Week 79: Count Your Many Blessings!

Elle on her balcony in Oak Harbor

Where to even start! Every week I don't think it can get any better than the previous week, and well I am always proved wrong.

Elle with Sister Leininger. The last time they will see each other on her mission.

 Tuesday we went on exchanges with Sister Leininger and Hoch. I got to spend the day with Sister Hoch here in Oak Harbor! We had a lot of fun and she is an amazing missionary. We are defiantly lucky to be able to have her here in the Washington Everett Mission. 

I don't know if I told you but two weeks ago we went to visit a less active and she wasn't home and so we decided we were going to knock a couple of her neighbors while we were there. We knocked about four doors and no one answered so we decided we were going to leave. While we were walking away to our car I stopped and turned around because there were only two doors left. After those two doors we would have knocked all of the doors. I realized how silly we were for not knocking them while we were there. So we did the very last door first...nothing. Then we did the second to last door...first knock nothing second knock nothing. As soon as we were about to walk away from the last door, the door we had previously knocked prior to the door we were at the screen door opened. We looked over to see someone walking out of their home and there was nothing. Along with there being no person there was also no wind, and we had shut that door too. Naturally  I started to scare myself and think of all the weird scary things. We decided that God wanted us to knock that door again because there was someone there that needed the Gospel in their life. So we went and knocked the door again and this time we heard a dog bark, a second knock another dog bark but no answer. So we left but knew that we were going to come and knock that door again.

Elle and Sister Hoch

Fast forward a week and we were on exchanges and I stayed in Oak Harbor with Sister Hoch. We had just finished helping a member of ours pack her house for moving and we were supposed to go and see someone else but I decided I wanted to go and see the "creepy door" people. So we drove over there instead and guess what!!! The lady who lived there, her name is Rochelle was outside with her dogs!! So we went over and started to talk with her and after a good conversation she became a new investigator. I am so grateful for the spirit and for the direction we are able to receive as help and direction for our Heavenly Father. 

JJ also was able to get baptized and confirmed this last weekend! It was so fun to be able to see his excitement. He has been working so hard so he would be able to be baptized and be able to join the church. He definitely had his trials this last week before the baptism. Satan was relentless but he did it and he recognized the church is what makes him happy despite what family or friends might be telling him. What a testimony builder that was for me! I am so proud and happy for him. 

Wednesday we were blessed with the opportunity to be able to receive some further instruction on our missionary work from the Missionary Department. They had a broadcast on Wednesday in place of District Meeting. They gave us some further instruction from the broadcast last year about "Teach Repentance, Baptize Converts" they focused more on the Repentance side of it, which I loved!!! I had just had several amazing studies about repentance! We were also told more about the new schedule that was taking place, Sister Lindsay and I had been doing it for about a month and so we were a little more familiar with it. They gave us some examples and so that was nice to be able to see that we were doing things right, well as right as we can. Then they changed our key indicators!!! WHAT!!! instead of reporting on 12 numbers we will only be reporting on four. Baptisms, Confirmations, On-dates, Sacrament and New Investigators, that was effective right away. I have enjoyed all of the changes they have made to missionary work because they are receiving continual revelation on how to better help others come unto Christ. 

 I also had my exit interview this last week with President Wilding. It was good and I am grateful for the chance I had to be able to talk to him. Not that I wouldn't but to be able to spend that time specifically dedicated to going home. 

Our breaks didn't sound too good and I checked the break fluid and it was getting low and so we had to go in and get our car looked at. When we walked into the shop it was nice to be able to smell tires again..hahaha what can I say I like the smell of tires. Well after being there for almost two hours the car finally was done and we were able to go. I know that that kind of stuff takes a long time which is okay but I started to get ancy and I didn't like being in one place for that long....I am in trouble. But it has to be done, I am not going to break Heavenly Fathers car. 

I spent this last week studying "The Sacrament Can Help Us Become Holy" By Elder Peter F. Meurs. I felt like I needed to appreciate the Sacrament more then I did and so I wanted to understand it a little better. I was asked these two questions that really got me thinking, 1. When you look at the Sacrament table what do you see? 2. What do you think you ought to see? That got me thinking a lot. Elder Bednar said, " The Sacramental emblems are sanctified in remembrance of Christ's purity, of our total dependence upon His Atonement, and or our responsibility to so honor our ordinances and covenants that we can "stand spotless before [Him] at the last day." Each of us as members are responsible for the spiritual enrichment that can come from Sacrament meeting. But as we "increase our preparation for and spiritual participation in the ordinance of the sacrament" we will be able to receive an over abundance of blessings. 

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