The Bicycle Strikes Back

Hello you lovely people!! How are we all this fine day? I hope you're doing well, because I am too and it's great!
This week was a bit of a mess, but hey that's missionary life for ya! ;) The main reason for said mess would be our primary mode of transportation: to bikes. We got a record of 3 flats with some other random problems thrown in there within like 4 days. So that was fun. I managed to pop both my tires somehow, my comp popper her front one, my chain got messed up, and Christensen's front wheel got busted, so we had to replace that. It was as much of a nightmare as it was an enormous headache. I think I was not meant to be on a bike ;) but! All's well now and (for the time being) our bikes are fully-functioning.

Funny story with Christensen's wheel though. So it got messed up because she cut it too close and hit a parked car while we were riding to a lesson (she's fine, I promise). Anyway, we were walking our bikes to the nearest bus stop when some random guy working at a palette factory stopped us. Turns out he's a member?? So he's like "leave your tire with me, I'll get it fixed. Come back tomorrow." So we did, and he did fix it! Well, he went out and bought a new wheel... but he did eventually fix the old wheel too :) but that was just such a miracle that we desperately needed in the moment.

To go along with that, we saw an enormous outpouring of love throughout the week from many others around us :) I think they could tell (and definitely Heavenly Father knew) that Hna Christensen and I had just about reached the end of our ropes. There were a lot of those I-don't-know-if-I-should-laugh-or-cry situations and somehow, after each one, someone showed up and offered some simple service or said something kind we needed to hear or just generally was there to remind us we weren't in this alone. It was very humbling for me, but I learned a lot. And I'm so so grateful for these sweet people around us (sean otros misioneros, members, or total strangers) who were willing to help out a pair of frazzled hermanas.

Other miracles this week: I went to bed at 9:30 Saturday night! Hot dog it felt so good! ;) seriously, that was amazing. I also have been recruited to play piano in sacrament meeting and I didn't mess it up (very badly)!! Also we had a baptism!!! A cute 9-year-old named Yuri :) she was so excited!!! (She is, even if she doesn't look it in the picture) It was easily the least stressful baptism Ive ever had a hand in, which in and of itself is a miracle (baptisms always tend to be incredibly stressful to put together and smoothly pull of). It was great though :) we were so excited and happy for her! And to top off the week we rode our bike through a drive-in/drive-thru donut shop shaped like a donut!

-Hermanita Johnson