01 September 2014

Church

So yesterday was our first Sunday in Edinburgh. It didn't go as well as I had hoped.
We have church at 10:30 in the morning which doesn't allow for Deaun to take a nap before (like she always has been able to in the past), but we figured she would probably sleep on the way to church in her stroller. Church is a walk, then a bus ride, and another walk away. Maybe 3/4 of a mile of walking one way. I picked out a normal outfit for church, which unfortunately for me included heels. Heels that I have always claimed to be "really comfortable!" Ha. Not so comfortable after walking 3/4 of a mile to church. The girls were so excited to wear their new tights to church, which we then ended up adjusting  approximately 75 times because they kept slipping down and pulling their underwear with it. We didn't bring a blanket to cover Deaun with, so she couldn't sleep, so I limped around the halls with Deaun for a lot of the meeting because she was too tired to hold still, but not comfortable enough to fall asleep. I couldn't understand what some of the church members said. And while church in Edinburgh was pretty much the same as church in Utah, it was just different enough for me to feel off kilter. After church, we missed the bus back home by about a minute, so we had to wait 30 more minutes for the bus to come again. We were all tired and hungry and my feet hurt too much to want to walk the 3/4 mile back home.
I was in tears and frustrated and angry by the time we got home, feeling that if this was how hard church was going to be every week, then I wasn't even sure I wanted to go anymore. I took a nap for a little while since I was too frustrated to really do anything else.
But when I woke up I felt much better, and the more I thought about it yesterday evening and today, the better I felt about all that had happened that day. Let me try to explain.

Church attendance is very important to Dallin and I, especially since we are now in a new country where we aren't surrounded by members of the LDS church like we have been in the past. Church is a chance for us to meet with people who believe what we believe, to take the sacrament. It's a break from the world, a recharge for the coming week. So of course, we would experience opposition in trying to do something important for the first time in a new place. Of course Satan would try to make the day as negative as possible for us! Negative experiences, negative attitudes, the whole lot. I'm sure his objective was to make it so difficult to get there and back that we wouldn't even try to go the next week.

But once I realized this, I realized how important it really is for us to GO every week. No matter where we are. No matter what country. It is important to get to church, to meet with friends, to take the sacrament, to start over for the week. So now that I know what Satan was trying to do, how he was trying to break our resolve, I am determined that next week will go better.
I will wear flat shoes.
We will leave earlier so we don't have to run for the first bus.
I will bring blankets and possibly a stuffed animal (for Deaun, not me) to snuggle with.
We will bring snacks and lunch to eat after church.
We will take the later bus back from church on purpose- there's just no way that first bus is going to happen.
We won't wear tights that pull down our underpants!
We will be prepared. And we're going to go. And it's going to be great.



P.S. The twins loved primary! LOVED it! There are two other Sunbeams in their class, and the two of them have doubled the Jr. Primary. They had tons of attention and made new friends without being overwhelmed by all the new kids. It was perfect for them.

P.P.S. To learn more about what we believe, please visit mormon.org or click the "I Believe" button to your left to see some of my personal beliefs.

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