Sept 16, 2013

Dear Family,                                                                                              

I'm glad to hear the Blaine is learning the cello! I'm so jealous! But that's super cool. He'll have to teach me when I get home. :) I'm glad he is improving on his driving. :)

So send some of your rain down here...this whole week has been dark cloud cover but no rain.  Ha when it rains here it rains sideways, it's so weird and really hard to drive in.

Well to be honest this past week was nothing short of a miracle. :) We taught 16 lessons this week! Our mission goal is to teach 20 lessons a week. Progression not perfection. :) We found 4 new investigators! It was great. This may sound small but it really is a big deal. :)  This really is the Lord's work. :) I love doing what he wants us to do. I'm slowly improving on my teaching skills and I'm coming closer to my Savior everyday.  One experience that changed my view on personal testimonies was when we tr-acted into our new investigator named J. :) So when J came out on the door she started yelling at us saying that we didn't believe that Jesus was the truth the light and the way. My companion and I were taken aback and Sister K tried to explain that we in fact do believe that Jesus is the truth the light and way, because our whole religion is based on Jesus Christ. Anyway we could not get her to believe us. So we did what we knew how to do best which was bear a personal testimony of our Savior Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon. IMMEDIATELY after we did that she softened and her countenance changed and the Spirit of the conversation was so different. We read 2 Nephi 31: 21 where it explains the doctrine of Christ. And she invited us to come back and teach her.  It reminded me of the experience Alma had with Korihor the anti-Christ. He kept saying over and over there is no Christ and mocks the Atonement. However Alma pulls the personal testimony card and Korihor was struck dumb. So ladies and gents there is NOTHING more powerful than a personal testimony of Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon. So cool. :)

Yesterday I found a scripture that sums up our week. It's scripture mastery so you think I would know this, but alas I didn't pay attention in seminary evidently, but it's Alma 37: 6-7 "by small and simple things great things are brought to pass." I know there is power in doing little things everyday to become something great. It reminds me of legos. How one lego is just on lego but when you slowly build on that one lego something awesome usually comes of it. It was a great reminder to me that growth takes a long time and not only do I need to develop patience with other people but with myself as well. :)
 I'm enjoying every minute of being out here (except waking up, still not liking that) but I'm sure I'll get used to it EVENTUALLY. :)

I love you all. :) I hope everything is going well.