1. How are you increasing in "wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man?"
I'm getting a little bit better at teaching my companion like I teach the investigators. It's about time since I'm almost done training her...
She's been feeling really inadequate and scared that she's going to be training next transfer. She's scared that she won't be able to continue the work here in Lewisville without me. I think she feels pressure to do everything I do and know everything I know which isn't fair at all since I have a lot more experience. There have been a couple companionship studies where she was so nervous she couldn't think straight and I took the time to teach her that God never gives us more than we can handle, and that even though God's will is often different than our will and tends to stretch us to the limit, God will always give us peace and comfort if we ask for it.
That and I have a slightly better idea of how to correct her. Even though she knows that we go to bed at 10:30, and I always go to bed at 10:30, she kept going to bed later. She was mostly obedient and honestly didn't see the difference between being mostly obedient and exactly obedient. She told me she got a bad impression of "exact obedience" from one of her companions in the MTC. They didn't get along and she was obedient to the T and enforced her interpretation of obedience on everyone else. She also got the impression that the missionaries that are "fun to be around" are not exactly obedient. I really hope she understood when I told her that I don't want her to be exactly obedient because I'm micro-managing or trying to be her mom. I want her to be exactly obedient because obedience is the first law of heaven, and a prerequisite to miracles. I want her to be exactly obedient like the stripling warriors because like them, we need all the help we can get. She wasn't too happy and thought I was worrying about stuff that didn't matter, but at least she knows what I think. She was honestly surprised when I told her that it makes me nervous when she doesn't get to bed on time. It makes me think "what did I do?" or "what did I neglect to do for her?". She didn't understand that in a way, I feel responsible for her and how she turns out. I guess this is a little taste of what parenting is like.
2. A spiritual experience you had this week?
We had a miracle (yet again) with Juan (name change). After interviews, we went with President Pratt (one of the mission president's counselors that speaks spanish) to go teach him. We taught about the Atonement and the spirit was really strong. It was one of those lessons where we felt like spectators to the Lord's work and we were all following the same direction from the Spirit. All 4 of us said just what he needed to hear or understand. President Pratt related baptism to the atonement, the other member (recent convert) we brought with us talked about her experience having a baptism date, and my companion testified that it would be hard, but so worth it. As all 3 of them talked, I had a strong prompting to set a baptism date, over and over. I did it. Usually I'm pretty awkward about setting baptism dates, but this time the Spirit told me what to say and it came out of my mouth easily. And the miraculous part? Juan said yes! We had invited him to be baptized several times before, but this time he offered no resistance and he knew that was what he was supposed to do. He knows what he needs to do and how he's going to get there. Wow!
I'm getting a little bit better at teaching my companion like I teach the investigators. It's about time since I'm almost done training her...
She's been feeling really inadequate and scared that she's going to be training next transfer. She's scared that she won't be able to continue the work here in Lewisville without me. I think she feels pressure to do everything I do and know everything I know which isn't fair at all since I have a lot more experience. There have been a couple companionship studies where she was so nervous she couldn't think straight and I took the time to teach her that God never gives us more than we can handle, and that even though God's will is often different than our will and tends to stretch us to the limit, God will always give us peace and comfort if we ask for it.
That and I have a slightly better idea of how to correct her. Even though she knows that we go to bed at 10:30, and I always go to bed at 10:30, she kept going to bed later. She was mostly obedient and honestly didn't see the difference between being mostly obedient and exactly obedient. She told me she got a bad impression of "exact obedience" from one of her companions in the MTC. They didn't get along and she was obedient to the T and enforced her interpretation of obedience on everyone else. She also got the impression that the missionaries that are "fun to be around" are not exactly obedient. I really hope she understood when I told her that I don't want her to be exactly obedient because I'm micro-managing or trying to be her mom. I want her to be exactly obedient because obedience is the first law of heaven, and a prerequisite to miracles. I want her to be exactly obedient like the stripling warriors because like them, we need all the help we can get. She wasn't too happy and thought I was worrying about stuff that didn't matter, but at least she knows what I think. She was honestly surprised when I told her that it makes me nervous when she doesn't get to bed on time. It makes me think "what did I do?" or "what did I neglect to do for her?". She didn't understand that in a way, I feel responsible for her and how she turns out. I guess this is a little taste of what parenting is like.
2. A spiritual experience you had this week?
We had a miracle (yet again) with Juan (name change). After interviews, we went with President Pratt (one of the mission president's counselors that speaks spanish) to go teach him. We taught about the Atonement and the spirit was really strong. It was one of those lessons where we felt like spectators to the Lord's work and we were all following the same direction from the Spirit. All 4 of us said just what he needed to hear or understand. President Pratt related baptism to the atonement, the other member (recent convert) we brought with us talked about her experience having a baptism date, and my companion testified that it would be hard, but so worth it. As all 3 of them talked, I had a strong prompting to set a baptism date, over and over. I did it. Usually I'm pretty awkward about setting baptism dates, but this time the Spirit told me what to say and it came out of my mouth easily. And the miraculous part? Juan said yes! We had invited him to be baptized several times before, but this time he offered no resistance and he knew that was what he was supposed to do. He knows what he needs to do and how he's going to get there. Wow!
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