Let the Adventures Begin!

Hermana Zimmerman & Hermana Casebolt

Welcome to the missionary adventures of Hermana Zimmerman! During the next year and a half, you'll be getting emails and pictures about the miracles and feelings I have, coupled with the exciting times I experience as I serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Feel free to email me with any questions you have pertaining to the things I've said, or just to say hello!

Let the adventures begin...

I said goodbye to my family, headed to Mexico and drove through the doors of the missionary training center (CCM). It was so beautiful, and the peace that I felt coming in was so beautiful. I was immediately greeted by a sweet missionary named Hermana Lehman who was just finishing her training (and also is in the Animation program at BYU. She is amazing at animations!). She was so nice! She took me under her wing as one of the new missionaries and made my transition into the CCM so smooth. I put my things away and waited for my companion, Hermana Casebolt. 

Hermana Casebolt is awesome! I have no complaints at all. She is authentic and is so funny. She's from Roy, Utah and has a twin sister serving in Scottsdale, Arizona. She and I get along so well and I love her so much! We laugh and we cry together. Also, a "coincidence" is that her first name is Haley. She spells it differently than my sister, but just knowing that her name was Haley, helped me to feel just the little extra comfort that I needed. It was kinda like my older sister was there in spirit. Let's just say God was so good to send me her as my first companion.

One of the most spiritual moments I had this week was the 2nd full day. Hermana Casebolt and I were super tired and my mind was so clouded. It felt like it was so packed with Spanish and Spanish concepts that I couldn't think and I was starting to feel discouraged about the CCM as well as learning Spanish. I walked home with Hermana Casebolt and I was able to sit down on my bed and think. I got off my bed after a bit and knelt down to pray for help from my Heavenly Father. After I prayed I went to go and put my towel in the washer (because sadly when I got to the CCM I opened up my suitcase and my hair product had exploded on my towel leaving me with limited space for use on my towel) and I began to sing the song "I'll go where you want me to go" from the hymn book. One of the lines is, "I'll say what you want me to say, dear Lord, I'll be what you want me to be." Those words just came right out of my mouth and I realized that that was just what the Lord wanted me to do. He called me to speak Spanish on my mission and He will help me to say what He wants me to say, and be what He needs me to be. If He needs me to be a Spanish speaking missionary, I will be a Spanish speaking missionary and I will learn to speak the language that He has called me to speak. I have realized that things for me, come little by little, or "line upon line, precept upon precept" as Alma 

In my personal studies, I was reading a talk that my mom sent to me before I left. I want to share some of the things I learned and how they changed my thought process about learning Spanish. One of the stories is about a woman who is having trouble sleeping because of her new born baby. She prayed that she would be able to sleep through the night, but as she was reading in the Bible Dictionary, she came across a part that read, 

"we pray in Christ’s name when our mind is the mind of Christ, and our wishes the wishes of Christ. … We then ask for things it is possible for God to grant. Many prayers remain unanswered because they are not in Christ’s name at all; they in no way represent His mind but spring out of the selfishness of man’s heart.”

She realized that she had been asking for things that Christ couldn't grant her because it was not His will, it was hers. So she decided to change her prayers. She would say, "please help me to sleep through the night, ... but if not, please give me the strength to be patient and kind." She said that the success rate of her prayers skyrocketed!

As I pondered this talk, I realized that my circumstances aren't going to change, but they are there to help me grow. I'm not gonna lie, learning the gospel in Spanish is one of the most challenging and frustrating learning experiences I have had in my life, but it's all to help me build my character and help me grow and increase my faith in Jesus Christ, my Heavenly Father, the Spirit, and prayer. I can pray for strength and a clear mind, and as I put in the work to learn, I know He will help me. I know that the same is true for you too. If you put your trust and faith in God, ALL things are possible. I KNOW that to be true.

-Hermana Zimmerman