First week of the transfer down!! Transfers didn’t go as expected haha. Five minutes away from the transfer building the AP’s told me my greenie had a doctor’s appointment and we had to leave as soon as I got there. So I missed all the meetings and just went to his doctor’s appointment lol. We came back just in time to hit the end though. His name is Elder Anderson and he is from Riverton Utah. He’s super cool and I’m really excited for this transfer.
We had a super cool experience though! We got home and put his stuff away and then headed to Walmart to get groceries. Obviously I went to the hot wheels aisle to see if there was anything new. When we were over there this African American dude asked if we worked there. We said no and he asked who we were. We explained that we were missionaries and what we do as missionaries. He asked if we had churches in Africa and we told him we had churches all over the world. I told him my sister went to Ghana for a humanitarian trip and how the church has a bunch of different programs like that. He had so many questions for us it was awesome!! We ended up teaching him the whole Restoration and the Gospel! He then asked us about people that are in Africa that never have heard of Jesus Christ. Do they go to hell? How perfect of a question!!! So we taught him about the Spirit world!! It was soooo cool especially for Elder Anderson to experience on his first day.
On friday we had zone conference and it was so good!! Sister Seitz talked about charity and love. She talked about how we should constantly be praying to have more charity. That just like Enos, we should be praying with all energy of heart. President Seitz talked about faith and how we all need to have more faith in our individual areas. He quoted 1 Nephi 17:50-51 which says,
“And I said unto them: If God had commanded me to do all things I could do them. If he should command me that I should say unto this water, be thou earth, it should be earth; and if I should say it, it would be done. And now, if the Lord has such great power, and has wrought so many miracles among the children of men, how is it that he cannot instruct me, that I should build a ship?”
God has commanded us to build up his kingdom and bring his children to him. This is his work and he will provide a way for it to happen. President said, “you’re doing good, Lets be better”. It was so simple but meant a lot to me because as missionaries obviously we are doing good things, but there are always ways to be better, and areas we can improve on to be more effective with the Lord’s time.
Friday night there was a tornado in Paris and I missed it!!! Man I miss Paris. But the weather was still pretty bad here too. We had a lesson with this lady named Ivone. She let us come in and had such a sweet spirit. A lot of the people we teach still have a lot of walls built up because of previous religious knowledge or the way they were raised. Ivone however was very humble. She said her son started college this year and had been asking her questions about God. He didn’t know which church was true and what teachings are correct. Ivone wanting to be a good mother and having these same questions in her heart, wanted to find out. Meeting with us she said that she just wants to find the truth. We had a super cool lesson and talked about the book of mormon and the restoration. She told us she felt so much peace while talking with us. She recognized the spirit and you could see it in her eyes as we testified of the Book of Mormon.
On Saturday we randomly decided to stop by one lady that was reassigned to us by the English elders. She didn’t answer the door but we saw 2 guys moving a recliner into their apartment. We casually acted like we were looking at our phones until they came back outside and asked if they needed help. They accepted without hesitation. We helped them unload a double recliner couch which was pretty dang heavy. We got it out of the truck and then carried it to their apartment on the second floor. The stairs curved around too and I didn’t think we’d be able to do it but we did. One of the guys said one of his friends was a bishop somewhere and had good things to say about the church. They said if they had some weed they would give us some, but unfortunately they didn’t have any… It was just cool to be at the right place at the right time. They definitely would not have been able to do it without us. Plus it gave them a good impression of our church.
Sunday was a good day but super busy. We had a cool spontaneous lesson with a couple and their 2 year old daughter. They were super cool and as we were teaching them you could just see the wheels spinning in their heads as they understood everything. It was cool to see them think about things and questions they have never thought about. It was a powerful lesson and the spirit was really strong.
Today this afternoon we had lunch with a recent convert. He randomly messaged the English elders asking if he could feed us since he’s a manager at Cici’s pizza. We had lunch and he told us his conversion story. It was super cool and very spiritual. He’s 25 but has started his mission papers and told us why he has chosen to serve and it was really cool. He had a few experiences with a girl he was rejected by and then later she became a member and he helped her and the story was crazy lol. But basically she’s not very active right now and he just explained how she had helped him to see his importance of serving a mission even though he has very strong feelings for her. It was such a spiritual conversation and I was able to bear my testimony and things that I have gone through as far as dating and how it has shaped my mission. It was so awesome just opening up with eachother and he was crying and the spirit was so strong. It was amazing to have met him and talked with him for maybe an hour but we all had so much love for him.
One of the things that I talked to him about was how God has a plan for every one of us. I have such a strong testimony that God placess people in our lives for a reason. Sometimes we think somebody enters our life for a reason, but the Lord puts them in our lives for a different purpose. Whether somebody enters your life for years and years, or whether you talk to them one time, God placed them in your path for a reason. There are always things that we can learn from eachother. People have entered my life and taught me things I never thought I would have to learn. The Lord works in mysterious ways. He works through our prayers, he works the scrpitures, he works through service opportunities, he works through his servants, and he works through you. You can always be a source of light to others. Remember to stay worthy of your covenant to take upon yourself the name of Jesus Christ. Do your actions reflect the name of Jesus Christ?
This email was very all over the place and I struggled to explain my thoughts but I hope the spirit has taught you something. Don’t forget your divine identtiy as a child of God. His love for you is infinite and unchanging. The Lord’s hand is always in your life. Every single day. Don’t fail to recognize his help. He is mindful of his children and knows all the trials and struggles that we go through. You are not alone. I love you all and hope you have an amazing week. Muchos besos! And remember, God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good!!
