Finding the Prepared...

This week has been awesome!!!! Last Monday we tie dyed shirts as a
district so that was super fun. I've suggested doing that before but
usually we have a bunch of tough guys who think it's girly to do that. But
our district leader now actually suggested it so we did it :) Plus now we
are doing 2 zone activities, 2 district activities, and 2 personal days
every transfer now for our P days. I guess people were complaining or
something so President decided we will do this.

I have been having some really effective days on Facebook. It is so awesome
to feel busy all the time on Facebook because for a while I felt like I was
running out of things to do. But I started going through all my old
messages and re-messaging people and following up with them. By doing that,
I started to talk to a guy we will call "Ted" again. AND, a friend of mine just got
home from his mission so I took advantage of him saying that he missed being a
missionary and roped him into being a fellowshipper/member present in my
lessons with Ted. One day this week it worked out really well. We were
all on the same time and I was teaching Ted about the Restoration. We
were talking about prophets and the Priesthood Authority they have and he
asked some really good questions. But I had to go right before we taught
about Joseph Smith, so I asked my friend to finish teaching and we could
continue another day. So he finished teaching about Joseph Smith. It was
all just so good! That is how Facebook teaching is supposed to work and it
was awesome to see it work that way. Ted hasn't answered in the past few days
though...so hopefully he doesn't think we are crazy. But he is currently out of the country
taking care of his grandmother so I guess he could just be busy.

Anyway I also joined a million Christian groups and have been posting pictures in

there and then messaging people that comment on them. So far I've only had one person

respond to me, and it hasn't really gone anywhere, but sometimes you have

to go through a million "no's" just to find one "yes". So that has been nice.

We also had a good lesson with "O" this week. We didn't teach anything

new really, but she felt some of the things we taught were really weird, so

we went over a few of those things with her. She still thinks we are weird

and doesn't really accept what we teach, but you can just see the spirit

working on her and somehow we just think we shouldn't give up on her. Plus

she would probably be offended if we just stopped coming by. So we go by

about once a  week. But this week was the best talk we have had with her

yet. She was a lot less argumentative I guess you could say. She never

really argues in a bad way, but she just usually has a comment about how

she doesn't understand that or how that could be true and such. But this

week she just listened and took it in. I also love teaching her because she

responds truthfully and actually thinks about what we ask her. When we ask

her thought provoking questions she usually says, "Well I don't know....and

then she thinks about it and answers honestly." So that is really nice and

it probably helps us be better teachers as well as we learn to adjust to

her needs and ask inspired questions to help her think.

We got to teach the referral we contacted last week! It is a woman and

her 14 year old daughter. She also has a friend that she calls her adopted sister. 

We had the Relief Society President come with us to the lesson and it

went SO good. This woman had talked with missionaries before last year, but her

husband wouldn't let her learn more. Now she is going through a divorce and

so she can do what she wants. She is so sweet and is pretty much living the

standards we do already. She wants to learn how to can, and she has a big

pantry of food so she calls that her "Mormon Pantry" since we always have

food storage. Haha. But they had so many awesome questions, and we pretty

much taught bits and pieces of all the lessons because of all their good

questions. There were a few really cool things from that lesson that I'd

like to share.

You can just tell when someone is prepared. For example, they asked

something about the 3 kingdoms of heaven that they had heard before so we

took a few minutes to explain it to them even though we were teaching the

Restoration. When they learned about it they were so happy and just kept

saying how much sense that makes because where would the line be drawn for

heaven and hell. If you lied one too many times, does that mean you would

go to hell? So they loved that there are three kingdoms of glory, but just

this same day we taught "O" and she thought that was ridiculous and the

weirdest thing ever (even though we have shown her that it teaches that in

the Bible). So it is so awesome to see the difference in people and how

happy they are to embrace truth. It was so cool to see the opposite ends in

the same day.

It was also just an awesome lesson because you knew the spirit was really

teaching them. Before we started the lesson, the woman made a comment that she

was interested because she knew that our religion was fairly new. So we

explained that the religion really began from the beginning of time. So we

start teaching about prophets and dispensations and once we got to the

Great Apostasy, you just saw a light bulb go off in her head (or should I

say, you could see the spirit working on her and helping all the pieces of

the puzzle fit) and she said, "OH! So the church isn't new, it was just

gone for a little while." Um, YES! haha. It was so awesome. So the lesson

went super well and they seemed really excited. I can't wait to keep

teaching them because the gospel is going to help them so much in their

lives and they are just so ready for it.

We also taught "L" and "P" this week. Man, "L" is so prepared as well.

She is so genuine and committed. That is one thing I love about her. If

she says she is going to do something, then she will do it. We were

supposed to have a lesson with her on Wednesday but she called us and told

us she would have to reschedule for Saturday. Normally people would just

not be there once we got there. She also committed to come to our movie

night we had that night and also to church the next day and she came to all

of them! She is so awesome. Anyway so we taught her the Restoration and at

the end we asked her what she thought about everything we shared and she

said she really liked it and knows it will help her in her life. She opened

up and talked about the hard times she has had in her past life and how God

has helped her through it. The spirit really worked on her as well and it

was just an ideal lesson. She said she could feel something different when

she prayed (which her prayer was awesome by the way, even though she was

nervous). She just readily accepts what we teach her and it is so great.

They are also wanting to get married soon too so we told them we would

introduce them to the Bishop on Sunday. ("P" is her boyfriend and he is

already a member).

We had another movie night! Brother J (the ward mission leader)

thought it was so awesome that we decided to do it once a month. It is

super non threatening and a good time for fellowship and feeling the spirit

for a larger group of people. However, almost everyone we invited was

sick...so only "P", "L", and her grandson came to the movie. We

had ward missionaries and their families there as well though so that was

good to fellowship them. We watched the Testaments and it was so good!

Honestly, I think I learned more during the movie than anyone else! It was

so crazy, I have seen that movie so many times, but so many new things

stood out to me. It was awesome. I have been feeling the spirit a lot more

in my life and just have more "aha!" moments when I study and such. It is

really awesome. I love it so much and I am always so excited for personal

study each day.

Anyway, "L" and "N" were our investigators at church. "N" is excited

for her baptism and we have everything set for that :) "L" loved church

and had so many questions because our lesson in Relief Society was about

being sealed in the temple. She didn't even know what a temple was though

so we explained a little bit of it and told her that our next lesson with

answer a lot of her questions. (Plan of Salvation) She is so great and she

just keeps saying that she is excited to learn more about it and is just

soaking everything in like a sponge.

So many good things are happening and it is going to be sad to see my

 companion go home. We have had so many fun times and have grown close.

Oh we also got to go on exchanges this week! That was my first one as an

STL. We also got to give transfer recommendations and meet with the Stake

Leaders and the Zone Leaders and give feedback about the wards and such. It

was really fun.

Anyway it has been such a good week! Thanks for all your prayers. Like I

said, I have really been feeling the spirit helping us and me each day, so

my challenge to you....pay attention to the spirit working in your life

this week and make sure to act on promptings you receive! I know the Spirit

guides us and it can take a little work to recognize the spirit but as we

practice, it will become easier. I know that, because I've been working on

it! Have a good week! Love you all.