Monday, July 28, 2014
revised letter to mission president
1. How are you increasing in "wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man?"
This week, I have realized a lot how much I actually have grown. On monday we picked up Hna. Fotu. It's been interesting seeing how I influenced both of the companions I trained. It's comforting to know that I gave both of them a good start. Also, I have started working on my final letter (a fancy handwritten letter I have to write to President Ames before I end my mission), trying to sum up everything I've learned in the last 18 months. There has been a lot of growth just in the act of attempting to sum it all up. I have realized even more that I wouldn't trade the world for the experiences I've had, good and bad. In district meeting, our district leader Elder Hendricks shared a quote with us from a Martin handcart company survivor: "The price was worth it to be acquainted with God". That's exactly how I feel about my mission.
2. A spiritual experience you had this week?
This week it was the lesson we had with a reactivating member to help him feel worthy to enter the temple. He is the sort of person to worry about literally everything and want to be perfect in order to start anything and has a lot of regrets about how things have happened in his life. So we taught him about worthiness and exactly what he need to go to the temple. It was very spirit driven and according to his needs.
3. What successes have you had in reaching your weekly goals?
Both of our investigators with a baptism date came to church! It really does look like we're going to make these baptism dates happen! Also a member, Jose, that's getting reactivated just got his limited use temple recommend on sunday! It's a big step in reaching my personal transfer goals: 1 more baptism, and to go do baptisms for the dead with our member that is going through the 90 day program. I think it really will happen. It will take a lot of work but I am determined to end my mission on a high note.
This week, I have realized a lot how much I actually have grown. On monday we picked up Hna. Fotu. It's been interesting seeing how I influenced both of the companions I trained. It's comforting to know that I gave both of them a good start. Also, I have started working on my final letter (a fancy handwritten letter I have to write to President Ames before I end my mission), trying to sum up everything I've learned in the last 18 months. There has been a lot of growth just in the act of attempting to sum it all up. I have realized even more that I wouldn't trade the world for the experiences I've had, good and bad. In district meeting, our district leader Elder Hendricks shared a quote with us from a Martin handcart company survivor: "The price was worth it to be acquainted with God". That's exactly how I feel about my mission.
2. A spiritual experience you had this week?
This week it was the lesson we had with a reactivating member to help him feel worthy to enter the temple. He is the sort of person to worry about literally everything and want to be perfect in order to start anything and has a lot of regrets about how things have happened in his life. So we taught him about worthiness and exactly what he need to go to the temple. It was very spirit driven and according to his needs.
3. What successes have you had in reaching your weekly goals?
Both of our investigators with a baptism date came to church! It really does look like we're going to make these baptism dates happen! Also a member, Jose, that's getting reactivated just got his limited use temple recommend on sunday! It's a big step in reaching my personal transfer goals: 1 more baptism, and to go do baptisms for the dead with our member that is going through the 90 day program. I think it really will happen. It will take a lot of work but I am determined to end my mission on a high note.
Monday, July 21, 2014
revised letter to mission president
**names have been changed
2. A spiritual experience you had this week?
Where to begin... Here are some of the highlights.
- Santiago came to church. Here's how we found him. We were looking for a former investigator in a body shop where he supposedly worked. We didn't find him, but we found Santiago, Jose, and Andres working in the shop. We initially didn't plan on spending a lot of time there since it wasn't the right shop and we didn't want to take away time from their work. But they offered us water and asked lots of questions about the Church and really opened up to us. Santiago said he wanted to come to church. We left our contact information and set a return appointment. This is a perfect example of being guided by the Spirit to be in the "wrong" place at the right time. I feel bad for this, but I didn't take Santiago seriously when he said he was going to church. After all, we invite everyone to go to church and they almost never show up, especially not if we've just barely met them. And when we went to church, Santiago showed up! He didn't even have his own car to get there, but he made it! It makes me think about my own faith and what I would do in that situation. If I weren't a member and had just met some missionaries a few days ago, would I make that much of an effort to go to church?
- We taught Enrique the Word of Wisdom. It went really well and the Spirit was really strong, and he committed to live it. We brought a 17 year old member with us who was planning on going on a mission. We didn't think too much of it since we missionaries are relatively used to experiences like that. But later that night, the girl who came with us sent us a text thanking us for taking her with us and helping her feel the Spirit so strongly. It was a great reminder that when we take members with us to appointments, it not just for the investigators. It's also for the members.
3. What successes have you had in reaching your weekly goals?
Well, almost everything has been a success! We had 6 people come to church! I've never had that many people come to church before. It blew my mind and it's another one of those moments where I have to wonder "what did I deserve to receive so many blessings?" I really can't attribute it to anything that I did. The glory is not mine, but the Father's. As always, I feel like I'm a spectator to the success we experience. We also contacted nearly twice as many people as we planned, got twice as many new investigators, and gave out twice as many Books of Mormon. I really am so happy to be here in Lewisville and witness this in a place that I once thought was "dead" or "slow".
4. Have you experienced any disappointments and how did you overcome them?
We found out that Juan is going to be moving next week. It's sad because I really did think he would get baptized in the near future and I would be there when it would happen. But I trust that God cares for him much more than I do and that the missionaries will find him in Mexico. But on the bright side, our last lesson with him wasn't contentious or tense like the last couple lessons. He didn't bring up his doubts fueled by anti-Mormon material. And I have more compassion for him now that I understand that he didn't understand the doctrine as well as we thought.
2. A spiritual experience you had this week?
Where to begin... Here are some of the highlights.
- Santiago came to church. Here's how we found him. We were looking for a former investigator in a body shop where he supposedly worked. We didn't find him, but we found Santiago, Jose, and Andres working in the shop. We initially didn't plan on spending a lot of time there since it wasn't the right shop and we didn't want to take away time from their work. But they offered us water and asked lots of questions about the Church and really opened up to us. Santiago said he wanted to come to church. We left our contact information and set a return appointment. This is a perfect example of being guided by the Spirit to be in the "wrong" place at the right time. I feel bad for this, but I didn't take Santiago seriously when he said he was going to church. After all, we invite everyone to go to church and they almost never show up, especially not if we've just barely met them. And when we went to church, Santiago showed up! He didn't even have his own car to get there, but he made it! It makes me think about my own faith and what I would do in that situation. If I weren't a member and had just met some missionaries a few days ago, would I make that much of an effort to go to church?
- We taught Enrique the Word of Wisdom. It went really well and the Spirit was really strong, and he committed to live it. We brought a 17 year old member with us who was planning on going on a mission. We didn't think too much of it since we missionaries are relatively used to experiences like that. But later that night, the girl who came with us sent us a text thanking us for taking her with us and helping her feel the Spirit so strongly. It was a great reminder that when we take members with us to appointments, it not just for the investigators. It's also for the members.
3. What successes have you had in reaching your weekly goals?
Well, almost everything has been a success! We had 6 people come to church! I've never had that many people come to church before. It blew my mind and it's another one of those moments where I have to wonder "what did I deserve to receive so many blessings?" I really can't attribute it to anything that I did. The glory is not mine, but the Father's. As always, I feel like I'm a spectator to the success we experience. We also contacted nearly twice as many people as we planned, got twice as many new investigators, and gave out twice as many Books of Mormon. I really am so happy to be here in Lewisville and witness this in a place that I once thought was "dead" or "slow".
4. Have you experienced any disappointments and how did you overcome them?
We found out that Juan is going to be moving next week. It's sad because I really did think he would get baptized in the near future and I would be there when it would happen. But I trust that God cares for him much more than I do and that the missionaries will find him in Mexico. But on the bright side, our last lesson with him wasn't contentious or tense like the last couple lessons. He didn't bring up his doubts fueled by anti-Mormon material. And I have more compassion for him now that I understand that he didn't understand the doctrine as well as we thought.
Monday, July 7, 2014
Here's what happened this week!
1. How are you increasing in "wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man?"
I'm also really excited to be in Lewisville for my last transfer. It will be a new experience being in 1 area for 7.5 months, but I'm also excited. In Denton and Temple, I didn't stay long enough to see most of the fruits of my efforts, even though I was there for 4.5 and 6 months respectively. But now I think I'll be able to stay and see what happens. We have 2 baptism dates and I really do think I'll be able to see them both get baptized! What a satisfying way to end a mission!
2. A spiritual experience you had this week?
One experience was studying for Juan (name change). In response to the fact that he keeps running into anti-Mormon information in his genuine search for truth, we wanted to teach him that there has always been opposition from Satan (because he knows it's true too) in the restored church, ever since Joseph Smith. I read all of Joseph Smith-history and the opposition is so apparent. It strengthened my testimony of the restoration to remember how much opposition this church has experienced from the beginning. No one seems to care about any other christian church (except for Catholics, maybe). There isn't a huge wealth of anti-Presbyterian or Methodist or Pentacostal information that I know of. Just for Mormons. It's evidence to me that this gospel is so true.
It was also amazing setting our other baptism date with Jose (name change). It's been a joy teaching him because he is so childlike despite being in his 30s. He's so humble, excited to learn, and every time we teach him something he didn't know before he says "Wow! Really?". When the opportunity to set a baptism date for 8/9/14, he responded with the same childlike enthusiasm. It's beautiful and shows me why we need to become like little children.
3. What successes have you had in reaching your weekly goals?
We did well considering we didn't have our car this week, and it takes forever to walk to anyone we're teaching. While it's hard, I do like how going car-less forces us to rely more on members. It really showed in the fact that we had 6 exchanges and 7 member present lessons.
4. Have you experienced any disappointments and how did you overcome them?
Satan's working overtime to make sure that Juan doesn't get to church. And despite our best efforts, we haven't been able to teach him this week. This is making me nervous... And no one came to church. What more can I do for this part of the vineyard??
I'm also really excited to be in Lewisville for my last transfer. It will be a new experience being in 1 area for 7.5 months, but I'm also excited. In Denton and Temple, I didn't stay long enough to see most of the fruits of my efforts, even though I was there for 4.5 and 6 months respectively. But now I think I'll be able to stay and see what happens. We have 2 baptism dates and I really do think I'll be able to see them both get baptized! What a satisfying way to end a mission!
2. A spiritual experience you had this week?
One experience was studying for Juan (name change). In response to the fact that he keeps running into anti-Mormon information in his genuine search for truth, we wanted to teach him that there has always been opposition from Satan (because he knows it's true too) in the restored church, ever since Joseph Smith. I read all of Joseph Smith-history and the opposition is so apparent. It strengthened my testimony of the restoration to remember how much opposition this church has experienced from the beginning. No one seems to care about any other christian church (except for Catholics, maybe). There isn't a huge wealth of anti-Presbyterian or Methodist or Pentacostal information that I know of. Just for Mormons. It's evidence to me that this gospel is so true.
It was also amazing setting our other baptism date with Jose (name change). It's been a joy teaching him because he is so childlike despite being in his 30s. He's so humble, excited to learn, and every time we teach him something he didn't know before he says "Wow! Really?". When the opportunity to set a baptism date for 8/9/14, he responded with the same childlike enthusiasm. It's beautiful and shows me why we need to become like little children.
3. What successes have you had in reaching your weekly goals?
We did well considering we didn't have our car this week, and it takes forever to walk to anyone we're teaching. While it's hard, I do like how going car-less forces us to rely more on members. It really showed in the fact that we had 6 exchanges and 7 member present lessons.
4. Have you experienced any disappointments and how did you overcome them?
Satan's working overtime to make sure that Juan doesn't get to church. And despite our best efforts, we haven't been able to teach him this week. This is making me nervous... And no one came to church. What more can I do for this part of the vineyard??
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