Holo todo!
What an amazing week. Let me tell you. So good!
So it began with a split with Sister Messer. We were blindfolded by our District Leaders ties (see picture) and we taught the restoration together. About an hour later I went on exchanges with Hermana Rea!!!! It was a tender mercy to spend time with her again. What a lovely lady. She filled me in on some of the amazing miracles that are happening in Montevista. The people there are doing so good! A few of the people I taught there are really making progress and it made me so happy to hear about that.
We were driving around looking for a referral we had received from a ward mission leader. And it started to snow. In the mountains but still! We got to wear sweaters and boots and it made us think of the first week we were together in June when it was 104 degrees and we couldn't wait for boot weather. Anyways. As we are driving I get a clear reminder of another referral I had received a few weeks ago. And the only thing I could remember was that it had a blue door and blue chairs out front. So we went to look for it! And guesss what. We found it! The family let us in! We shared 1 Nephi 11:13-17 and we testified of the Savior. They invited us back for dinner this week as well as a lesson. In Preach My Gospel it says that the Spirit will help us in every aspect of our work if we ask seek and knock, and then follow those promptings valiently. That's kind of been the theme this week.
We were in a lesson with a recent convert and his mom (who is not yet a member) and couldn't remember what chapter we had assigned them to read (which is partially because organization is one of those talents I have in a very very raw form and need to develop...) but I felt like it would be good to read Mosiah 5 with them. And it ended up being the very best thing to read. This mother, who hasn't read the Book of Mormon in a very long time, read it with us and you could tell she felt the spirit and it made her think about what she needs to do to come closer to Christ.
AND! Man, the miracles just keep coming this week. We were doing basically the same exact thing with another recent convert and his nonmember mother also expressed her desire to learn more and read the Book of Mormon with her son.
But my favorite miracle this week was when we got lost. And I don't like getting lost because as missionaries we only have a certain number of miles every month and they are precious. But as we are lost and I'm praying for some guidance we come upon a house. And guess which house it was! The very last house we knocked on that hard day last week that slammed the door on us! I felt like we needed to knock on the door again, but I didn't want to. So we almost drove past it. But! I saw a lady out on the porch. A different lady than the one who we talked to last week. I maneuvered over to the side of the road and we jumped out and asked her for directions which she gladly gave us. I asked her if she had ever met with missionaries before and she said she had, and really liked it but didn't feel then like it was the right time in her life to change. We asked her if she would be interested in meeting with us again and she said maybe....and that she had a question. I don't remember exactly what her question was, but I asked her if I could share a verse from the Book of Mormon. I knew exactly where I thought I needed to turn and I got there and it wasn't the right verse. But I looked down a few verses and there it was, Moroni 7: 12-13. We testified together (this was with Sister Winks) and she just looked so happy! She had an answer not from us, but from the Spirit. And she invited us back and gave us both big hugs and...man I love her so much!
I don't remember why it came up, but Sister Rea and I were talking about miracles. How little miracles all contribute to the big miracle, and she pointed out that the Angler fishes kind of absorb littler angler fishes until they are like a big lego thing. I don't know. But this week has definitely been a lot of miracles that built up into a big miracle for me. There has been a lot going on, and like I said earlier my organizational skills have been being stretched like crazy. But somehow everything got done. I did my best and made plenty of mistakes, but let me tell you. This is the Lord's work. He moves it forward. I'm so happy to be part of this work at this time! We taught more lessons than I ever have before, we have several new investigators, and I'm still sane! Sister Sekona has been really sick this week, but she still checks up on me to make sure I'm doing okay. And I couldn't really explain it, I don't feel stressed or overwhelmed at all, even though there are so many things going on and I just feel so much gratitude and awe for the opportunities I have had this week to share my testimony.
Mosiah 26: 18
Yea, blessed is this people who are willing to bear my name; for in my name shall they be called; and they are mine.
ELDER BALLARD CAME!!!! On Saturday. His testimony was so powerful. He just said over and over throughout his talk that This is Christ's Church. After the meeting I still hadn't felt like I had found an answer to the question I had brought, although I had received lots of other direction. Right after the meeting though, Sister Allred pulled me aside and told me another story, about how Elder Ballard was driving somewhere in the snow and somebody asked him if he was nervous about the snow, and he said something like nope, what is a snowflake going to do to the car? And Sister Allred reminded me that all things are in God's hands, and that we just have to trust Him and act with faith. And it was what I needed to hear!
It also struck me that Elder Ballard is a real guy! And that he is an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. So it also struck me that Christ is also very real. He lives, exactly like we live, but more glorious than we can comprehend. Above the brightness of the sun :)
Love you all,
mle
What an amazing week. Let me tell you. So good!
So it began with a split with Sister Messer. We were blindfolded by our District Leaders ties (see picture) and we taught the restoration together. About an hour later I went on exchanges with Hermana Rea!!!! It was a tender mercy to spend time with her again. What a lovely lady. She filled me in on some of the amazing miracles that are happening in Montevista. The people there are doing so good! A few of the people I taught there are really making progress and it made me so happy to hear about that.
We were driving around looking for a referral we had received from a ward mission leader. And it started to snow. In the mountains but still! We got to wear sweaters and boots and it made us think of the first week we were together in June when it was 104 degrees and we couldn't wait for boot weather. Anyways. As we are driving I get a clear reminder of another referral I had received a few weeks ago. And the only thing I could remember was that it had a blue door and blue chairs out front. So we went to look for it! And guesss what. We found it! The family let us in! We shared 1 Nephi 11:13-17 and we testified of the Savior. They invited us back for dinner this week as well as a lesson. In Preach My Gospel it says that the Spirit will help us in every aspect of our work if we ask seek and knock, and then follow those promptings valiently. That's kind of been the theme this week.
We were in a lesson with a recent convert and his mom (who is not yet a member) and couldn't remember what chapter we had assigned them to read (which is partially because organization is one of those talents I have in a very very raw form and need to develop...) but I felt like it would be good to read Mosiah 5 with them. And it ended up being the very best thing to read. This mother, who hasn't read the Book of Mormon in a very long time, read it with us and you could tell she felt the spirit and it made her think about what she needs to do to come closer to Christ.
AND! Man, the miracles just keep coming this week. We were doing basically the same exact thing with another recent convert and his nonmember mother also expressed her desire to learn more and read the Book of Mormon with her son.
But my favorite miracle this week was when we got lost. And I don't like getting lost because as missionaries we only have a certain number of miles every month and they are precious. But as we are lost and I'm praying for some guidance we come upon a house. And guess which house it was! The very last house we knocked on that hard day last week that slammed the door on us! I felt like we needed to knock on the door again, but I didn't want to. So we almost drove past it. But! I saw a lady out on the porch. A different lady than the one who we talked to last week. I maneuvered over to the side of the road and we jumped out and asked her for directions which she gladly gave us. I asked her if she had ever met with missionaries before and she said she had, and really liked it but didn't feel then like it was the right time in her life to change. We asked her if she would be interested in meeting with us again and she said maybe....and that she had a question. I don't remember exactly what her question was, but I asked her if I could share a verse from the Book of Mormon. I knew exactly where I thought I needed to turn and I got there and it wasn't the right verse. But I looked down a few verses and there it was, Moroni 7: 12-13. We testified together (this was with Sister Winks) and she just looked so happy! She had an answer not from us, but from the Spirit. And she invited us back and gave us both big hugs and...man I love her so much!
I don't remember why it came up, but Sister Rea and I were talking about miracles. How little miracles all contribute to the big miracle, and she pointed out that the Angler fishes kind of absorb littler angler fishes until they are like a big lego thing. I don't know. But this week has definitely been a lot of miracles that built up into a big miracle for me. There has been a lot going on, and like I said earlier my organizational skills have been being stretched like crazy. But somehow everything got done. I did my best and made plenty of mistakes, but let me tell you. This is the Lord's work. He moves it forward. I'm so happy to be part of this work at this time! We taught more lessons than I ever have before, we have several new investigators, and I'm still sane! Sister Sekona has been really sick this week, but she still checks up on me to make sure I'm doing okay. And I couldn't really explain it, I don't feel stressed or overwhelmed at all, even though there are so many things going on and I just feel so much gratitude and awe for the opportunities I have had this week to share my testimony.
Mosiah 26: 18
Yea, blessed is this people who are willing to bear my name; for in my name shall they be called; and they are mine.
ELDER BALLARD CAME!!!! On Saturday. His testimony was so powerful. He just said over and over throughout his talk that This is Christ's Church. After the meeting I still hadn't felt like I had found an answer to the question I had brought, although I had received lots of other direction. Right after the meeting though, Sister Allred pulled me aside and told me another story, about how Elder Ballard was driving somewhere in the snow and somebody asked him if he was nervous about the snow, and he said something like nope, what is a snowflake going to do to the car? And Sister Allred reminded me that all things are in God's hands, and that we just have to trust Him and act with faith. And it was what I needed to hear!
It also struck me that Elder Ballard is a real guy! And that he is an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. So it also struck me that Christ is also very real. He lives, exactly like we live, but more glorious than we can comprehend. Above the brightness of the sun :)
Love you all,
mle