Dear everyone,
Sorry this email is coming a bit later than usual. We were able to go to the temple in Snowflake today (3hr drive total) and it was amazing! We saw the new video and I LOVE being in the temple. I wish I could just live there because I felt so much peace. This week was really great and really sad at the same time. We'll start with the sad news first so that we can end on a happy note. Sad news: we had 5 baptisms scheduled for this weekend and they all fell through. 4 of them moved to Mesa (it was a single mom with 3 kids that were over 8) and the 5th decided that she wanted to get married before her baptism, but her cohabitant isn't divorced yet, so that makes things a little... tricky.
Now for the good news: WE LEAVE FOR TREK THIS WEEK!!!!! We leave Friday morning and won't get back until Monday around 1pm (somewhere in there we're beheading a chicken). Right after we get back we're showering and then driving down to the valley to drop Sister Goodwin off at the airport and then she'll be off to Brazil! I'm so excited for her and I love my new companion! We'll get along splendidly. Anyway, in prepping for trek we've been hiking Flat Top every morning (except Sunday) to get in shape and to help us break in our hiking boots. The hiking boots are a story in and of themselves, but suffice it to say that some members took pity on us and gifted them to us. I know, I'm still completely blown away. The people up here have honestly become family to me. I love helping them progress towards Christ and I honestly think that people move to Eagar to be converted. We just keep having the windows of heaven open up and shower us with blessings.
For instance, we found a family this last week and they were at church on Sunday and are progressing towards baptism. We had a lesson with an investigator that was incredible because He follows the Native American traditions (yep can anyone tell me WHO the Book of Mormon is about and WHERE it came from?) so we shared Alma chapter 18 where Ammon talks about the Great Spirit with King Lamoni and how the Great Spirit is actually God. That lesson went from him doubting our message to telling us about near-death experiences that he'd had where he'd heard promptings from the Holy Ghost. Yeah, it was pretty bomb-diggity.
We had another lesson this week with one of our less-active recent converts. First of all, can I just tell you all how much being an EXAMPLE means to people?! The recent convert that we taught this week grew up with his best friends being members and they always invited him to activities. We are supposed to be examples of the believers! And, honestly, it doesn't hurt anything to invite someone to a family home evening or to a family event where they can be exposed to how much the Gospel blesses families. This recent convert SAW the difference between his family and the family of his friends. THAT is what started his conversion. Sure, he wasn't baptized until last year, but his heart began changing and shifting it's priorities to the Gospel when he was younger. So, again, BE AN EXAMPLE of the believers and INVITE them to stuff with your families. Of course, invite the missionaries as well. They appreciate a good dinner and a potential investigator :D haha.
I love you all so much and I'm so grateful that I get to be here, sharing the Gospel with my Brothers and Sisters. I can honestly say that I love them all so much more than I'd expected and I know that it's the love of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ manifesting itself through me. I never thought that I could feel this much love for people that I don't know. It is just one more thing that proves that this is the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that his Gospel has been restored again, in its fullness to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It's proof that we have a loving Heavenly Father who has given us temples so that we can be sealed together, as a family, for ETERNITY. It proves that we receive latter-day revelation from a prophet, Thomas S. Monson, on the earth today. And it PROVES beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. That it was HIS blood and HIS sacrifice that enables us to return to live with our Father in Heaven again. And it's his Atonement that can cleanse us from years of sin. He wants us to come back. He wants us to return to his fold. He wants us to have the blessings that this Gospel brings. Who are we to deny our Brothers and Sisters the opportunity of partaking of those blessings?
I'm so grateful for you all and I'm glad that we can be together forever, because it wouldn't be heaven without you crazies! :)
Love,
Sister Lee
PS. camera was dead and I forgot to charge it... so, no pics this week
Sorry this email is coming a bit later than usual. We were able to go to the temple in Snowflake today (3hr drive total) and it was amazing! We saw the new video and I LOVE being in the temple. I wish I could just live there because I felt so much peace. This week was really great and really sad at the same time. We'll start with the sad news first so that we can end on a happy note. Sad news: we had 5 baptisms scheduled for this weekend and they all fell through. 4 of them moved to Mesa (it was a single mom with 3 kids that were over 8) and the 5th decided that she wanted to get married before her baptism, but her cohabitant isn't divorced yet, so that makes things a little... tricky.
Now for the good news: WE LEAVE FOR TREK THIS WEEK!!!!! We leave Friday morning and won't get back until Monday around 1pm (somewhere in there we're beheading a chicken). Right after we get back we're showering and then driving down to the valley to drop Sister Goodwin off at the airport and then she'll be off to Brazil! I'm so excited for her and I love my new companion! We'll get along splendidly. Anyway, in prepping for trek we've been hiking Flat Top every morning (except Sunday) to get in shape and to help us break in our hiking boots. The hiking boots are a story in and of themselves, but suffice it to say that some members took pity on us and gifted them to us. I know, I'm still completely blown away. The people up here have honestly become family to me. I love helping them progress towards Christ and I honestly think that people move to Eagar to be converted. We just keep having the windows of heaven open up and shower us with blessings.
For instance, we found a family this last week and they were at church on Sunday and are progressing towards baptism. We had a lesson with an investigator that was incredible because He follows the Native American traditions (yep can anyone tell me WHO the Book of Mormon is about and WHERE it came from?) so we shared Alma chapter 18 where Ammon talks about the Great Spirit with King Lamoni and how the Great Spirit is actually God. That lesson went from him doubting our message to telling us about near-death experiences that he'd had where he'd heard promptings from the Holy Ghost. Yeah, it was pretty bomb-diggity.
We had another lesson this week with one of our less-active recent converts. First of all, can I just tell you all how much being an EXAMPLE means to people?! The recent convert that we taught this week grew up with his best friends being members and they always invited him to activities. We are supposed to be examples of the believers! And, honestly, it doesn't hurt anything to invite someone to a family home evening or to a family event where they can be exposed to how much the Gospel blesses families. This recent convert SAW the difference between his family and the family of his friends. THAT is what started his conversion. Sure, he wasn't baptized until last year, but his heart began changing and shifting it's priorities to the Gospel when he was younger. So, again, BE AN EXAMPLE of the believers and INVITE them to stuff with your families. Of course, invite the missionaries as well. They appreciate a good dinner and a potential investigator :D haha.
I love you all so much and I'm so grateful that I get to be here, sharing the Gospel with my Brothers and Sisters. I can honestly say that I love them all so much more than I'd expected and I know that it's the love of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ manifesting itself through me. I never thought that I could feel this much love for people that I don't know. It is just one more thing that proves that this is the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that his Gospel has been restored again, in its fullness to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It's proof that we have a loving Heavenly Father who has given us temples so that we can be sealed together, as a family, for ETERNITY. It proves that we receive latter-day revelation from a prophet, Thomas S. Monson, on the earth today. And it PROVES beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. That it was HIS blood and HIS sacrifice that enables us to return to live with our Father in Heaven again. And it's his Atonement that can cleanse us from years of sin. He wants us to come back. He wants us to return to his fold. He wants us to have the blessings that this Gospel brings. Who are we to deny our Brothers and Sisters the opportunity of partaking of those blessings?
I'm so grateful for you all and I'm glad that we can be together forever, because it wouldn't be heaven without you crazies! :)
Love,
Sister Lee
PS. camera was dead and I forgot to charge it... so, no pics this week
No comments:
Post a Comment