Sister Bliss's Mission to the OCM: 10/12/20

Hey everyone!

Our friend Chuck got baptized this week! It was a really neat experience, especially because it was very different than usual with COVID-19. We could only have us, Chuck, Brother Neal (who baptized Chuck), and Brother Chapman (who is in the bishopric and confirmed Chuck). Everything actually went very smoothly as opposed to when Cheryl was baptized back in Miamisburg

The most exciting part was before the baptism when we got there early to fill the font and found that we forgot Chuck's jumpsuit! We ended up having to call another set of sisters to watch the font for us while we ran back home to grab the jumpsuit.

I'm so excited for Chuck, and can't wait to start talking to him more about the temple and staying active in the church and all that fun stuff!

I hit my 18 month mark on Saturday the 10th! It was the strangest feeling. Two weeks from today I will be packed up and ready to go home. I'll be giving my departing testimony this Saturday at Zone Conference. It was really hard for a time to accept that I'd be going home, but I feel good now. I realize that, while I'd love to continue to serve and grow as I have been this last year and a half, going home is going to be a whole different challenge with totally new things that will help me grow and I'm excited about it. More importantly, I'm excited to keep serving the Lord back home. I may stop wearing my name tag in a couple of weeks, but my name tag will forever be on my heart

I forgot to update y'all when I got Sister Postma to mention that I get to brush up a bit on my Spanish again! (You know, the almost non existant amount that I know) Because she served in Mexico for 9 months before COVID-19, she really knows what she's doing when it comes to Spanish. She prays only in Spanish (unless we're in a lesson or something), and we have a rule in our household that whoever is praying has to say a minimum of 5 words in Spanish. On the bright side, if Sister Ellis or I REALLY don't feel like saying anything in Spanish one day, we just say it in English and then end with "en el nombre de Jesucristo, amén"

We got to have an amazing lesson with the Kurtz family in the ward yesterday. We stopped by to drop off pass along cards and while we were there they invited us in and chatted with us for a bit. While we weren't originally planning on sharing a message, we did end up pulling out one of my favorite quotes from General Conference when they asked us to share something (P.S. never feel bad for asking missionaries to share something out of the blue. Yes, we can be caught off guard and take a minute to think of something, but at least one missionary in the companionship has got to have SOMETHING they've liked in the last week that they can share). We shared this quote with them:

"But what if becoming even as he is is not figurative, even in our mortal condition? What if it is, to some degree, attainable in this life, and indeed a prerequisite to being with him again? What if, "even as I am" is exactly and precisely what is meant by the Savior? Then what? What level of effort would we be willing to give to invite his miraculous power into our lives so that we can change our very nature?" - Elder Scott D. Whiting

We had a neat conversation about becoming like Christ and the blessing it is that we not only know that becoming like Christ is our goal, but we also get the blessing of sharing that with others! The Kurtz family was a really great example of becoming like Christ in sharing the gospel by genuinely looking for missionary opportunities and ministering to those around them. It was a great reminder that we're all capable of doing missionary work!

In fact! I'm going to give homework to all those of you who would like to do it. There's a talk called "The Missionary Next Door". It's not a General Conference talk, but more of a Hank Smith type talk by a woman who talked about how her family did missionary work. It's really entertaining but also a killer inspiring one. I'm not 100%, certain where you'd find it, but I'd like to invite all if you to go try checking it out! And if you'd like to listen to it but can't find it, let me know and I can share it with you. I promise each of you that as you serve the Lord by doing what you can to share the gospel-whether that be by building a friendship with someone or sharing a Book of Mormon with someone-you will feel so much more joy in your life!

I love you all and hope you have an amazing week!

Love,

Sister Bliss

PICTURES:

-Chuck's baptism!

-We went on a hike to a place called Doe Run and got to walk around a cute lake

-Pictures of me with statues near our apartment