This week was a bit difficult as, for the second week in a row, most of our appointments cancelled on us, so we put our nose to the grindstone and made it a goal to be constantly walking around trying to find new people to teach! And I testify to you that as we come to those hard times if we "press forward with a steadfastness in Christ" then the reward will be great! One piece of this reward came as we were talking with a member of the ward who has just always LOVED the missionaries. His nickname is Pops because he's constantly taking care of us. He told us that these hard time are going to come even when we're doing everything right. Our faith needs to be tested so we can prove to Heavenly Father that we're going to be faithful to him. I've definitely come to know that this is true. Life is full of tests and hard days, but it's the hard times that teach us the most. Heavenly Father never gives us something that isn't for our benefit. 2 Nephi 20:10 says "I have refined thee, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction." Every hard time, every sorrow, even all of the annoyances that come are way are all to teach us a lesson and refine us into the person that Heavenly Father knows that we can be come.
The second huge reward came from how many amazing people that we were able to meet this week! Not all of them invited us back, but we were able to find 6 new investigators to teach! I've learned that areas go through different stages and we sometimes have to adjust. We had many of our progressing investigators just be baptized and didn't fully process that that meant we needed to put more focus on finding these new people, but as we readjusted our thinking and prayed to follow Heavenly Father's will we were led to many people who I believe have been prepared by the Lord to hear our message.
We also had some really fun things happen this week that I will absolutely send pictures of. There's a couple in this ward who I love dearly who I basically view as a third set of grandparents and since they're going to be across the country on my birthday they threw me an early birthday party and they treated me like royalty(I even had a golden plate). We also were taken to a sushi buffet I tried fish eggs and squid for the first time. So we've had our adventures this week.
I want to end by sharing a scripture that I found during my studies this week. It's D&C 71:3 "verily this is a mission for a season, which I give unto you." As I thought about this verse it really hit me that this doesn't just apply for the full time missionaries. These "missions" can come in all shapes and forms. It could be referring to a church calling, or a trial, but whatever your current mission may be, know that it's only for a season. Later the scripture goes on with a promise saying that if we receive this word of advice "no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper." I know that the Lord gives us all kinds of callings, assignments, and challenges. I know that He's always there to strengthen us through these things and I know that He loves us all more than we could ever know.
I love you all! Thank you for all that you've all taught me.
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| In her words, the clowns she serves with in Dover |
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| Week early Birthday party |
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| Sister Petrick, Sister Bluemel, Sister Van Arsdale |
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| Squid |
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| Nicole, Sister Van Arsdale, Sister Petrick |
Elder Ballard and Elder Clayton were in our mission for a conference last week. They both said that we find all the time. The key to getting members to refer people to missionaries is to teach them about the love of the Savior for each one of us and that the Atonement is to bless everyone! Elder Ballard said he has never had anyone become offended when he asked them to learn more about the Savior. What a wonderful experience.
ReplyDeleteWe love your letters and get good ideas on how to do our work. Thanks for your great example!