Well, In case any of you are wondering, Heavenly Father is a pretty awesome! I feel like I learn more in a day as a missionary than I did in most of my life previous. Sister Gillespie and I had a few really neat experiences this week. One day, we had a few appointments fall through, so we prayed and decided to walk the area a little before our dinner appointment. As we were walking Sister Gillespie stopped me and said that she recognized the house that we were walking next to. She said that the house belonged to a former investigator and that her and her last companion had come here wanting to meet her but hadn't gone inside the fence because of the large dogs that were in the front yard. We were debating on whether or not to go and knock when a woman, Sushawna, walked out. She came out to the fence and talked to us. She said that she had been sick for quite some time and that she was struggling because of the loss of family members and friends. We taught her a little about the Plan of Salvation and offered to come back with the Elders so that they could give her a priesthood blessing. We set up a return appointment, but unfortunately that fell through. We prayed with her and got on our way so that we wouldn't be late to our dinner appointment, but we were met in the street by a woman walking alone. Her name was a Jackie, and when we were about 20 yards away she started freaking out and yelled, "No way! No way! Are you guys the mormons?" We told her that we were and she apologized for smelling like alcohol and told us about how she was having a really hard time because she was living with an abusive boyfriend and both of her parents had recently died. She said that she was walking hoping that she could find someone that could help her be happier. We told her that what we had to offer could bless her a lot and bring her so much happiness and she asked if we could pray with her and then come back to her house to talk with her. We agreed and set an appointment. However, she hasn't been seen since. It is a little disappointing, but these experiences definitely showed us that we are better tools in Heavenly Father's hands when we put ourselves in the situation where He can put people in our paths. What a huge blessing!
It's funny how this whole missionary thing works. I get disappointed a lot, and I still am happy most of the time. That's pretty cool when you really think about it.
So, the other neat thing about this week was that Elder Neal L. Anderson came and spoke to the Redlands Stake. We were informed that the last time an apostle was on assignment in this area was in 1987. Crazy! It's true thought that no matter how many times you meet an apostle, it is still one of the coolest feelings because you can feel the spirit of the mantle that they wear. There are lots of lessons that I learned from him this weekend, so brace yourself for this.
On Saturday morning we had a multi-mission conference with him. It included all of the missionaries from the Redlands mission and the Rancho Cucamonga mission. He talked to us a lot about the Atonement and how we cant really understand it unless we are actively using it. That includes us as missionaries teaching it to others. He talked a lot about the enabling power of the atonement and how it has the power to make us into people that we never thought we were capable of becoming. It was pretty cool. He also taught us that as we learn and grow as missionaries we need to remember that we cant go home and get distracted. He told us to seal in our our hearts that the lord answers prayers. He told us a story about when he was first called to be a general authority. He said that he had some questions about something and he finally decided to go talk to president Packer that was his mentor of sorts at the time. President Packer asked him if he had prayed about it. He said that or course he had; he was a general authority of course. President Packer looked at him and said, "Well have you prayed about it all day and all night as Enos did?" WHOA! How true is that. He told us to remember that some things take more faith than others and to never forget that.
His stake conference message was a little bit different than anything I have heard before. There were a lot of community members present, so there was no clear invitation. Usually in stake conference there is some underlying message that they are trying to get us to understand and act upon. this was interesting because Elder Anderson basically just taught and testified of the first three lessons in Preach My Gospel (The Restoration, The Plan of Salvation, and The Gospel of Jesus Christ). I wish that I could just give you a copy of his talk because it was really good. One of my favorite parts from Sunday was another story that he told. He talked about two farmers. One cared for his crops as much as he could. he worked in his fields every day trying to make himself a plentiful harvest. The other farmer did similarly, only he didn't work on Sundays. Well, when harvest time came, it was no surprise that the farmer that worked 7 days a week rather than giving one day to the Lord had a better harvest. The farmer that worked on Sundays asked his friend, "don't you wish that you had done like me?" The farmer that was obedient to the Lord thought about that for a few minutes and then responded and told him, "The Lord doesn't balance His books in October." What a powerful lesson for all of us to remember. Go read 3 Nephi 27:11. You wont regret it.
My favorite part of the weekend was at the very end of Elder Anderson's address to the stake. He looked at them and said something along the lines of, "Jesus Christ lives. He appeared to Joseph Smith, and He has appeared to many others." He then shook his head and rolled his eyes and said, "But that's not important. What is important is that He lives. I am His witness."
That was so powerful. It really reminded me that the apostles are special witnesses of Jesus Christ. It reaffirmed my testimony because to me the prophets could be one of two things. They are either men of God that, through divine revelation, are sent to lead and guide the church, or they are evil men sent to deceive the people. I know that these apostles are men of God, and that they do Witness of Jesus Christ.
That was so powerful. It really reminded me that the apostles are special witnesses of Jesus Christ. It reaffirmed my testimony because to me the prophets could be one of two things. They are either men of God that, through divine revelation, are sent to lead and guide the church, or they are evil men sent to deceive the people. I know that these apostles are men of God, and that they do Witness of Jesus Christ.
A few light hearted things before I close. First, EVERYONE here comments on my last name, I probably need to humble myself and repent, but I have been starting to just respond with, "Yeah, don't you wish that your name was a Christlike attribute?" Also, will someone please send me mail. I dont really care who anymore. I just know that I haven't had any. At the library where we email we have to have a piece of mail as proof of address in order to get a library card and use the computers. I have to use a guest computer right now, and that's more difficult because there is a longer wait. I sound petty. Oh well. I love you all and hope that you are having a wonderful week!
Love,
Sister Hope
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