Influence of the Spirit

Sister Berati and I have had a great week! The ward has been so helpful to come on teaches with new investigators - which really makes all the difference.  I've really gained a strong understanding of why the members are so important in missionary work. We can't do it without them. My favorite way the members help out is by inviting us over for dinner and allowing us to bring investigators along. I'm grateful for the Spirit the members keep in their home which provides a great atmosphere for lessons. 

One experience that was special this week was our visit to our friend Bill's house.  We've met with him a few times and he has been curious and interested to learn about our Church, but just as mere entertainment, not as something he'd like to embrace in his own life. Although we invited him many times to pray, he declined. However, this past visit with him was different.  By the guidance and help of the Holy Ghost we were able to talk with him and ask him questions that really made him think about how he could find more happiness in his life. We shared a couple scriptures (Alma 32:27 and Ether 12:6) to explain to him how just the desire to believe would be enough for him to receive an answer to his prayer.  He recognized his own desire to be happier and we knew that the Gospel was the key to his happiness!  Toward the end of our conversation, we asked if he would read the Book of Mormon and pray that night to know if God was there and after a long pause he said, "Alright...but how can I know what the answer is?!" This was music to our ears!! We then explained about how the Holy Ghost would answer him.  What a great experience it was to feel the influence of the Holy Ghost in our discussion with Bill. Without it, I know that he wouldn't have felt compelled to accept the challenge to pray. How grateful I am for the gift and power of the Holy Ghost - especially in missionary work.

Scripture of the Week: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding." Proverbs 3:5-6, 12-13

New Investigators Miracle!

Holy cow! This week has been crazy! We have been so blessed to find so many people this week who are ready and willing to hear more about the Gospel. The coming week will be full of return appointments and member present lessons - I'm so excited! The amazing thing is that it's nothing Sister Berati and I have done. It's simply the Lord showing us where we need to go and who we need to talk to. 

This week our Bishop suggested that we stop by the cutest little cafe you could imagine next to the train station.  It's called the Chocolate Teapot and we went there to follow up on these ladies that members had contacted and become friends with.  The members moved back to the U.S. but suggested to the Bishop that we stop by to see if they'd be interested to learn more.  It was a busy day in the cafe, but we left a mormon.org card for her and she was so excited to have it.  We'll be stopping by again soon to hopefully leave a Book of Mormon to her and the owner. After leaving, less than 15 minutes later we knocked on a woman's door who wasn't interested and she told us the person next door probably wasn't either. Despite her suggestion, we knocked on her neighbor's door anyway.  A sweet lady from Africa opened the door, took a copy of the Book of Mormon and we set up a time to meet with her again on Wednesday! It was a miracle! 

I also was reminded how much I love church this week.  Two investigators that live near our home both came to church for the first time, stayed all three hours and asked if they could come again next week.  We were so happy!  Usually we have to try and drag people to church!  There is such a great Spirit there and we know that's really what makes it so special for the people that come for the first time.  They can feel the difference and the love the ward and their Heavenly Father has for them.  

Scripture of the Week: "Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of Him to declare His word among His people that they might have everlasting life." -3 Nephi 5:13

Spirit of Music

This week was definitely a little out of the ordinary, but a great week nonetheless. :) One of our investigators from Albania is 7 months pregnant and doesn't speak much English, but she got sick this week! We helped her get to the hospital and within 3 days she was feeling much better!  Thank goodness Sister Berati was here to translate! During those few days, we didn't have much time to door knock or street contact, but it was a great opportunity to serve our investigator in a time of need for her. We're happy she's doing better. 

It was a blessing on Saturday to be invited to play my violin at the London Temple Visitor's Center for a musical fireside! I felt so privileged to be there and played How Great Thou Art.  We went with some members in the ward and also one of our investigators, Dave. I think everyone, including myself, went home feeling edified by the great Spirit that was there. It was special that everyone performed their song right next to the Christus statue, so as we listened to songs centered on Christ, it brought a powerful feeling of His love and sacrifice for us.

I've become more grateful and aware of the impact music makes in the Church. I think D&C 25:12 says it best, "For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads."

Pic

Love me some General Conference

You can't beat General Conference weekend! Seriously. I have been looking forward to this weekend for so long and I'm so grateful it finally came! We had little General Conference pass-along cards in the flat that I was just dying to hand out to people. :) The crazy thing is that Conference doesn't start over here in England until 5pm Saturday evening.  My companion and I rode the bus to the Stake Centre to watch the Saturday morning session and we were blessed to get a ride home from a member. I can't believe how fast the session went by. Sister Berati and I felt like it went by too quickly and we were hungry for more! 

Yesterday morning was the most beautiful I've seen here in England. The temperature was perfect, the sun was shining, the air was clear, and the amount of blue in the sky was more than I'd seen at one time in a while. :) It was a unique opportunity to go finding on a Sunday morning, since every other Sunday we're in Church. We knocked doors on a street not too far from our flat and were blessed to knock on a couple of doors with sweet ladies that answered. In each instance, we gave them a Book of Mormon and hope to stop by again later this week. Handing out Book of Mormons (or Books of Mormon, whatever) is one of my favorite parts of missionary work!  I know that if those people sincerely read it, they will find answers to questions and comfort through trials. When we asked one of our investigators if she had been reading the Book of Mormon, she told us she had and that she enjoyed reading it because it was "comforting." I love when people can feel and recognize the same power that I do when I read it. 

By the time we got back, we were only able to see the tail end of the Sunday Morning session, but this week we plan to catch up on what we missed during our dinner hour.  I can't wait to hear more of the inspired words from the leaders of our Church. I know they are called of the Lord as His authorized servants and lead this Church worthily with the keys of the priesthood. As we strive to improve ourselves and follow their guidance, it's impossible to go astray. 

Scripture of the Week: (one of my favorites) Matthew 11:28-30 "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

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."

NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.

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;"

NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.