What a week!

Mi Familia!

My goodness! What an incredible week. I feel like it’s been ages because so many things have happened but the time seems to go so fast. I can’t believe it's already Monday again!

My core experience with God this week was realizing how aware Heavenly Father is of me. I had a lot of ups and downs this week, (way more ups then downs though) but through it all Heavenly Father knew exactly what I needed and He made it possible for me to get through it all. I felt so strongly this week that I was here for many different reasons. As I only have a little while left, the Lord wants to teach me so many different things. I can feel it already. And I have to be willing to follow him in faith every step of the way. But opening up a new area is not easy. I have to continue to relearn even more how to rely on Heavenly Father. In DTM this week we talked about faith and we read a scripture in Hebrews 11:6.

6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

It really stuck out to me that I can’t please Heavenly Father if I don’t have faith in him. I can’t do any of this work without faith in Him. If I’m working just going from task to task not believing that I’m doing the Lord’s will and that He called me here specifically then it is all in vain. I realized that I needed this different perspective. In the mission field we talk about all the time how we need to have faith, that only through faith can miracles occur. But what we don’t realize that if we don’t show enough faith we aren’t pleasing Heavenly Father either. If we don’t have enough faith then nothing will change within us. Of course nothing in the field will be prohibited because of us. Disobedient missionaries still have Baptisms, but if we want to see the miracle of our own conversion we must put our faith and trust in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. And I know just as the scripture says as I diligently seek the Lord and His guidance in every way, then even more blessings and miracles will occur. Sanctification will come on an even deeper level and my commitment to follow Jesus Christ will be so strong that I have no where else to turn, but to Him.

In my experience as teaching as the Savior did, was being able to walk into miracles this week, all of them perfectly orchestrated by Heavenly Father.

The first was with an investigator. We met her on Sunday morning last week. We went back for our apt. on Tuesday and she said she was busy, but she was out on the porch so we decided to chat with her anyways. We talked a lot about the message that we share and we found one of her concerns, being that of living eternally with her family. Because of our trusty companion, the Holy Ghost, we felt prompted to talk about baptism. Baptism of course being the first step to living with our families after this life, because we cant unless we are clean. When we said that she looked at us, and I just felt the strongest impression to invite her to be baptized. And lo and behold, she said YES! My goodness. What a miracle. As we called around to share our miracle with the mission it was only 10:30 and everyone was like how do you have a miracle and its only 10:30. And our only response was, just Heavenly Father blessing us to be in the right place at the right time.

Another miracle that we saw was with a LA/PM family. We had received her name from the Bishop and we decided to go follow up with her. But when we knocked she wasn’t home. But there was a little play group session happening in the field by her house, and we both felt the prompting to go and talk to them. I had no idea why, but we followed anyway. We started talking to the people running it and this Less Active Sister walks up to us and says where are you sisters from? So we told her and she said you are in our ward? Great well my house is right here come on over! Little did we know that this was  the LA we had been trying to contact. As we sat with her in her home she told us that her son is turning 9 and needs to be baptized. My goodness. Can you believe it! The Lord worked that one out perfectly as well!

Another fantastic miracle was learning that 2 people from my previous area are getting baptized! Both of which have been waiting for ages for everything to be alright and it is finally happening now. I couldn’t even believe it.  Music to my ears. And that is what this work is all about. When I shared the miracle with everyone I couldn’t help but cry. When you work so hard with people to help them to make these covenants and then when they actually can you just feel so at peace.

And a last miracle to share was with another family that Bishop had asked us to contact. S. T has been a member of the Church since last September, but her daughters have been members for about 6 years. They live with their aunties and cousins who are all non members. After our dinner apt last night the spirit prompted us very powerfully to go over to their house. Not knowing the reason, we went anyway, just thinking they would need some help. But as we knocked this sister answered the door and she's like I can’t believe you are here right now. This is a miracle! WE go and sit down and she begins to tell us that her cousin had just been asking her what he needs to do to be baptized! Oh my goodnight! Ha  So she invited him to sit in on the lesson with us and we taught about the Savior and his role in our lives and we were able to set up another time to meet with their family and cousin.

 So many miracles have happened this week that I feel so incredibly blessed to be here. I don’t know why the Lord counted me so lucky to be able to witness these miracles but I’m so grateful that I got/get to be a part of it. It is amazing to see and feel the Lord hastening his work and having us be the instruments in his hands.

Something that I have learned from my companion this week, is her great ability to love others and to love others quickly. I am amazed at how friendly she is directly and how quickly she gets to know people. I realized that this is something that I still need to work on. I need to be able to love more quickly and give my heart more easily to people. But being that vulnerable is not an easy thing to do. It’s hard to put yourself out there when sometimes you know that people will reject you, but I’ve come to learn that great power comes when we are vulnerable. Then the spirit is even more powerfully felt by us and by others and then we change even faster.

I know that this church is true. I know that God lives and that he Loves each and everyone of us. I’m so grateful to be serving in Hassall Grove!