Hi!
Sorry that last week I didn't get to email. Let just say.....it was SUPER busy. We never even got to go shopping. So Sister Parker and I have been out of toilet paper for..about a week and half. We have gone through all of our paper towels and tissues. Good thing some other sisters gave us a roll of toilet paper the other day. But no need to fear! Today we get to go shopping!! Horray! :) I missed being able to email all of you, but I will try to get as much as I can into this email. Our mission president has put a 60 minute time limit to emailing every week. It used to not be specified. So in the library at 60 minutes it shuts off and closes. I have 20 minutes left..lets see how fast I can type! :)
First off, I went to the temple this week on Tuesday! We went to the Columbus, Ohio temple. It was a lot like the Louisville, KY temple. Just little and petite, but beautiful as always! I absolutely loved it. It went by too fast. I have missed going to the temple. Sister Parker and I were the last people to leave the celestial room. We just sat in there and soaked in the spirit. It was incredible and so so strong. I cannot deny that it is the house of God. There is no doubt in my mind. I love it there. It is wonderful. I just want to live there! Oh wait.. our homes can be the place that is closest to the temple in sacredness. I want my children to come home to a place where they feel the spirit right when they walk in. Where they feel that safety and refuge. It all comes through centering it on Jesus Christ. Reading and praying together every day. Having FHE and the little things. Just like in Alma 37:6-7: By small and simple things are great things brought to pass. I know that it is true. It is not just what the prophets suggest or is good. But it is the Lord's promise (and he doesn't break his promises), that if we put him first and pray and read together, we will be blessed in all things both spiritually and temporally (Mosiah 2:41). Ah! This gospel is so true. I can't handle it sometimes. I just love it! I hope all of you can understand and feel that for yourselves.
This next Saturday is something called a social media day. We will be having members of our ward follow us around and take pictures of us as we work. They will take pictures of us teaching and we have a baptism that day, so for that. They will take pictures of us studying, everything!
It is to get it out on the media what we do as missionaries. The hope is that members will share the pictures (not just like them) and then the church will be exposed to thousands of people that day!! How neat is that?!? :D I am excited! So if you see some pictures of me and Sister Parker floating around on facebook, (it will be under #mormon) then share them!! :D
Hm.. I am trying to think of what to say now. Well, Sister Parker and I had an interesting experience last Sunday. Before we went to our service, one of our investigators, Dane, invited us to come to his church (and then he would come to ours ). So we said sure! And we went. It was a Pentecostal church (but no snakes or anything). It was...different. There were 16 people total (including the pasture) and so we stuck out like a sore thumb. But they were all very friendly. The sermon was different. I didn't know what was happening. The preacher was yelling at times and got red in the face and pointed his finger. It just felt so empty compared to our services. It was like he had to put on a show up front so that people would listen and pay attention...to entertain.. but the spirit wasn't there. I was so happy to go into our meeting after. It just testified to me how true this church is!! It is absolutely, 100% true. Everything about it. People are not perfect, but this gospel is. I love it. It was a good experience though. I came to understand how different it must be for our investigators to come to our church if they grew up in a church like that. But just in case you were wondering, this church is true!!!!! :D
The Hanshew's are getting baptized this Saturday!! :D At 4:00pm :D I am sooo excited! I can't even tell you. We had a lesson with them yesterday with the bishop in his office, and it was amazing. The spirit was so strong. They talked about how we had helped them. How the previous missionaries had just come and had dinner and hung out, but when Sister Parker and I came, we pushed them and invited them. We simply opened our mouths and invited them to pray about baptism. And look where they are now. The Bishop shared with us the conversion of his parents and how they were disowned by their parents because of joining the church. But they stayed strong. And now so many more people are being blessed because of that choice. The sacrifices we make will never be forgotten by the Lord. Just like one of my favorite quotes by President Monson says: "The greatest decision I ever made was to give up something that I loved to the God I loved more. He has never forgotten me for it." That is so true. If we give up something that we dearly love to God, He will bless us more than we can see. Of course there comes opposition with blessings, but it is so worth it. I have definitely learned more about the principle of sacrifice on my mission than ever before. Bah ! I just love this gospel!! :D
We are also teaching our sweet Amish friends. They have been going through some really challenging times. They are nearing the point where they will be shunned soon :( They have had so many people threaten them and tell them they are going to hell. But we have just been there to support. They came to chruch yesterday! It was great! We had 5 people at church :) But we took them on a walk the other day. They are both blind, so Naomi had to hold onto my arm as we walked. It was fun to get to know them and learn about their culture. It is actually quite smiliar to ours. But really, they don't believe in salvation. It is a hope that they can be saved, but there is no true hope or belief that you will. It is quite depressing, actually. They realized that Jesus can save them and will be there for them. They have SO much faith. :)
The Day family moved this week (James, Evalyce, and Crystal). And we spent....8ish hours helping them. They found out last week that they had to move and so they had so much to do. We spent time loading things in our cars and going back and forth to a storage unit to store things there. It is so sad what they have to go through. But they have had faith through it all! They keep strong and know that God will provide. Keep them in your prayers. They need extra strength. They came to church yesterday too!! It was great :) :)
I hope you all know how much I love you. I wish that I had more time to write you all that happens. But I write down the things that come to mind first. I hope that God can help you find answers that you are searching for. I pray for you and know that God is with you always!!
Love,
No comments:
Post a Comment