"Nevertheless the Lord seeth fit to chasten his people; yea, he trieth their patience and their faith."
- Mosiah 23:21
This is what my last few transfers have consisted of, because this past week has easily been the best week of my mission!
As I look back on everything that has happened the past few months. I see now that the Lord was really testing my patience, faith and I want to add, diligence. He wanted to see how hard I would push on with lack of psychical results in the work.
The lack of, progressing investigators, investigators on date to be baptized, actual committed new/other investigators that are looking for the Restores Gospel and ready to act, even just to pick up the phone!
This past week, our investigators that have been months in the making have all of a sudden started progressing and really just taking off! Also, we have met so many amazing people, ready to act, ready to follow the example of Jesus Christ and make covenants with our Loving Heavenly Father. My planner has never been so jam packed with appointments, people actually picking up the phone, and the Spirit telling us who to call when they don't. I want to share my testimony with you all that The Spirit truly leads this work, We are nothing, this work is nothing without the hand of the Lord, using us as his instruments.
I want to share just a few miracles we have seen just in the past couple of days;
This is what my last few transfers have consisted of, because this past week has easily been the best week of my mission!
As I look back on everything that has happened the past few months. I see now that the Lord was really testing my patience, faith and I want to add, diligence. He wanted to see how hard I would push on with lack of psychical results in the work.
The lack of, progressing investigators, investigators on date to be baptized, actual committed new/other investigators that are looking for the Restores Gospel and ready to act, even just to pick up the phone!
This past week, our investigators that have been months in the making have all of a sudden started progressing and really just taking off! Also, we have met so many amazing people, ready to act, ready to follow the example of Jesus Christ and make covenants with our Loving Heavenly Father. My planner has never been so jam packed with appointments, people actually picking up the phone, and the Spirit telling us who to call when they don't. I want to share my testimony with you all that The Spirit truly leads this work, We are nothing, this work is nothing without the hand of the Lord, using us as his instruments.
I want to share just a few miracles we have seen just in the past couple of days;
Friday while I was talking to an atheist/borderline anti, Sister Orndal was talking to this amazing girl Hannah. She is dating a member and been going to church for months! They had a gret conversation about the gospel and the Book of Mormon and she then became our new investigator. We made a time to all on Monday, she had work unfortunately at the last minute and so we moved it to last night. All day we we're so excited to call her, we were running a little late and right on 8 pm, she text us saying "are you still okay to call me?". At that moment we realized how much she wanted this, and the time finally came for us to talk with Hannah.
We got talking and she knows the Book of Mormon is true, she is in Mosiah and just loves the Spirit she feels reading it, she loves going to church and wants to start going to Sunday School and Relief Society, she feels this pressing need to go. Then we got to the topic of baptism and invited her to be baptized, she said it is something that has been on her mind lately and that she wants to be, then we extended the invitation to prepare for baptism on the 27th June, she freaked out a little because it's so soon, but she is so excited for prepare for that date and even is going to text the missionaries, who she has only met once at church just this past Sunday "Can I be baptized on the June 27th?", if I was those missionaries, I would be the one freaking out! haha.
We invited her to read 2 Nephi 31 and today hearing her talk about what she got out of it, even over text, just amazing!!!
"And there was no inequality among them; the Lord did pour out his Spirit on all the face of the land to prepare the minds of the children of men, or to prepare their hearts to receive the word which should be taught among them at the time of his coming—
That they might not be hardened against the word, that they might not be unbelieving, and go on to destruction, but that they might receive the word with joy, and as branch be grafted into the true vine, that they might enter into the rest of the Lord their God."
We got talking and she knows the Book of Mormon is true, she is in Mosiah and just loves the Spirit she feels reading it, she loves going to church and wants to start going to Sunday School and Relief Society, she feels this pressing need to go. Then we got to the topic of baptism and invited her to be baptized, she said it is something that has been on her mind lately and that she wants to be, then we extended the invitation to prepare for baptism on the 27th June, she freaked out a little because it's so soon, but she is so excited for prepare for that date and even is going to text the missionaries, who she has only met once at church just this past Sunday "Can I be baptized on the June 27th?", if I was those missionaries, I would be the one freaking out! haha.
We invited her to read 2 Nephi 31 and today hearing her talk about what she got out of it, even over text, just amazing!!!
Another miracle we had just yesterday is we were walking on the Square, going to the places we had planned to go and we were just walking to the South Visiting Center and we saw a guy standing outside, we both felt prompted to speak with him and got talking, he then asked for Sister Gearheart, Sister Orndal's previous companion, we asked his name and he replied "Benny".
Turns out that Sister Orndal never met him but taught him over the phone last transfer and he randomly came to Temple Square looking for them! He had questions about the purpose of life and we immediately opened the Book of Mormon and shared Alma 34:32-34 with him. As we talked the things he said, it was alomst like he was a member of the church, the things he said he believed in, are the things the Book of Mormon teaches. We then took him to Scriptures and Revelation and taught him the Restoration. You could see it all coming together in his mind. We invited him to be baptized and he said yes! Today when we sent a scripture to everyone, he even texted us back with a scripture that he liked (1 Nephi 9:6) from his reading and told us what it means to him and asked us what it meant to us.
Those are just two out of the many we have seen, but this week it's been everything, tour after tour, amazing person after amazing person, we reached/exceeded the standard of excellence and are just trying to put forth every ounce of effort and might we have to the work of Salvation. Working so hard to show the Lord we are ready for whatever he would have us do. We have experienced miracles of just calling people and finding out they are progressing, investigators going to church for the first time after having taught them for months, there is so much joy and gratitude in my heart I feel like Ammon after seeing his brethren, having so much joy as to exceed my strength (Alma 27:17).
Literally, we collapse at the end of the day in exhaustion from joy and hard work. We come home from the Square ready to plan, just saying "I cannot say the smallest part of which I feel" (Alma 26:16).
The Lord truly is preparing people to receive the gospel and they will receive it in their own time and when they are ready. It is all part of His plan, we need to trust in that plan, because He can see the whole picture, we can't even see around the corner, it's so exciting, this work is the best work there is out there, helping out Brothers and Sisters come unto Christ and help them receive Eternal Life. People are being prepared! We just need to find them. Some need a little more watering and nourishment than others, and that's okay, but it's happening. He has truly placed so many amazing people in our path, we have really had an increase of faith, hope and diligence.
"And there was no inequality among them; the Lord did pour out his Spirit on all the face of the land to prepare the minds of the children of men, or to prepare their hearts to receive the word which should be taught among them at the time of his coming—
That they might not be hardened against the word, that they might not be unbelieving, and go on to destruction, but that they might receive the word with joy, and as branch be grafted into the true vine, that they might enter into the rest of the Lord their God."
- Alma 16:16-17
And It is so true what they say, a hard working and diligent missionary is a happy missionary. The happiest times on the mission are when we are centered in our purpose and giving the Lord everything we have. I have really seen that this past week, I have never been happier and it's because every day is so jam packed with the Spirit, with teaching, finding, helping and inviting, this is what it's all about and I love it so much!
The Book of Mormon truly changes lives, it has changed mined and that's really what it has all come down to this week for everyone we have met and talked with. I'm reading the war chapters in Alma and there is so much revelation to be received within those pages, there is peace to be found, comfort to be felt and love to embrace.
The Saviors arms are always wide open, never closed, He has engraven us upon the palms of His hands (1 Nephi 21:16). He will never forget us, never shut us out, the blessings are only conditional upon us asking for them, acting upon it all, having that real intent.
I love being a missionary, I love teaching the Restored Gospel, I love testifying of these truths that the world so desperately needs, I love representing my Savior Jesus Christ and knowing that he has chosen me to represent Him, and I say all these thing in His name, even Jesus Christ, my Savior, Redeemer and Friend, amen.
Love, Sister Ryan xx
No comments:
Post a Comment