Hello Everyone!!!
I
got a library card! So that means I can actually tell all of you what
happened this week. It has truly been a week of miracles. It's amazing
how much we've been able to acomplish despite having all sorts of
non-normal things take up time during our week.
Last Monday not much happened, but I did have a cool
thought. We were driving a lender car while ours was getting fixed a
little bit and the car was red. While we were out looking for a previous
investigator we saw a fire truck and I had this thought. "Fire trucks
are big and red and save lives. Our call is small and red and saves
souls!" We now have our normal car back which is gray and thus doesn't
apply as well, but I thoguht I'd share.
Tuesday we visited with one of our investigators who
has been investigating for a long time, but she has some deep fears
about getting baptized that we're still trying to work through. It was
amazing to be able to visit with her because as we walked in she told us
that she'd been having a really hard day, and it was so amazing that we
could come to give her a little bit of comfort and a lift out of her
bad day. We also did a lot of knocking doors and talking to people. That
has been one of our focuses this week is trying to talk to everyone
that we see. At first (like Monday and Tuesday) it was really hard and
pretty awkward, but by the end of the week it was so much easier!
Wednesday we had a miracle where the member we'd
invited to one of our lessons through her husband but couldn't actually
get ahold of just miraculously showed up at our lesson right after the
opening prayer. Having her there was so good! It's wonderful to have a
member to add testimony, make the investigator feel more comfortable,
and explain things when we have trouble making it make sense.
Thursday we had a really hard day where no one was home that
we specifically tried to contact and no one who's door we knocked on
wanted to hear what we had to say. Then to top it off the mother of two
of our investigators (she's a less active) texted us and told us that we
couldn't come that night and based on other conversations we'd had with
her it sounded like she didn't want us to come any more at all. We were
so disapointed, and I just wanted to cry, but we knew we had to keep
working so we chose a previous investigator and went to visit them. When
we knocked on their door their daughter (a recent convert who goes to
the English ward) opened the door, let us in, and we proceded to have a
lesson with both of her parents (old investigators) and her two sons
(also members)! It was so cool because I really feel like they're more
ready to keep commitments and progress in the gospel. I felt like the
spirit was guiding the lesson and we were able to say things that would
really help them.
Friday was really the coolest miracle in my book. After
dinner we went to visit a woman in the ward who we might be able to do
some service for, but she couldn't meet with us right then so we left.
Just then I realized that I needed to use the restroom so we decided to
try to visit a less active and ask to use her restroom. Sadly her gate
was locked so we couldn't even go up and knock on the door. By this time
though I really needed a restroom so we started knocking doors. The
first family that was home let me use their restroom, and Hna Whetten
talked with them while I did. Then after I got out we continued talking
and eventually taught the first lesson to them (mom, dad, and three
daughters all over 8). They were all listening attentively, and seemed
open to what we had to say. They've visited a few of our temples, but
never acutally talked with missionaries in their home before. Once again
we felt like the spirit was really guiding the lesson from both sides.
The agreed to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it, and also to let
us come back this week!!! The all speak pretty good English, and the
girls mostly only speak English so they might end up going to the
English Elders, but I am sitll so excited that we found them!!!!!! They
are so ready to hear this gospel!
Saturday we had another miracle as well. After lunch we
didn't have any specific appointments so we decided to try to contact
two of our investigators that we haven't been able to get a second
meeting with. We went to Maria first, but she wasn't home so we went to
visit with Juan and Noe (Noah). As we walked up to their house it turned
out that they had just got home from a soccer game fifteen minutes
before (If we'd gone to them first they wouldn't have been home. Also
they weren't expected home for another while so there's no way we would
have waited.) All the women in the house were leaving so we had to go
outside, but they were just fine with sitting out on the porch and
letting us teach a lesson. It was so cool, and we really felt like the
Spirit was guiding this lesson as well. They asked good questions, and
we were able to ask questions that really made them think. They both
promised to read the Book of Mormon and pray about whether or not it's
true!! It is amazing to me how the spirit can open and touch every
heart. I love that the Book of Mormon can be so instrumental in helping
people gain testimonies for themselves of the truth of this gospel!
Sunday there was a baptism for an investigator of the
bike-Elders. The baptism was such an amazing experience! The spirit was
SO strong, and I felt once again how important it is for people to be
able to gain a testimony of this and then be baptized and start down
this path! This truly is the path to finding lasting happiness in this
life and in the life to come. Watching her smile so big through the
whole service was AMAZING!!! I had such a hard time not crying, and it
worries me for when I get to watch the baptisms of investigators that
I've worked closely with and developed a relationship with. I want so
badly for them to be able to feel this joy that I have every day, and
from personal experience I know that reading the scriptures, praying,
going to church, being baptized, and following the commandments of God
(all of those are continuous except baptism) is the best way to do that.
I ablsolutely love bing a missionary here! I had a cool
realization the other day about the importance of testifying to
everyone. I realized that as we testify people really do recognize us as
representatives of Christ on a spirit to spirit level. I can see it in
their eyes, and by the way that they change how open they are to hearing
from us throughout our conversation. Daddy wrote me a letter this week
that talked about how he's learning more and more that often things are
meant on a much more spiritual than physical level. I think this applies
so well to how people respond to missionaries. When we just show up in
our skirts and with our tags, being nice, and speaking well (or poorly
in my case) they may recognize us as good people. They may even
recognize that we really feel strongly about what we're teaching, but
that's not enough. They need to recognize us on a spiritual level that
will allow them to subconsiously remember what their souls are looking
for, and recognize that we can help them find it.
I love you all! This gospel is true! I love being a missionary!
Love,
Hermana Marin Hardy
Comments
Post a Comment