Lessons Learned

This week I learned an especially valuable lesson that I couldn't have learned any other way but on my mission. All my life, my parents have given me all that I needed, physically, emotionally and spiritually. I've been so blessed to never go without.  If there was something more that I wanted, I could work a little extra time and earn a little extra money to satisfy the need. But out here on a mission, we live in such a way that is uncontrollable to me.  I don't have any say or control over how much money I get for food or travel or where I live. I've learned to be especially grateful for the money and supplies the Church provides us with.  My companion and I work together each week to decide what things we really NEED to buy and what things we would be fine without.  I do not mean to make it seem like we aren't given enough to satisfy our needs and live comfortably because we are, but I do mean to make a point that we don't have extra money to frivolously spend. So an amazing member helped us out this week. He called us Saturday night and went grocery shopping for us. He bought us cereal, yogurt, bananas, strawberries, bacon, milk, granola bars and even a warm throw blanket for each of us for the cold months ahead. He brought it by at the end of the month so Sister Berati and I would have a little extra to make to October.  It may seem like a small trivial thing for him to just buy us these few things, but the quality and a few of the things he bought for us, we wouldn't have bought for ourselves and my heart was full of gratitude as there was no way for me to repay him. All I could do was say thank you and continue to serve the ward the best I can. This situation made me cry because of how truly grateful and touched I was by this member's generosity and kindness. Then I realized how similar it is in our relationship with the Savior. As mortals, we can only do so much. We only have a certain amount of means and there are only so many things we can achieve by ourselves in this life. The Savior loves us so much that He gives us something we can't provide for ourselves and we are forever indebted to his loving sacrifice for us so that we can have eternal life.  The least I can do for the Lord is to serve for 18 months on a mission and continue to keep the commandments and do the things I know to be right. This example may seem trivial but my relationship with the Savior and realization of the power of the Atonement really grew this past week. I've never felt the peace, love, and happiness of the Savior as I did through this experience and I'm so grateful for the experiences Heavenly Father gives me to learn.

Scripture of the Week: John 15:4-5 "Abine in me and I in you.AS the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing."

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Zone Training

This past Wednesday, all the Districts in our Zone gathered at the Staines Chapel for a Zone Training. I loved every minute of it.  All the concerns and questions I came with were answered!! I've especially tried hard this week to apply what I learned there.

One goal I set after Zone Training was to deepen and strengthen my Conversion to Christ.  I decided that I would do this by doing a couple things: Memorizing "The Living Christ" and really diving into the scriptures for my personal study.  Just the past few days of doing this, I was able to realize how blessed I really am and how overwhelmingly important it is to share the Gospel.  Of all the billions of people on the Earth, I'm one of them who has the knowledge of our Savior and the Restoration, and because of this it is my duty and responsibility to share it with my fellow brothers and sisters here in England.  It made me sick to think of how different I would be as a person and how sad my life would be if I wasn't a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 

My purpose and mentality as a missionary has been reinforced and refreshed.  I'm so grateful for the knowledge and guidance of the Holy Ghost because without it, I wouldn't know what I need to improve on and how to do it. 

Scripture of the Week: 2 Nephi 28:30 "I will give unto the children of men line upon line, ^aprecept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn ^bwisdom; for unto him that ^creceiveth I will give ^dmore;"

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We're Busy

All the members always ask, "How's your week been?" I always tell them we're staying busy, but this week we've been especially busy. On Tuesday we were led to knock on some doors in Claygate, and we ended the day having the most lessons we've ever had! 10 lessons in one day!! The Lord truly led us to where we needed to be.  Not only were we able to teach 10 people, but 2 of them became new investigators.  

On Thursday, my companion, Sister Berati, had a doctor's appointment in middle London, so we took the train to get there. I was so excited!! We were able to get a picture with the London Bridge and also see St. Paul's Cathedral which was beautiful.  It was such a blessing that we were able to see what we did, especially since most missionaries don't get that opportunity. 

Saturday we took a trip to the London Temple Visitor's Centre with our investigator Dave. He drove us there and two members from the ward came with us. He told us he really enjoyed going and he especially loved the Joseph Smith Movie.  I'm so grateful we were able to go and feel the special spirit that is there on the Temple Grounds. I love visiting the temple and taking investigators there because I know that they'll be able to feel the same peace and hope that I feel while being there. 

Scripture of the Week: D&C 6:36 "Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not."

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Working with the Members

This past Wednesday, I felt like I was in an excerpt from the "Work of Salvation" broadcast because of the miracle that happened!! It was amazing! Our Bishop's wife invited us over to her home for dinner as well as her friend, Linda. Linda brought a friend named Helen. After dinner, we taught them the message of the Restoration and the Spirit was so strong. Bishop's wife's testimony was so powerful and I know it meant a lot to Linda and Helen because of the friendship they already had established. At the end of the lesson, we felt prompted to ask if they would be baptized and they both said "Yes, why not?!" Sister Berati and I were SO happy! :) We are excited to hopefully meet with them again this coming week! 

We also got to go on exchanges this week with our Sister Training Leaders.  I got to go to a different area and work with Sister Ball from Idaho. She only has 10 weeks left on her mission!  She was a great example to me and I learned so much from being with her. 

This coming week will be a crazy one, but I'm excited to meet new people to teach and continue to help people progress closer to baptism!

 

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Hastening the Work

The past couple weeks have been so great! With a new companion after transfers, we're settling in just fine! Sister Berati is my new companion from Albania! She's been out on her mission for 6 months and has been at the Visitor's Center, so this is her first transfer in the field. It's amazing how well we've been able to teach together in unity and with the Spirit. This past week has been great.  We've been working hard to find more people to teach, so there has been a lot of door knocking. 

We were so blessed yesterday to have 4 investigators at church!! 3 of them being Albanian! One of them was Esmeralda, who we have been teaching, and the other two came to help us translate.  We were able to get the other two guys' numbers and will hopefully meet with them this week to start teaching them the lessons. The other person who came to Church was Dave. He is a great guy! He also came to the Bishop's son's baptism yesterday and said he was so happy he came. He fits right in with the ward and we're planning to extend a baptismal date to him this week! Heavenly Father has been blessing us so much!  With the small miracles we see everyday as missionaries, it's obvious that Heavenly Father is definitely "hastening the work" and I feel so blessed to be a missionary, especially at this time! 

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