Dear Mum, Max, Gabe and Nanny,
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
It was so wonderful speaking to you on Christmas! Transfers have come and I am e-mailing you from the Mainland where I am picking up my new companion: Sister Hoffman! From California.
Today we are in a mad rush, so I'm going to e-mail you what I wrote President. I love you all so very much. I promise you a more detailed report on Monday : )
Dear President Preston,
Christmas was sublime. No words to describe all of the love and peace I felt from the members of the Douglas ward and from Heavenly Father to us as His servants. People always say Christmas on your mission is magical and I can safely say that this year is was! Sister Rothmund and I were sad to see her go, but she knows she needs to move on. We have grown very close this transfer. I will always love that woman!
When we were in Swinton yesterday we ate tea with some members and one of them, Sister deCoeur, had this amazing insight that blew my mind and supported one of my goals for 2012. She asked if there was a difference between a peacekeeper and a peacemaker. Now, on the outside they look like synonyms but they aren’t! Someone who keeps peace avoids conflict of any kind at any cost. They are non-confrontational and settle for what may seem like peace but is, in reality, just shoulder-shrugging acceptance. Someone who makes peace, on the other hand, will endure the discomfort of conflict for the greater good. They understand that to accomplish real peace they might have to fight for it. Christ was a peacemaker. The fact that he died on the cross is evidence that the peace he brought came at great cost. His kind of peace isn’t the kind where you justify everyone’s actions so they all get along with you. His mission was to fight injustice. We must be willing to also! (see Matt. 5:9)
I am a natural peacekeeper. Sometimes I accept immediate, counterfeit peace (eg. avoiding to point out a companion’s lack of obedience in order to have the spirit with us that day) instead of seeing the bigger picture and fighting the injustices I see. This applies to all aspects of missionary work, especially in persistency with potential investigators, and it is my goal this coming year to be a peacemaker! I am going to be proactive in establishing peace wherever I am.
We’re going to have a great transfer! Sorry this is a bit hurried : ) speak to you soon!
Much love,
Sister Davis
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