Monday, July 28, 2014

letter seventy 07.28.14 "sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy..."





This week has been great! I think the sunshine made everything much better. I love warm spring days! Sunshine on my shoulders really does make me happy, especially after such a cold week last week.

This week started off to be a bit of a challenge. We had heaps of appointments set up for Tuesday and Wednesday and almost all of them cancelled, but we found other very meaningful things to do so it was great regardless. I think I'm really starting understand better how much joy is in the effort and commitment. We still had a great week and we taught heaps, but it wasn't the way we planned it. A lot of our member present lessons fell through, but at the end of the week we still ended up having quite of few. That was such a blessing. 

We have had some powerful lessons this week. I love being a missionary! I'm trying to live up every opportunity that I get to teach and testify. I have been bolder than ever. I am really trying to "leave it all on the stage." It feels great. It's not even that I'm doing anything too different from the beginning of my mission, but it feels good to do it faithfully to the end. I just love teaching and testifying!

Some of our most powerful lessons this week have been those with less-active members. God has been steering our lessons 100%. In one instance, there is a girl, not too much older than us, that has been less active for quite sometime. Sister K and I started to develop a relationship with her. She's awesome and has a solid testimony of the fundamentals. She just needed a push in the right direction. This week we had a lesson with her about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Heavenly Father guided the lesson. By the end she was committed to speak with the Bishop this Sunday so she could fully heal and repent. It was powerful. I felt so much love for her. I know that she is part of the reason that we needed to be here. It's amazing to be able to connect on a spiritual level. We were able to talk about her divine nature. As we did tears came to my eyes. I love her so much. I feel so blessed to be able to have watched her progress to where she is now. She's coming to church every week. I love watching and being a part of people's progress. It's one of the greatest blessings of missionary work. 

We also had a great lesson with an investigator. We hadn't been able to have a proper lesson with him ever really, but we had two this weekend and it was a blessing. He has recently been through some hard things that have caused him to turn to God, even though he's from China and that's not his culture. He has been so prepared. He is asking all the right questions. He wants to know and he wants to be a part of the gospel. He said that he wants to be baptized after he learns more. I've very rarely met people more real intent that he has. It's amazing. I feel so blessed to be working with him. God is so good to us!

We have also been trying to work with and teach the members more as well. It has been great! The members here are awesome! They are all so keen to help us in our missionary work. They're helping us to fellowship and we're working with them to help us to find as well. It's been so good. I love the relationships you are able to develop with members on a mission. Ok, so basically I just love everything about being a missionary... I'm going to miss it so much. That's why I am going to keep giving all my heart and soul to it. 

I think one of the things God really has blessed me with this week is to feel loved, by Him and by others. I feel His love surrounding me. I love the people that He has put me here to serve and I feel their love too. I know that a lot of these people may not ever remember me, but I will remember them. The people of Western Australia have written their names in my heart forever. I am so thankful for this opportunity to serve the Lord here. It's a unique and special opportunity that I wouldn't trade for the world. 

I love you. Thank you for your prayers. I feel them. I feel your love and I feel so blessed to have such an incredibly supportive and encouraging family. 


Heaps of love,


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