"Can I get a connection?"

Felt kinda like a stepped-on, unwanted cockroach this week. Haha wow I just read that back and it sounds pretty dramatic for my opening sentence. But honestly, this week was just kinda hard. It's so easy to get discouraged when people reject what you are giving your life to for 18 months! With each rejection, I just felt so inadequate. It doesn't help that when someone says "you're lying," or "Mormons aren't Christian and if you're Mormon, I don't want to talk to you". The spirit just completely withdraws the second those things were said. Almost immediately, there legit was nothing I could say to come back. Haha. The comment about "Mormons" stung the most. The person just walked away, and I went and banged my head on a pole and started crying sooooo that was fun. So all this rejection gets the credit for my song lyric title this week from OneRepublic. "Can I get a connection?" I think it's safe to say that I was not meant to be a door-knocking missionary haha. In reality, we only had 3 really harsh rejections, but I've honestly never had that many and they just felt so personal and all in one week! Usually a rejection means they don't answer your call, or accept your friend request on Facebook, or don't return your texts. But man, people can be brutal. Like I'm just a 19-year-old trying to do something good, so just be polite and say no thank you!!! Is that too much to ask? If some sweet kid came up to me and said they were a Jehovah Witness missionary or any missionary from another faith, I would hope that I would let them in my home, and we could just chat about what we have in common and swap mission stories. Anyway, I don't want to just focus on the negative, but I do think it's important to just be real. Mission life isn't just straight miracles everyday. We don't find those "golden" people everyday and people aren't "flocking to the font" as Elder Holland puts it. But I'd be doing God an injustice if I didn't point out all the good He did do for me this week. 1st of all, I found out a package that I'd sent weeks ago, finally got delivered to a good friend. I guess the post office took the money I paid for postage and didn't even put a sticker or anything on it. So that was honestly a tender mercy because I was just doubting everything. I felt like the spirit had guided me in so many things this week that led to rejection, and so it felt good to know something good I tried to do paid off. We also found two new people through street contacting that ended up actually answering our calls and wanting to have lessons! Usually when we get numbers from people, they don't answer. One of them was a sweet lady who we walked home from her evening walk. She was open with us from the start, and the next day we went over to have a lesson. By the end she committed to listen to the Book of Mormon (using cds haha because her smart phones are "smarter than her.") and she gave us both hugs. The other was kind of an interesting situation. His name is Johnathan and when he saw us he knew exactly who we were. He said missionaries talked with him in Colorado. So I asked if we wanted to learn more and he said "I already know." Well since that was after 2 harsh rejections, I just assumed that was another one and walked away. But as we kept walking, he came back and told us his dentist was a member of the church and that the reason he knew who we were was because of the way we carried ourselves. He saw us and remembered the way the other missionaries carried themselves and knew we must have the same message to share. It was just a cool reminder that people really can recognize us as representatives of Christ. We got his number and had a lesson with him the next day. So yes. Miracles do happen and can happen. But sometimes you have to trench through the mud to get there. And for some last bit of news... me and my comp are trio training, meaning we are staying together for this next transfer and getting a brand new missionary to train on Wednesday. I'm not super pumped (because I was in a trio when I was a new missionary and it was HARD), so I'm not gonna talk much about it now so I can be positive haha. But I do know that the Lord places us where we need to be, with the people we need to meet, and how life needs to turn out. Does that mean it will be easy? Heck no. I fully expect this transfer to be yet another 6 weeks of uncomfortable stretching. Also, just to add, even when I'm real, I promise you I'm not dying out here. I really do want to be here, and love life for the most part. I know Christ is with me and will continue to be with me through the ups and downs of mission life and beyond. I wouldn't be able to do this without Him, and I love learning more about Him each day. Becoming like Him is really hard, but it brings me comfort to know I don't have to be perfect and can't ever be perfect without Him. It's those baby steps of progress that matter. Don't forget that Jesus loves you, Sister Wallace Pics

1. Picked up trash in preparation for balloon fiesta whoot whoot 2. This was taken before I found out about trio training, oh to go back haha 3. Right before getting harshly rejected for "being Mormons" 4. Picked up trash in preparation for balloon fiesta whoot whoot 5. Chick Fil A breakfast all the way!!!! 6. One of my STLs randomly joined us for the day