Sunday, October 13, 2013

And By the Power of The Holy Ghost Ye May Know the Truth of All things



Well this week was great! So much happened I don't even know where to start. I shall take some advice from my friend the March Hare, "Start at the beginning!"

We helped a lot of people move this week. It was good! I really like doing service! It gives you such a good feeling. Go figure, right? :)

We were also able to teach a lot of Less Actives this week. It was good! I like working with these members. It can be hard though, when they feel that they don't need the gospel in their life, and that they are content with where they are. We try to help them remember their testimony by teaching them the missionary lessons. We're going to keep working with them! It's really powerful when they do remember why they joined the church, or why the gospel is important.

Investigator-wise things are going well. We found a lot of potential this week, which was super awesome! There was one particular experience that I wanted to share with you! It was beginning to get dark one evening, but we felt like we needed to try one more person. We looked over a list that we had, and one name stood out to us. We looked her up in the ward directory and saw that she had a one-year old baby. We questioned whether it was a good idea to go and knock on their door, when it was likely that they had just put their baby to bed. But I had a super strong feeling that we should go. So we headed over, and it was getting darker and darker quickly. We went up and knocked on the door and a man answered. We found out that the Less Active member that used to live there doesn't anymore and that this man and his family had been living there for a while now. We started to talk with him about who we were, and he was really interested! :) :) We weren't able to talk with him long, but we have an appointment with him tomorrow that we are excited for! It was a miracle because they live in a gated apartment complex which means no tracting there. There was no other way that we could have found them. :)

We also were able to get some new investigators from another ward in our zone. They had taught them a couple of times and then found out that they are in our area! They're a little hard to get a hold of, but it looks like they've been willing to learn and progress so we're excited!

Another miracle this week. So our apartment manager is our Ward Mission Leader as well. Convenient, right? Well there were three ladies moving into our apartment complex, (Two Sisters, and on of the sister's daughter) and they didn't have anyone to help them. Elders Quorum to the rescue! :) So we got to help them move in! They really appreciated that we helped them and didn't want to be paid. They began to ask us questions about why we are here as missionaries and what we do. One of them is seventeen and she asked, "Do you mind if I ask you guys what you believe in?" We assured her that, that question didn't offend us in the slightest. :) We were able to teach a mini-restoration lesson right then and there! It was amazing! They are interested in learning more and in coming to church! We are so excited! They really were an answer to my prayer. We've been wanting to find investigators that are ready and willing to progress, and I think these ladies are ready! :) :)

Also, the ward has really been wanting to step in and get more involved with missionary work! Our Mission President and all of the Stake Presidents in the Rancho Cucamonga Mission were invited to meet with Elder Ballard and Elder Perry via web conference. They expressed that us missionaries need to be teaching! And if we're not filling up our days teaching investigators and less-active members then we need to be in the homes of active ward members teaching. I'm so excited! We've made a plan for the missionaries to meet in members homes more, and we're going to start a 40-day fast for missionary work starting next Sunday! I feel like this is going to bring great things to our area. We really want to be teaching more, and I feel like this will help us become better teachers and unite us with the ward in our efforts! It's going to be awesome!

We ended up dropping a few investigators this week as well. One of them really taught me to follow the spirit. She had expressed that she was comfortable with her church, and wasn't interested in changing. Sister Riley and I prepared a lesson as best as we could to help meet her needs, but we knew we were going to have to follow the spirit. We decided to read 2 Nephi 31 with her, which talks a lot about the Doctrine of Christ. As we read with her, and discussed with her the spirit was so strong in the room. We testified that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was given to us as a way to return to live with our Father in Heaven, and as a way for us to be happy in this life. We also testified of God's priesthood authority. As I bore my testimony the spirit confirmed to me right then and there that what I was saying was true. It was so sweet, and so powerful. X felt she still wasn't ready yet, but she said, "You know, I'm going to try and read a chapter out of the Book of Mormon everyday." We encouraged her to do so, and told her that when she was ready to meet with us again to let us know. The spirit told her that the Book of Mormon was important. Deep down the spirit told her it was true. She may not be ready now, but I know one day she will be. :) The spirit is so powerful.

Funny things that happened this week:
While on the way to the Library we stopped to let this little Asian boy and his Mom cross in front of us. He stood right in front of the car, held his hand up, and kept yelling "Stop! Stop!" He then made a time-out sign and kept yelling "Stop!" Sister Riley and I cracked up! His mom did too. It was so funny!

So yes, it was a full week! I didn't get to even tell you all that happened, but know that I'm doing well! Oh! guess what! Sister Morones is back with us again! Her stomach problems got worse, and they want her in the valley near the doctors that she is seeing, so she's going to be working with us again. We're really hoping that she gets better soon, but we're also happy to have her with us again!

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