I don't know what to put as the subject for my weekly emails anymore, so I'm going to put in a good scripture from now on.
Alma 36:3 And now, O my son Helaman, behold, thou art in thy youth, and therefore, I beseech of thee that thou wilt hear my words and learn of me; for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day.
This week was a busy one, as always. We had zone conference on Tuesday and exchanges on Wednesday. On Thursday, we got to go to Lorida, somewhere that is usually too far away to ever go in our area. I also took some amazing photos for ya'll to enjoy.
Zone conference is the best. The entire southern half of the mission got together on Tuesday and we had lots of trainings and we got to hear from our mission president. They're fun because it's quite a road trip for us. We are the furthest area from Orlando, and it takes over 2 hours to get there. We got to hang out with the Elders from Sebring for a few hours. I also got to see Elder Squires and Elder Hodges, my trainer and MTC companion.
I got to go on an exchange with the District Leader, Elder Gibson, on Wednesday. We had a good day and I learned a lot. I had never been on an exchange with someone who had been out for more than 8 months. Elder Gibson has been out for 21 months. It's always fun to get a new companion for the day.
Thursday was the last day of the month, and we had 100 miles left on our car to use for the month, which is fantastic. We got to drive to the furthest point in our area, where I've never been, and visit people. We set up 3 appointments and had a lot of good contacts.
This week we also did 9 hours of service, which is great. Service makes the weeks go by way faster. We got to do service with the Sebring Elders at the Knapps home. They live right on a lake, so we got some really cool, fun pictures there.
Although we were very busy, we didnt have a single lesson this week. First time on my mission. We had 8 appointments fall through. I guess that's what happens sometimes, we can make invitations and set appointments, but people will always have their agency.
That's about it for this week. I know that this church is true. I also know people say that too much, but oh well. I love being able to study the gospel so much. There are so many miracles we see and hear every day, the spirit is too strong when we teach people, the good that comes from this gospel is too amazing to ever be able to deny the truthfulness of this gospel. I can't imagine my life without it, which is why I am sharing it with others. Being a missionary is a very difficult, challenging experience, but it is so worth it.
1. So close, it just needs a y
2. I know, I know, I forgot to wear my tag for service. Also, isnt Elder Hintikka such a handsome Elder?
March 11: Fourth Floor, Last Door
Mosiah 2:41 And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.
The subject for this email, Fourth Floor, Last Door, is kind of a theme for this week. It's from a talk by Elder Uchtdorf about how the blessings come after all the hard work, that it's amazing how many people are found by missionaries on the top floor and last door.
It was another not so good week as far as teaching lessons goes. We hit a streak of 16 straight missed appointments. We did have 2 bright spots, though. Plus I got to call my family twice this week:)
Last Monday I got to call my family and read some scriptures with them. It was fantastic as always. Then on Saturday it was my mom's birthday. With the new rules you are allowed to call for special events such as birthdays. So I got to call home twice last week. I love being able to see their beautiful faces each week. (Yes that includes your face Nate:))
On Friday all 3 of our appointments fell through.This meant that we had lots of time to go finding as a result. We were knocking doors and contacting people all evening and didn't have too much success. We were debating going back home because it was late and we had things to do in our apartment, but we decided to stay 5 more minutes. We saw a former investigator named Magdalena on Area Book and decided to visit her. She ended up telling us her and her daughter would start reading the Book of Mormon together every day and that we could come back next week. That was a miracle.
The other amazing miracle that we saw was on Sunday. I was speaking in church, so we were trying to get as many investigators there as possible. Only 1 of them, Sandy, ended up saying they could come though. We were greeting people before sacrament when a lady we had never seen before walks in. We introduce ourselves and she says her name is Katie, she had been mislead by lots of other churches, and came here looking for the truth.
We had been praying all week for a miracle and for us to be able to have a good lesson with someone and it hadn't happened yet. She sat with some of the women in Relief Society who were fantastic fellowshippers for her. I gave my talk on The Atonement, a fantastic topic to speak on. She then went to Relief Society where she bonded with 4 other women who talked with her 30 minutes even after church ended, which is amazing to see.
We set up a lesson with her for that evening. We went over with Brother Short, the mission leader, and taught her the entire Restoration. It went really well and we were able to answer a lot of her questions and she said she would start reading and praying about the Book of Mormon daily. Such a miracle day.
The other small miracle that happened with her was that she had been studying the Bible and couldn't quite figure out exactly what the Atonement was. Then she ended up finding our church and attending, on the same day that we had 4 talks on the Atonement.
It's experiences like this that make serving a mission worth it. I'm very blessed to be able to serve the Lord and see these miracles every week. The streak of 16 missed appointments has ended and I can see good things coming for this week.
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