This last week has been a hard, stressful, challenging, completely necessary, cleansing, awesome, miraculous week!
It started very discouraging when on Wednesday we had 2 break-ups, which is when someone doesn't want us to teach them anymore. The first one was over text message, from Joe....who was supposed to be baptized this last weekend but he texted and said he didn't want to see us at this time because of family matters. So we were pretty devastated from that. Then we went to see Cameron and Terrel who are these college students from PLU that we have been teaching with Brother Childs. This was a legit break up where Cameron told us that he doesn't like having conversations about something that he knows he's right about (which he's not) because it fuels his pride, and I don't like feeling prideful, so I don't want to meet anymore. Then, he said these exact words, "It's not you, it's me." We tried not to laugh because its not really a laughing matter, but really? He had to say a cliche break up line? it was pretty funny!!
So that day was hard, but Bro. Childs wanted us to hear the answers he had found to Cameron's previous questions so we went and sat under his carport and had an awesome discussion about how God sometimes does contradict himself. (ex. Adam and eve had to break one of the commandments to keep the other) and then we talked about how crazy it is that Nephi cutting Labans head off is in the first 8 pages of the Book of Mormon, so people who try to read the book will most likely always make it to that point. So we talked about that and then went and knocked doors.
After Tracting we had an appt with this new investigator named Jeremy. He is the boyfriend of Sister Staples (a LA member who has started attending church again!) daughter Ashawn. The first time we met him it was the hardest lesson of our lives. He has read just about every anti-mormon thing, and was talking about all this crazy deep doctrine kolob stuff, and who's God's God, and doesn't that mean theres more than one God, and all this crazy stuff that DOESN'T MATTER!!!! It was frustrating. But he agreed to take all 4 lessons, and to read and pray about the Book of Mormon, and so we taught him the first and then on Wednesday we went back, with Bro. Childs, to do the next lesson.
When we walked in Wednesday night Jeremy was a completely different person. We had dinner and then started the lesson, we asked him if he had read the Book of Mormon and prayed about it. He said yeah, I've only read the first 8 chapters though.....our jaws dropped!! Most people haven't read the first 8 words after a day of seeing them, we asked if he had questions and he brought up Nephi cutting off Laban's head, and how he felt like God was contradicting himself because he said "Thou shalt not kill" in the bible. Bro Childs, Sis Ryser, and I pretty much had our jaws on the ground in shock! We had just, before knocking, talked about these two things with Bro. Childs, so we talked through it with him, and then we started talking about the plan of salvation and the Atonement, and we read Alma 7: 11-17 and after reading that Jeremy said that if he came to know, FOR SURE, that this church was true he would be baptized. Ashawn and Sister Staples jaws literally dropped, he was probably the most anti person I've ever met, but he read the Book of Mormon and it changed him! It's so incredible!!! The promise is true, Read the Book of Mormon and pray about it with a sincere heart, real intent, and faith in Christ and you'll know of it's truthfulness.
This week God has blessed us so much!! We met this lady named Marty, and when we taught the Restoration on her door step she was almost crying when we recited the first vision, it was incredible, she took a book of mormon and asked when we could come back!! She used to be Jehovah's Witness, which everyone says Catholics make the best Mormons, but because of beliefs in the Godhead I'd say Jehovah's witnesses make the best Mormons! She is incredible and we're gonna see her again on Thursday, we're so excited.
Yesterday was the most successful Preperation Day of my mission, we got 4 new investigators and we were only out working from 6-9, with dinner included. that's like 1.3 investigators an hour, pretty good in my eyes. We met Krista, whos met with missionaries before, Gracie, a 17 year old girl who is looking for God, Nicole, who has potential but was very drunk when we met her, and Angela who was a referal from the Elders that will hopefully end up loving the gospel!
I realized the other day that I have been called as a full-time missionary, so even when there may be pain I will be a FULL-TIME missionary, I'm not going to let pain take me down anymore, I am going to trust in God, and know that he has called me to this, so therefore he will provide a way if I turn to him, and put my full trust in him!
I have learned a lot this week, and I've come so much closer to my Savior as I've realized how much I've really been lacking in my prayers and study, I've been doing it, but not with the right attitude. You'll get out of something what you put in. The other day I had alot of things that Satan was trying to pull me down with and it was overwhelming! Sister Ryser suggested I go into our room and write down my prayer, and have a conversation with God, a true conversation. So I did that, and it was incredible. I wrote my questions and thoughts and then would sit and wait for answers. Then I would write the answers I got. I used two different pens and it was crazy how without knowingly doing it the handwriting for what God was saying to me changed, and was a handwriting that I would say I've never written with. It was so incredible how powerfully I felt the spirit. It felt different at first, but then I was really having a conversation, and I was able to learn and grow so much, and get answers to the questions I'd been scared to ask before. I would invite anyone who is struggling with something they can't figure out to write out a prayer with God, and expect a conversation. It will come, if you expect it!!
I think I've written enough now, I could go on and on about how awesome the Lord is if there wasn't a time limit, but unfortunately I must go!!
I hope you all have a GREAT WEEK!!! I love you all so much!!! This Gospel is True!! I know with no doubt in my mind!!! If you don't know that yet, read the Book of Mormon and pray about it!! You'll get the answer that it's true, and it will change your life and make you SOO happy....eternally Happy!!
I LOVE YOU!!!!
Sister Thomas
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