overwhelmed with
gratitude. That call we also got word to head out so we left for the Miami
Lakes Stake Center Friday night and we brought whatever we could. And the stuff we couldn't we just packed up
and bagged up and put it in the closets or as high as we could get it.
We were in the chapel from Friday night
until Wednesday afternoon, and honestly as much as I don't want to
say it, hahaha IT WAS JUST A STRAIGHT VACATION. Friday night we all
just got there and got all our stuff in and made sure everyone was accounted
for, and then just another HUGE testimony builder to me THAT STRAIGHT UP WE ARE
IN THE LORDS CHURCH, because Friday night a GIANT semi truck pulled
up, which had driven since Monday all the way from UTAH to get to us, and was
full of food and canned supplies, diapers, toilet paper etc. as the chapel we
were staying at was going to be a refuge center after the storm. I just couldn't believe at how ready the Church
just always has to be. They had to be
watching the news and to already have that truck all loaded and ready to be
able to leave Monday so that it could get here in time before all the
traffic and craziness leaving out of Florida and before the storm. The Church is just so aware and I am just in
awe. The cute driver was not a member of
the church tho and he was just in awe. So
many members came out and helped us unload the truck and we just got in like
two mile long single file lines from the truck to inside the church and
unloaded it all. It was one of the most
powerful things to be apart of.
That was just the first night, but the rest of our time there
consisted of lots of bonding and just good times. The elders were too kind and gave us 8 sisters
the Relief Society room to sleep as that was the only room with no windows, and
then like all 30 of them took the rooms surrounding it. We couldn't really do exercise in the mornings
cuz we didn't want to get too sweaty so we all wouldn't just REEK haha so
either played spike ball or just did giant yoga classes haha . But this is just
another reason that guys in general just kill me, cuz leave it to them to make
you a shower inside of the girls bathroom. I DIED. They are unreal. They connected a hose thing from the faucet in
the handicapped bathroom and connected one of the hose end things and duck
taped it to the wall and we had legit hot running showers in there, and it was
pretty much better then our home shower. I HAD TO TAKE A PICTURE. It was just genius and reminded me something
that my dad or guy friends from home would do. Just bless their souls tho cuz
that saved us all. hahahah
Well we were so blessed and were only out of power for one
day, Sunday. We were not allowed to
be in about half of the church during the storm and that included the Sacrament
room because of the steeple, but President Garns wanted to make sure that we
still did a sacrament together, so we made a little sacrament room in the
Relief Society room and did the sacrament in there, and it was just the most
spiritual thing. I was sitting in that
room and was just overcome with thoughts and feelings and gratitude at
realizing yet again where I was. I was
sitting in the Lords home surrounded by 40 amazing individuals, who most I had
just gotten the opportunity to meet that weekend, in the middle of a hurricane
and yet I was just with like 30 worthy priesthood holders and they blessed the
sacrament. All during us singing and
them passing the sacrament the storm was the worst it had been, the church was
swaying a little and the wind was insane, but the lights were flicking, but
they held out. And as soon as the Elders
placed the sheet over the sacrament table the lights went completely out. It was the most powerful thing and I was just
brought to tears. We went on to have
almost a 2-hour flashlight lit testimony meeting all together. It is an experience that I will never
forget.
The rest of the time we were there was just filled with tons of
games like catch phrase, mofia, uno, etc. etc. and mostly just lots and lots of
singing (bless elder Ovarys heart, that kid is literally a prodigy on the piano
and can hear any part of a song and then just immediately start playing the
entire thing, so we definitely got all our singing and songs that we haven't
heard in a good year now out haha. Too
fun. Man I do miss music haha!
Well there were many things that Sister Murdock and I left
behind at the house but something we knew we couldn't leave behind was these
freaking sketch Halloween masks, cuz duh. Haha so Monday night, (we were not
sure if that would be our last night sleeping there or not) we decided it was
the night to pull the prank. So
after 10:30 p.m. lights out, Sister Murdock was walking down the
church hallways (and of course all the Sisters were ready and in bed but the Elders
were all just chilling in their rooms talking together) so we knew we had to
pull a prank. We gathered in some of the
Elders and got them in on it and decided we were going to go for Elder Starley
and Hatch. So the Elders were in charge
of getting them together and getting them sketched out before hand and somehow luring
them into the kitchen, where Sister Murdock and I were waiting with the masks
and flashlights. They did well, but our
legs were literally going to fall off for how long we were waiting and
crouching in our potions but when they came in we just jumped out and I did my
pterodactyl noise and not going to lie we got them pretty good so we felt
accomplished. Those masks are terrifying
hahah the Elders gave us some mad respect as well. It was pretty funny, not going to lie.
It was too fun thoI It
honestly felt like a week of not missionary work but it was very much needed
for all of us. We all bonded so much not
only as people but just spiritually as well. When the time came tho we were all pretty stir
crazy and honestly I was getting pretty sick of doing nothing after having just
been going 24/7 for the last year plus. We
were finally allowed to leave Wednesday. We got home to a Stankkkyyy house
left with rotting food in the fridge. (:(:
Rookie mistake!!!! All grocery
stores are still pretty wiped out so food is just a joy. But being back in beds has been great and man
how blessed we are that we were able to go home to electricity as most people
are still out.
We spent the whole week and weekend out and helping and honestly
it was just THE BEST! It was such a fun
type of missionary work. Saturday and Sunday we were asked
as a mission to go down to Miami South (BACK TO CORAL REEF AREA MY FIRST AREA)
and join in with the whole southern half of the Stake, as well as like 1000
volunteers from Georgia to do a Irma clean up. It was just the best weekend. I got to see all
my Coral Reef, West Palm Beach, and Miramar members and all the missionaries
from the mission!!! I even got to be on
the "work team" with all the Miramar members and it was just the
best. We spent all of Saturday, from 7-7, cutting down only TWO giant
trees that had fallen down and were blocking a road, and
then Sunday we got to GO DOWN TO THE KEYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was amazing. We got to get right in and help clean up and it
just absolutely broke my heart seeing the damage that was done, but it was just
so powerful to see the thousands of yellow shirts all over the roads and
helping and getting to talk to these people. One house that we went and helped was just SO
NICE, literally the beach is their backyard, was just wrecked, and I got
talking to the dad and the son and got to have a great missionary experience
explaining the Church and turns out they had been to the conference center, and
at the end, as we were leaving, my Stake President asked me to say a prayer to
leave the family. I got on to email
today and I have received an email from that dad and son of a video apparently
that he took of me saying the prayer and just such a kind letter of how much it
touched them and that they will never forget those memories. It just touched me so much and I am so so
beyond grateful for these experiences that I have had.
This has just been the most crazy two weeks and I am so sorry
this is so long. I just wish there was
even adequate words and things to explain everything. But just know that I am well and just so happy
and so blessed and just ready to help. President
Garns shared an amazing scripture with us during the storm that I want to end
with. I is beautiful and every time I
read in Alma now I will think of Irma, Alma 26: 6:
6 Yea, they shall not be beaten down by the storm at the last day;
yea, neither shall they be harrowed up by the whirlwinds; but when
the storm cometh they shall be gathered together in their place, that
the storm cannot penetrate to them; yea, neither shall they be driven with
fierce winds whithersoever the enemy listeth to carry them.
I
love you all so much!!! Have the best
week! (p.s. didn't reread through this so sorry in advance) (going to just
share the google drive with all the pictures with you guys so you can see them
all cuz there is like 500 hahaha!
xoxoxo your Irma Survivor and still a goon
Hermana Dimond
No comments:
Post a Comment