Week 67: True Happiness!

Elder Parker, Elder Stewart, Elder Carver, Elle, and Sister Leininger

This week has been CRAZY!!! First Halloween, worst day ever! We had early curfew and we didn't get to go out and work at all!  But it was okay because the next day we had so much to do! We had a less active in our ward that is in the Air Force and he is on leave right now. His wife is pregnant and so she is unable to take all four of their labs on walks during the week. They pull on the leash and it is not good for her already injured back (she is retired Air Force). So twice a week we get to take their dogs for a walk!! Best form a service ever!! I think I say that every time but we don't get to have pets as missionaries so this is as good as it is going to get. We have only been doing it for a couple of weeks but the dogs are slowly warming up to us and so it is a lot of fun! 

Sister Leininger preparing for MLC.

Sister Leininger and I were asked to give an instruction at Mission Leader Counsel (MLC). We were to instruct with our Zone Leaders, that is four people. That is a lot of people with a lot of ideas and wanting to talk. We met Tuesday night after the first round of interviews and then Wednesday after the second round of interviews. We were able to get it all planned out. I think the coolest thing is that it was definitely led by the spirit the entire time. We would be talking about what we would like to do and then we would end up doing something that was not even on the drawing board. But that is what happens when you allow the spirit to take the lead. It went really well, we talked about how we need to find Joy in the mission and that when we do this our attitudes will improve and so will the work. I hope people will take into consideration, the things that were said because I know when we find joy in the Lords work all things are possible. 

Mission Leader Council

Interviews are my FAVORITE!! I love that I have the chance to be able to talk to President and just "hang out" for a second. I have been super blessed with an amazing Mission President and Wife. I have been able to go to them with anything and know they will support and help me in every way they can. I feel my Saviors love for me through them and it makes me so happy. I definitely have a "mom and dad" away from my mom and dad.

So cool couple of stories!!! 

Saturday morning we went and visited a former Joe. We knocked on the door and he looked at us and as he was turning he said, "Come on in." I was a little shocked because honestly I have only had this happen once or twice before. We asked him if his wife was here and he told us yes and so we jumped on the opportunity to be able to go into someone’s house. We had a really good conversation with him. One thing I WILL NOT do with anyone I talk to is Bible bash. While we were talking to him he told us about why he couldn't obey the Word of Wisdom and how he can’t believe Joseph Smith and some others could be prophets. He brought up the Mountain Meadow Massacre and at that point I thought to myself "I am not going to be doing this today." But we ended up being able to have a good conversation about everything. He just doesn't fully understand everything and so we invited him to go to lds.org and to read more about all of the things that he brought up. Also how he has never heard the spirit speak to him. He kept going and going and so I cut him off and asked him if he had been reading the Book of Mormon? He said he hadn't for a couple of weeks so we told him for one week he was to read the Book of Mormon every day and to pray before he read it. He told us he would only do it if we listened to some station on the radio for the week. We told him we could not do that and so he told us how we were being brain washed. I bore testimony on how there has been things we have been asked to do. Things that if I really didn't want to do I didn't have to, but that I believe in being obedient in all things. That shut him up for a second and so he thought and then agreed that he could read the Book of Mormon. We told him that most if not all of his questions will be answered, that he would know for himself that The Church of Jesus Christ is Gods Kingdom restored to the earth again, that they Book of Mormon is the word of God, and that Joseph Smith was a prophet. So we are excited to go back on Saturday and see what happens! 

Elle and Sister Perry

Then that evening we met with our investigator Justin. I have had to really slow down with Justin because just a couple of months ago he was almost anti-religion and doesn't have any religious background. So everything we have taught him is pretty new and things he doesn't really know anything about. So we started at the beginning with how God is our loving Heavenly Father and that Jesus Christ is His son and that the Holy Ghost is that warm feelings we get when we do something good or that we know is right. How they are all part of the God head but are three separate beings. We had to start at square one and have been working our way up. Progress was being made but it is slow. He works on Sundays and so it has been really hard for him to get Sundays off. We were going to go over and reset expectations and do How to Begin Teaching again and tell him that if this is not what he wanted then we were not going to be able to come over anymore. We got there and told him we missed him at church and then they told us how on Thursday they came to the Ward Halloween Party and were able to meet a lot of nice people. They met Bishop and Brother Carter our Ward Mission Leader and a lot of other people. We had to leave early and so we missed them. They took a second and looked at the pictures hung up on the wall. Which are just the people who have been baptized in all the three wards in the last couple of years. One of his really good friends that he grew up with was on the board. He was super surprised. Just the other day they had run into him and his family and he asked him why he was so happy and his friend told him it was because he had now found where God needed him and his family to be. That had made a big impact on Justin. To my surprise when we got there we said a prayer and he said that he had a question. We asked him what it was and he opened the Book of Mormon and he turned to 2 Nephi 5:21 we explained the scripture to him and he was so excited. It was not at all what he thought but he was excited that there was an answer. We decided that we needed to read the Book of Mormon with him and so we read 2 Nephi 3. After we asked him what he learned from that chapter? Mind you we had been disguising it through out reading it. He said baptism was important and it was something we needed. We asked him if he knew these things were true would he act on that by being baptized. He told us yes, so we invited him to be baptized on December 31 and he sat and thought for a second. He told us "I am not going to say yes but I am not going to say no." That answer put the biggest smile on my face because he has come such a long way. We still have a long way to go but he is doing his best and he knows what the end goal is!

God knows his children. He knows what they need and when they need it and it is so AMAZING to be able to watch Him put everything in place where it needs to go! I love being a missionary and I wouldn't change it for the world! The Atonement is for everyone and all of those who are willing to allow it to change their lives. 

I love you all and hope that you have an amazing week!!