It is so good to hear from all of you! You are just the best bunch of people. Thank you so much for the pictures!! I laughed looking at all of them. I'm making an executive decision and decreeing that if a zombie apocalypse ever happened, we should all pick Dad for our team because he's proven himself worthy of turning anything into a weapon and using it accurately. Seriously Dad, can someone say hidden talents?? Plus, Tim. When did you grow up?? Will I even recognize you when I get home?? Can you grow a beard yet? Geez, I don't even know you anymore.... It was so good to hear about the Spook Alley. I think I know where I get my OCD tendencies from. Reading about all the preparation made me understand my companion's point of view a little more haha.
This week was GREAT. Number wise, it was probably the best week I've had on my mission. We have been teaching significantly more lessons. We have been feeling that shorter, more frequent lessons are the way to go (especially with college students) and it's been amazing to see the difference it's made in their progress. We have four (almost five!) progressing investigators and one with a date (Bin!!). Our investigator Forest is praying about being baptized on the 22nd of November and today we asked our investigator Alex if he would be baptized and he said that he needed to read a little more of the Book of Mormon. But I am pretty sure that he will be. He and his friend Shane are AMAZING. I was on tradeoffs with another sister when we met Shane on campus. Then Shane brought Alex to the lesson and we've been teaching them for the past couple weeks! It's been great!! They've been keeping commitments and today Alex gave our closing prayer which was HUGE. It's so incredible to see God's hand in it all!!
This next comment might be a little weird and I might not phrase it right so bear with me: I am very grateful to have experienced a personal loss in my family. It has been an incredible testimony builder for me and a powerful missionary tool. When Sister Lindeman and I first contacted Shane, I felt really prompted to ask him if he'd ever wondered what happened after we died. He replied that he had because his father had just died from cancer two months ago. Because of my personal loss, I was able to relate and immediately testify of the Plan of Salvation and how it's comforted me and my family. My mission has given me so many opportunities to bear testimony of the Plan of Salvation and the eternal nature of family. Because of the loss in our family, I feel like I can connect with people and understand their point of view and offer the comfort I have gained through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I read a talk from April General Conference and this quote closely describes how I feel about losing Christopher, "I would never have asked for this trial, but I would never give it away." I miss Christopher so much it aches sometimes. But I would never give that experience away because of the testimony that it has built in me. I am grateful for parents who were married in the temple because with the loss of Christopher, I won't settle for anything less than a temple marriage because I want that security in my family. I want my family to be sealed with eternal power that can move mountains. I am so grateful for Eternal Families and for God's Plan of Happiness. I am grateful for the ways in which Heavenly Father has prepared me to be an instrument in His hands. We are so blessed and I love Heavenly Father so much for all He has given me.
This last week we went on blitzes with the St. Joseph sisters. Sister Fehlman and I went on splits with them for the day in their area and did some training with them. It was great!! I love missionary work! I went door knocking with Sister Baham and we had some wonderful experiences which taught me a lot of things. One experience that we had really stands out to me: We knocked on the door of a pastor which is always an interesting experience. I remember when I first came on my mission, I wanted people to bash with me so I could prove to them with my infallible logic that I was right. There are so many things wrong with that last sentence and I have come to realize that over the course of my mission. This pastor was not a nice pastor and thankfully he was sick so he didn't want to spend time talking to us, but he did make sure to tell us his thoughts on the Book of Mormon. We bore testimony, invited him to read and ask God if it was true, wished him a speedy recovery, and went on our merry way. As we walked down the street, I felt bad for that man. It truly made me sad that he thought that way about the Book of Mormon because I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that it is "good fruit". Heavenly Father loves us and wants to talk to us and it's us, His children, who choose to limit Him by telling Him He can't talk to us because the apostles are gone now and the Bible is all we need. We are SO. BLESSED. to have the Book of Mormon- SO BLESSED!! Everyone NEEDS to read this book and ask if it is true because IT IS and it will only bring further light, knowledge, truth, and happiness into their lives! I could go on forever about this. Sorry, I'll get off my soapbox now. Just don't ever doubt your testimony of the Book of Mormon. EVER.
Things overall are going well. We are incredibly blessed. That's it. I feel so blessed to be in the Michigan Lansing Mission. Where else in the world would I get this experience? I feel so lucky to be here. This is probably the best decision I have ever made.
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| Happy Halloween from the Pittsburg 1st ward! |
I love you all!! Thank you so much for your love and prayers! They help SO MUCH!!
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