Hey Everyone!
This week has gone by even faster than the last one. If that's possible. So lets see what's happened...I don't even remember.
We finished with our first investigator Ricarda, and we found out that she will now be one of our teachers. She's been in Colorado visiting her sister, but hopefully she will be back by to tonight.
So when we found out that we had only one lesson left with Ricarda, my Companion and I started to get worried. We had asked her to be baptized and she had said that she didn't really understand why she had to pick one church, because all churches were good. She didn't understand the authority and such that was restored. And so we mapped out across a white board in an empty class room the things that we wanted to teach in our last lesson. We took a picture of it and showed it to our Branch President, and he was impressed. I asked him what he did if he ever got nervous, and he asked me if I had done my part preparing. When I told him yes showing him my notecards and talking about it for a minute, he said if I had done my part, I didn't need to be afraid. And so we went into the lesson. I had been studying Preach My Gospel, and found a scripture to share with Ricarda earlier that day, it was in Ephisians 4:5 "One Lord, one faith, one baptism." That's all it said. I'd actually found more scriptures but didn't remember to use them during the lesson, but this one, I rememebered. I shared it with her, and we talked a little biut about it. Then I asked her very distinctly "Do you believe in One God?" Yes. "Do you believe in one faith?" Yes. "Do you believe in One Baptism?" Yes. I could tell that Ricarda could feel the Spirit, as her eyes started to fill with tears. And the funny thing was, I don't think I said a word. The Spirit had used me to ask Ricarda those questions, and it was a very profound moment. I knew I couldn't have done that alone, and deffinatly not in Spanish. Right after I finished asking, my companion took it and did her part. Ricarda said at the end that if she came to find that the Church was true for herself, then she would be baptized. I know that God cares about all of His children, even if they are a fake investigator.
This week for personal study, I've been reading come conference talks. I reread the one by Elder Ballard this last fall. SO GOOD. I marked it all up again and then when I looked at the whole thing, my work was impressive. So I decided to take a picture of it. Our Branch President's wife happen to pop her head in right then, and saw what I was doing, she looked down at the article and asked me if there was anything that I hadn't highlighted, circled our underlined. I don't think there was. The other talk I read was called "What Shall a Man Give in Exchange for His Soul?" by Elder Robert C. Gay. Another one to recommend reading. I'm sure you all rememeber it from conference, but I'll sum it up. When he was 11 he bought a movie ticket and candy bars with his 50 cent allowence, and when he turned 12 he realized he couldn't get as many candy bars since his movie ticket would cost more. So he lied and bout the 11 year old ticket. he told his father later, and his father asked him "Son would you sell your soul for a nickle?" I thought about this a lot this week. "Would you sell your soul for a nickle?" What about a short skirt? A ball game? 15 more minutes of sleep instead of scriptures study? What is the one thing that you, and I, could do better on? Are the things that we are attaining, better or more important than enteral life? Never. As I thought about this I thought about how it could apply to missionary work. This week I've been really wrapped in just being BOLD. Just opening my mouth. Now, when we are not being bold, and not speaking because we are afraid of our Spanish or if our friends will never talk to us again, we are sacrificing their enteral life, for OUR on comfort. Open your mouth. Are you will to sell their soul, and salvation, for your comfort. Never. Just open your mouth and speak.
Opening my mouth even when it is uncomfortable has been one of the things that I have had to work on here, even when I'm not speaking Spanish. For example, my companion and I were role playing a discussion with one of the other Hermana's in our Zone, the conversation was going well, and then I was prompted to relate my conversion story, per say, to something that we had talked about in the very beginning of the lesson. The story about how I had taken President Hinckley's challenge and read the BOM and how I had gained my own testimony (For the full story, see my Mormon.ord profile) The problem was, I would be uncomfortable bring the covnerstation back to the beginning, and I didn't really know how to do it. But the feeling wouldn't go away. My compaion and the other Hermana was going to think I was crazy. But all I needed was 20 secoinds of insane courage while I was uncomfortable, and the nI would let the Spirit lead me. It wasn't and investogator, and maybe I was being prompted purley for me to gain courage in my own words and promptings, but in that moment, my life changed. Open your mouth. Even when you feel uncomfortable. Especially when you feel uncomfortable.
Hermana Montgomery
No comments:
Post a Comment