Dear FAMILY :)
This week was not quite as great but still a wonderful week! Sounds like
you all had an exciting week.
Well, thank you very much for getting that suit for me :) THANK YOU THANK
YOU :)!!!! (We got him a new suit at Remington's and had it shipped to Florida) It will be shipped thursday right? So it should be good! It isn't
likely at all! But transfers are next wednesday! I HIGHLY doubt either Elder
Riggs or I will go but either way it should be good and if its not, Elder Riggs
will forward it to my address. But ya, so transfers are next week! We will get
calls this next saturday but I dont really care for the calls because I am
certain both of us will be staying, but wierd things have happened.
Anyway, this week, a lot of our investigators were just not keeping
commitments. We still have 4 people, 3 of them are one family, that are going to
get baptized. One has a date for March 18th and I HOPE that happens. We just
have to teach him everything by then and he is hard to meet with. But he is
really solid and has great fellowship.
The family is doing really really well. They had a crazy week but a good
week. The mother quit smoking and hasn't smoked in over 3 days! The father now
has a strong desire to quit and so they are doing really well and we are excited
:) So there are still great things happening here :)
So basically what I have learned this week is that it is really hard being
a missionary. The emotional ups and downs are OVERWHELMING and cause a lot of
fatigue. One moment you are on a spiritual high and 30 minutes later you might
be super depressed because someone who you just want to understand because if it
just clicked their lives would completely change. But it just doesn't click, and
it hurts. So it is just overwhelming to describe it best haha. But I have also
learned that I could have only learned the skills I have learned on my mission
on a mission.
I don't know where I would be if I hadn't have come on my mission. It has
had such a dramatic change in my life. I have truly been converted to the
gospel. I don't only have a testimony but I have had a conversion. I know why
it's such a big deal now. I know why it's important to keep God in our #1
priority because if he isn't our highest priority everything seems to go
down. (I'm so proud of Levi. he understands that love of the children of God! He is understanding free agency - that most important gift. The dream of Lehi and how what he tasted was so sweet, yet he couldn't get even some of his own family to come and taste the fruit).
We had 2 lessons this week that really took a toll on me. It was just sad.
The first was an investigator who got anti from their pastor. (I often wonder why there exists anti-Mormon literature. What are they so afraid of? Are we not good people? Do we not follow Christ? Actually...I do know why...but I digress) He was so excited
about the Book of Mormon before. He just couldn't understand. I felt so sad. We
tried to explain some anti, but in the end he just didn't get it. I hate anti.
It ruins so many peoples salvation. For about 30 minutes after that lesson, I
just couldn't stop thinking to myself, I can't do this. I just felt like I don't
have the skills to be a missionary. There is so much to do and it is so
stressful and I can't do it all. But I prayed and asked for help because I know
that God will help me do it and he has :) Without God in this work, every
missionary would go home because of the amount of stress and the inability to
do it by themselves. That is a testimony builder in itself. The other lesson was
with a part-member family. The husband is a non-member. And he had searched the
church on the internet but won't read the Book of Mormon, again, you see anti
destroy someone. Having split family on religous beleives definitely tears them
apart. I saw it just within 1 hour of how they just couldn't make it work. And
because of the anti it just made it hard on them.
But enough of the negative, I only share that to show how this work is
true. There is no way I could go through everything I have gone through if it
wasn't true. It is such a great work and the joy and love you have for everyone
but especially for the people who are keeping commitments and recieve a witness
for themselves. It is incredible to see that in someone elses life. I love it. I
love thiis work and I know it's true. I love bearing my testimony to people
saying that Jesus Christ IS the head of this church. And that he leads it
through a Prophet just like in old times. I know it's true. The power that comes
from the Holy Ghost and the Priesthood is incredible. There is no possible way
this work could push forward like it has unless it were true.(I love Elder Wise's testimony right here! It fills my heart with joy reading this! I could read this over and over and over! :)
I love you all, Keep being amazing! (I love the quote, "when I am sad...I stop being sad...and start being AMAZING! :) Stockton, way to dominate the court :)
I love ya very much. Hope you have a great week.
Love
Elder Wise
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