"What a beautiful time of year to do missionary work! Here in Parker all the leaves are starting to change and the weather is gorgeous! I wish every day of the year looked like this!! It makes tracting and finding so much more fun!! But, I am excited for the winter. Apparently, it snows a lot here, but the sun always comes out and the snow doesn't stick for too long. It's going to be a wet winter, from what we've been told, but that just means that more people will let us into their homes because they'll feel bad for us!!! :) Yay for the Lord working miracles like that!
This last week has been busy but great! My companion and I try our hardest to make sure we're exactly obedient and that we're always busy. "A busy missionary is a happy missionary!" Oh how true that is! This last weekend we had Stake Conference and on Sunday it was broadcasted from Salt Lake. Elder Bednar and Elder Scott spoke and holy cow, talk about powerful! They basically chastised us, with eloquence mixed with boldness, and I felt the spirit so strongly. They told us that we, as members, are getting too caught up in the good things in life that they're taking over the best things. They said that we are too busy doing good things, like being involved in sports, projects, work, playing time, etc that F.H.E., scripture study, service, missionary work, church worship, etc are being ignored. They said that NOTHING should take precedence over those things and if they are, we need to sacrifice those things. It was amazing!! It got me thinking about what things, as a missionary, I do that take away from the best things and there are definitely things I need to sacrifice! I'm always a couple of minutes late to personal study, and laughable as that may be, it makes a noticeable difference in my day! We're always told as missionaries to be exactly obedient so that's something I'm working on. Also, I'm not very good at street contacting because I feel awkward and that's definitely something I'm working on overcoming!! It's amazing how, as a missionary, weaknesses you thought weren't that bad are manifested ten fold on your mission! But, it's also amazing how they humble you and turn you to the Lord.
So, the work here is still a bit slow with regards to finding people to teach, BUT our stake and ward are so incredible! The members are letting us teach them the stake missionary lessons and we're starting to see miracles! Several members have been inviting friends to church, church activities, and the movie Meet The Mormons and there are starting to be successes! We've got a huge Trunk-or-Treat party on Saturday and members have been inviting their entire neighborhoods to come! They're expecting over 100 non-members to be there!!! I'm absolutely ecstatic about it! Please pray that we'll be able to get at least one investigator! I know that the Lord will provide as long as we are faithful and obedient!
So, our investigator, Megan, said no to being baptized next month (mostly her husband is against it), but she did say she will be baptized one day and she wants us to keep meeting with her every week. She doesn't really read the Book of Mormon like she should so we're going to start reading with her and we have members coming to the lessons with us. We also offered to do an F.H.E. with her and her husband and she really liked that idea and said her husband would probably be up for that. So things are slowly progressing!
We/I had a small miracle last night. We went over to a member's home (she's a single mom who's going through an awful divorce right now), and we met with her and her mother (who isn't Mormon). Her mother is very skeptical of Joseph Smith and right before we left, she challenged me as to why I thought he was a prophet. I bore testimony of him and of modern day prophets and the Book of Mormon and I was VERY bold!!! It was the first time I've really been that bold and the spirit was SO strong. She was speechless after I was done and was really sweet to us as we were leaving. They invited us back next Sunday so I'm hoping we'll be able to eventually teach her mother more. I'm so grateful the spirit spoke to her heart! And that the spirit spoke through me and helped me! It was just wonderful.
Something that I want to leave with all of you is, please print off and read "The Fourth Missionary" by Elder Coordbridge. It is one of the most incredible talks I've every read and it pertains to members just as much as it pertains to missionary. It truly is changing my life!! As members, please support your local missionaries! I know you already are, but if we don't have the full support of members it makes things very difficult! Being able to go to members homes and teach them and get to know them creates a bond of trust between us and we're uplifted and given courage to be better missionaries (members and missionaries alike). I love my ward here, because when we have a cancellation (especially at 8 pm), we can usually find a member who will let us in and let us teach them! It's such a blessing because we're not allowed to find or tract after 7. So, please continue to support and love your missionaries, especially the ones who are having a hard time! Missionaries are far from perfect and many of them are still so young and homesick. Members are such a blessing to us missionaries and I'm so grateful for all of you amazing members!!!!! I truly am so blessed to know so many great people and have such amazing examples in my life! Thank you for all you've done and continue to do for me and for those around you! I feel like the luckiest girl alive because I'm blessed with amazing friends, family, and acquaintances.
God bless you all (especially in your missionary efforts) and know that you are so loved by Heavenly Father and that He is constantly and continuously blessing you! Keep looking for those miracles every day and you will find them. Love to you all!"
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