Allie
is such a great missionary too! She tells everyone about what we teach
her and now her little friend Brittany is meeting with us as well. Allie
is a person she looks up to so she is very interested and excited by
everything she is learning. She honestly amazes me. Her faith in Jesus
Christ is so strong for being so young and I am so excited to help her
continue to build that faith. And she loves the youth group! We are so
excited for her!
Allie
also introduced us to her neighbor as well. We had an appointment but
they cancelled sadly. Their backup in our plans was a woman we had been
trying to see for a very long time and she is always so busy. This
time, she allowed us to come in and we were able to teach her whole
family about the Restoration! It was truly a blessing in disguise.
We
received a referral this week and it was so exciting! His name is Will
and he ordered a Bible through the church website and said he would like
a Book of Mormon as well. So we brought it over as soon as possible and
he was so nice! We were able to teach him the message of the
Restoration! At the end he took off his hat and let out a sigh. We were
both very worried, but he was actually crying. He was so touched by the
fact that the church wouldn't just send him the books, but that they
insisted on missionaries bringing them to his home so there could be
that interaction and we could share that message with him. He was very
exited to set up a time for us to come back. I love when we have the
opportunity to meet people who have been prepared by the Lord to hear
his message!
Something
truly amazing happened this week. I have no doubt that my mission
president and his wife are inspired. We had interviews with President
Daines this week and got to talk with Sister Daines as well. Lately I
haven't really been myself and the work has honestly scared me and I
have bee really discouraged despite all the amazing things that are
happening. The spirit has been trying to teach me a lot lately about
the kind of missionary I can be and how to fix things, but until
interviews and the chance I had to really get all of these thoughts and
feelings out, I hadn't been able to sort through them and turn them into
something constructive that I can move forward with. Since interviews
my whole outlook has changed and I honestly feel like a new person. I
have realized that I need to stop worrying about myself and if I'll say
the wrong thing, because if I am focusing on the Savior and how much I
love the people I am teaching I won't have to worry about what to say.
And if I do say something silly, who cares, because everyone does. But I
know there is a reason I am in The Ohio Columbus Mission and there are
people here that I will be able to reach so I need to always open my
mouth, no matter how imperfect the words are that come out of it. Since
that time Sister Hall has seen a noticeable change in me and I feel so
good. She has helped me a lot by making me uncomfortable. It sounds
pretty weird, but she is helping me by having me make a lot of decisions
and when I knock on a door she won't jump in and save me no matter how
much I am struggling. It was so scary at first, but it is helping me
see that I really can do this. I am so grateful for a loving companion
who will patiently help me work through my struggles. That patience in
letting me figure it our on my own led to a lot of awkward moments as I
stumbled over my words, but it also led to a lot of "proud mom moments"
when I succeeded. I love being a missionary!
Something
that I have been noticing over and over again in my study of the Book
of Mormon is how willing the Lord is to bless us if only we turn to him.
It is usually our own fear, pride or doubts that are keeping us from
receiving the blessings He longs to give us. I know that as you forget
yourself and rely on Him you will be blessed more than you could ever
imagine.
I love you all! Just keep smiling!
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| Happy St. Patrick's Day |
