Had the opportunity to have a day of service which involved helping a sweet old lady take down her Christmas decorations and helping Loraine clean her room. Loraine gave us what her "granny used to give me for cleaning her house"
She gave us each a quarter <3 mine is presently taped inside my journal
That same day we had a lesson at Sister Fetters house.
Have I mentioned Amanda Fetters yet? Probably because she is amazing.
It was her house that we went to for Christmas morning shenanigans and Nerf guns.
Well we had a lesson with someone in her home, and she taught us so much.
She told a story about her two kids who were wrestling with each other just a couple of hours before, and somehow, Sister Fetters' son caught hold of her youngest daughters necklace and it broke.
She was crying, and he felt SO bad that he had busted his sisters necklace. He felt terrible, and wanted to fix it, but he is so little and as sorry as he felt, as badly as he wanted to fix what he had broken, he simply could not.
Without his mothers help.
Sister Fetters told this story to the person we were teaching to explain repentance, and how we may be so sorry for a mistake we have made, SO ready to right our wrong, but we just do not have the capacity or power to fix it.
We don't even know a right way to perfectly right every wrong.
But if we go to the Savior, He fixes it for us.
Even imperfect repentance is covered by the Atonement, because sometimes we just don't know how to repent perfectly for each individual sin, or weakness.
WE don't know the magic words, or amount of time on our knees it takes to white a scarlet mark on our soul.
We simply try to repent, and He lets us know if He accepts it
forgives us
and allows us to learn from our mistake(s).
Sister Fetters is awesome.
Plus we may or may not have seen her perform some ninja status moves at her Tae Kwon Do performance this past week.
...not to mention she played the organ in church Sunday
and she is an expert in essential oils.
yeah she's basically the bees knees and then some
She also insisted on feeding us three days in a row last week to which we politely declined then she reassigned because she knew we were just trying to be polite and she plans on making us Indian food because she makes some mean Indian food... and knows we love it...
BLESSINGS FROM ON HIGH ALL BUNDLED UP IN ONE SINGLE HUMAN
s/o to Sister Fetters
Wednesday, Sister Jamison and I had our first Zone training together and it went SO WELL
I can't even explain
but in short, the four of us (the Zone leaders and us) were super inspired to teach about our purpose as missionaries, how obedience and love should be inseparable, and how we can Thrive instead of Survive as missionaries by developing Pure Desire.
Well the Spirit was felt, the missionaries in this Zone are amazing, and I love this assignment and my fellow disciples of Jesus Christ very much.
My specific training was about how to get rid of discouragement.
I felt very strongly about this, but I didn't have all the answers myself until I studied and prayed about it.
I realized that as missionaries we have goals/things we want to accomplish and expectations for ourselves. Here is a small list of things we want to do and acquire:
faith
charity
virtue
knowledge
patience
humility
diligence
obedience
individual worth
chouse and accountability
integrity
consecration
optimism
teach repentance
baptize converts
serve with all heart might mind and strength
know Christ
be the fourth missionary
invite
change
be refined
communicate with the spirit better
sacrifice all
receive our "well done thou good and faithful servant" moment
leave with no regrets
keep our schedule
all our #goals
make our family proud
make God proud
THESE ARE ALL PURE AND GOOD DESIRES
but dang... they sure cause a lot of grief, discouragement, guilt, and feelings of inadequacy.
so I asked this question: how can I K.I.S.S as a missionary
;)
#KeepItSimpleStupid
Here's how:
if we will simply follow our own invitations stated in the "our purpose" that we memorize as missionaries
Come unto Christ by having Faith not Fear Repenting Daily Keeping Our Covenants To Strengthen Our Relationship With and Follow The Holy Ghost and Endure To The End.
then the rest will follow.
It will take much longer than this life let alone the eighteen to twenty-four months we have as missionaries.
We will die with many weaknesses, but we can be strong in following that invitation.
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| We made homemade pizza with the Baltimores (LOVE THEM) |
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said the missionary to the scuba diver
Can we make you a bcd??
I already have one, thank you
REALLY!!!!?!?!?!?? a baptismal confirmation date? 😂
......whut?
a bcd!
yes.. I have one. It helps me breathe under water.
You mean like water in a font?
*crickets
>buoyancy control device vs baptism confirmation date<
said the missionary to the video gamer
What is your understanding of the WOW?
well... it is my favorite place to be
The Word of Wisdom?
no.. in my World of Warcraft...
*crickets
>wow vs wow<
said the missionary to the ward council
We shared the POS with John this week..
*bursts of laughter
what?
P.O.S.... you shared a p.o.s. with your investigator?
*more laughter
no.. we shared THEE p.o.s.. the Plan of Salvation..
that's not what p.o.s. stands for in my line of work
*smh
>pos vs pos<
the importance of knowing your mormon lingo
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| Where we email on most prep days... |
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I don't think I've ever taught the Restoration and Plan of Salvation to new investigators more in a single week than I have this week
I have learned
it's not so much what we say, it's all about what they feel and if they recognize what they're feeling.
We taught J** the restoration in the library and shared with him more about why we do Family History. He said he is comfortable in his church but will read the first chapter of the Book of Mormon and pray about it.
The Spirit was SO strong with J**. We just pray that he will use his agency to acknowledge and act on it.
Exchanges with Sister Delgado and Sister Fox were SO MUCH FUN
We saw a lot of people, found new people to teach, and did the strangest thing...
We swished coconut oil in our mouths for fifteen minutes straight because apparently it makes your teeth whiter and detoxes your body... so that was interesting.
One of my best friends is a man named Catfish. He is homeless, and we see him every week at the Soup Kitchen, and he thanks us for his meal. Did I mention his name is Catfish?
We helped Deloris take down her blow-up Santas from her yard, she was so thankful and sweet as usual.
Pray for W**** because she never keeps appointments :( She'll realize she's ready someday, but as missionaries we are called to harvest the prepared and at this time... there are others to find that will keep appointments
We probably wont be going back to see T****
She honestly explained that even if she received a sign from God that this message is true and that He exists, she would never change her opinion and belief that abortion is a woman's right and that the practice of homosexuality should not be against God's laws.
This one broke my heart because I explained first that homosexuality is a weakness and a weakness is not a sin until acted upon. All that's left is to use the atonement and allow Christ to lift your burdens and temptation. Just.Like.Any.Other.Weakeness. We all have them.
The Spirit was there...
then the abortion bomb dropped and the Spirit was gone and there was nothing that we could do to salvage the situation because quite frankly... I can understand her opinion on homosexuality though misguided, but abortion is absolutely and will always be nothing but falsely justified murder.
Sound very uncharacteristic of the South? She's from California.
We love her. She was so very kind and even invited us back, but at this point, as sad as it is, there is nothing we can do for someone that is not willing to act on personal revelation. Because personal revelation only comes to those with desires that are pure, and intentions to act on what is received. Not only is she unwilling to act, but even if she was told by God Himself, she would disagree. With God.
But God is not graven of man's image. Mankind is created in Gods.
God's will is not for us to decide, it is only up to us to decide if we are willing to follow whatever His will is and TRUST that His will is perfectly just, merciful, and for our good.
S**...
well we had a "golden referral" went to his house and all he wanted to do was bash in circles contradicting himself on every corner and talking about how we claim to have the truth but we don't have proof other than "pray about it."
I said very clearly
"We DO have physical proof. The book of Mormon. However, spiritual proof is much more convincing contrary to popular belief, and unfortunately you wouldn't know spiritual proof if it slapped you in the face with a hammer"
okay... so I didn't actually say that.
but I did feel the Spirit when Sister J and I bore testimony, and then she boldy and kindly told him that our job is to find the elect, so we would not be returning unless he were to find himself reading and praying about the Book of Mormon/becomes the elect.
We realized after a fat minute that our leaders were right when they told us:
There's no use arguing, that only brings contention.
It doesn't matter that the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has one of if not the best humanitarian aid program in the world. It doesn't matter that archaeologists are finding more and more of the kind of worldy "proof" that backs up the Book of Mormon. It doesn't matter that we aren't a paid ministry, that 20 year olds voluntarily give their life over to sharing the gospel for 1.5 to 2 years, it doesn't matter that pioneers, prophets, and members have been prosecuted, killed and prevail in faith despite persecution and backlash from the general public and even in the past, the government/other governments around the world today. It doesn't matter that miracles happen, prophecies have and continue to come to pass by HIS prophets, seers, and revelators on the Earth today. It doesn't matter that the Bible literally backs up all the doctrine in the Book of Mormon and that together they are the WHOLE picture.
NONE. of. that. matters. if. one. does. not. SIMPLY. read. the Book of Mormon. and. pray. about. it. for. their. own. personal. witness. from God. That. IT. IS. TRUE.
Friends. Family. I PLEAD with you from the very bottom of my being to the very top of my soul. I beg you, picture me in my ugly skirt on my knees, heart on my sleeve, exhorting right next to Moroni, that if ye shall read these things, and pray with real intent, that you might know from God that this Book and the church is true. Because the Book is the keystone of our religion. One cannot stand without the other.
And what does that mean for you? It means the keys to your salvation jack. NO BIG DEAL.
wait... that's a HUGE deal.
So pray about it. Read it. Not just one line or one verse, really hunger and thirst after the words.
Then... will miracles take place in your heart.
Whether you know the Book of Mormon is true or not, please accept my plea.
I feel such emotion as I write this, which tells me, that I'm not just writing this for fun. I'm not just happily going lucky on this.
The emotion and Spirit I feel right now tells me that someone, somewhere, is reading this. You are reading this and it is for you personally. No coincidence. You were supposed to take the time to read this as a divine intervention from almighty God.
And YOU are being formally invited to act on this invitation.
May you recognize that this is for YOU, and may you follow the good advice of a friend of mine named Nike and Just Do It.
I am humbly grateful for Him allowing me to feel this way and know this truth.
I pray that you all have a wonderful week of spiritual experiences, and gratitude for the precious gift that we not only have, but that we have the opportunity to open and use.
I love you. Sincerely as my brothers and sisters.
I'd say "God be with you" but I know that He already is. Can you feel that? Can you feel in your heart mind and soul that what I said is true?
Pay attention. It's not the coffee you had this morning, it's not endorphins from the exercise you promised yourself you'd do today but haven't gotten around to, it's the Holy Spirit.
Make it a Spirit filled day.
-Sister Saunders
an unwavering disciple of Jesus Christ
the importance of knowing your mormon lingo
