Who knew?

It's December and it's my fourth month of regular pioneering... So hows it all going you ask well to tell you the honest truth it's harder than I thought. I'm a pretty organized and determined sort of person I knew there where going to be challenges but never in my wildest dreams! Think back to the first six months after you got baptized and now multiply it by ten. Welcome to pioneering - this is the stuff they dont warn you about.

When I think about it, all the things that I thought could be a problem, haven't been, and all the things that I thought were under control have been my biggest hurdles. Take for instance maintaining home /  life balance. It was something that Shannon was concerned about,  but I have not had a problem with housework, shopping, cooking, cleaning and attending to kids needs - done and enjoying it!

Ok had some pain on my left side - I thought I had kidney problems. After an MRI and test shows that I have facet joint degeneration in 6 spots in my spine (my mum is 72 and has it in 5 spots and has to have steroid injections for the pain) WOW what a blow all my dreams and aspirations of need greating out the window, when my husband looks at me and says "well you had the same thing last week and you still went out" So after an evening of feeling sorry for myself thought thats right, I just need to listen to my body rest when I'm feeling overloaded and have been working on my core strength and exercise.

So then throw in some financial stress - I get offered a great job in Sydney, didn't blink an eye thankyou but no thanks. But then throw a puppy that broke it's leg and required $650 emergency fees and ongoing weekly vet visits, stress levels go up a notch, and you start to wonder did I make the right decision.
Then I remembered the zone visit talk about how we can prayer to Jehovah (about a financial worries) and then suddenly get offered a job. The point I remembered is its not always to our advantage and that we should not be making full use of this world. In additional for me personally is keeping Matthew 6:33 in mind. If it's going to deter me from seeking the kingdom first because Jehovah has PROMISED that all these other things will be added to me.

What I have found the hardest is the emotional side. Dealing with the problems of your RV's as well as your own. Personality clashes and calling on the sick or elderly has taken a toll on me. This is when after you have exhausted all avenues you turn to Jehovah and say "I simply cant fix this and I need to unload". So after doing so the other night I popped into see a  family in cong who I had some suits for their boys. Anyway out of the blue they gave me so much encouragement and then said "We have such a great ministry in our territory reaping amazing results and with you and Joel pioneering Satan must be mad as". I had never thought about it that way but he must be and he knows if we can get on each others nerves with our quirks he will cause divisions. Alot of our emotional reactions are also due to ourselves personally, how we were brought up and past experiences and so I liked the comments made from one of the Gilead graduates when she said that "Sometimes we set our own limitations on how much kindness we can offer" because the natural tendency is to want something back but Jehovah is not like that. Jehovah does not have a limit.

I was reinvigorated again and had a great day out on Friday and wanted to relate this experience to you.  
We had just stopped for Mango Thickshakes and I was ready to drop the other sisters off as I had to pick the kids up from school when I noticed I had a missed call and I didn't recognise the number.  They didn't leave as message so I called the number and a women answered I explained I was just calling back as I noticed the missed call and she said " Hi Kris it's Joan"  (My mind is a sieve and I'm racking my brain and could not for the life of me remember who this woman is. She then said "you used to call on me"......

Ok so back track 7 months I used to call on Joan. When I first contacted her at the door she said she was interested. I politely asked why and she said god had done nothing to her or her family. Her 34 year old daughter was a Cocaine addict since she was 15 and was in a relationship with another woman. I sympathised and explained that I had known someone very close who also got mixed up in drugs and she started to open up and cried. I cried too. My heart went out to this poor 70yr old woman whos heart was breaking, I read a scripture and said I would return and that I did every friday for the next 2 months She gave me updates and on how things were worsening while I showed her from the bible Jehovahs comfort. Then one day I turned up and she said to me never to call again, with sobs she said not because she didnt like me or our discussions but she said to me no one could help her or her daughter. I gave her a hug and cried myself. All I could think of was the scripture in Matthew 14:14 when Jesus felt pity for them.

After pouring my heart out o Jehovah I felt the need to write her a letter, with scriptures and assuring her of my friendship. I left her with my phone number and said I would not call on her again but if she could call me if she felt the desire to..

I went and saw Joan and she proceeded to tell me that her daughter and partner have been  off the drugs for 3 months and have moved to Byron Bay NSW. She said that she had read my letter a few times and decided to get the courage to call me and share her happiness because I had showed her so much kindness. After some catching up I showed her the new website and asked her to watch the video "Why study the bible" after I left . I said to her "what if the answers where there all along" She said she would watch it and I said I will ask her a question when I see her next. Do you know what question I will ask her?

My poor Mississippi - aka "Missi"