complete my visiting teaching every month for 6 months

...but since the move, I haven’t even been assigned a route yet—and it’s been 3 months!

And we did it before the end of the month, too!

Actually, one of my visiting teachees is staying with us at the moment—long story, but she got kicked out of both parents’ homes as well as her grandmother’s place. I’m trying to help her get back on her feet, but she’s resistant to the things that will help her most (meeting with the bishop, going to apply for additional jobs, etc.).

I can only have her stay here until Wednesday because of guest restrictions on our lease. We have to have a long talk tomorrow on where she’s planning on going once she leaves here. I don’t want her to feel kicked to the curb, but at the same time, I made her aware of the Wednesday deadline the first day she arrived here.

The bishop and Relief Society president are both aware of the situation, but acknowledge that this young woman also needs to take some responsibility and help herself. Right now, she’s only willing to let others do things for her—so, I’m pulling back and doing less. It’s a tough balance to strike.

I got January DONE!

Go me…

My RS President called today and succeeded in making me feel very guilty about failing to visit or contact the last three women…

I spent my time in between sessions of General Conference today writing note cards to the women that I missed this month so I won’t miss them again next month. I also wrote a letter to a former visiting teachee who’s since moved on to attend BYU Idaho. I miss her!

I got sick earlier this week and it screwed everything up! I tried calling 2 out of my remaining 3 today, but no luck. My RS President is not going to be happy with me….

Okay, so in my church we have a program called visiting teaching in which each adult female member of our congregation is assigned two or three other women to look out for and help in times of need. We’re supposed to visit with these women each month in their homes, deliver a brief spiritual message, and make sure that they have help and support in all areas of their lives.

Though it may sound a little “Big-Brother”-ish at first blush, my visiting teachers have been a huge blessing in my life, and have wound up becoming some of my best friends. They’ve brought me meals when I’ve been sick, let me cry on their shoulders throughout heartbreaks, and helped me clean my house before a major move.

However, I’ve not exactly been the greatest paragon of visiting teaching. Sometimes I’ll go for months without visiting or even talking to my assigned women. Some months I’m literally too caught up in myself, which makes me feel pretty dang guilty. Add to that the fact that I often get women in my list who rarely come to church, and my job gets harder. It’s a little intimidating asking a near-complete stranger if it’s okay to visit. The sad part is that some of these women could really use a friend, and I’ve just not held up my end of the bargain very well.

So far this month, I’ve met with two of my five assigned women. I have three more to go before the end of the month, and I’ve talked to two of the three about getting together. The last one is a sweetie, but is soooo hard to contact—she’s always busy, which I completely understand.