September 30, 2013

My family.

Sorry about not sending a mass email out last week. I'm not sure how I managed to forget to do that but I did!

Well a lot has happened and a lot continues to happen! Our days and weeks are so full! October will be one busy month for us. We sat down and mapped out when we'll be travelling and blitzing the Ireland sisters's areas, when the zone trainings will be, and when our leadership council meetings in edinburgh are this month, etc. It looks to be one very packed month! There's a dinner calendar that is passed around the ward for members to feed us and we had to block about 3/4 of the month in black for the days we won't be in our area. We will be gone so much this month. It's going to be a very, very busy transfer. Things are going well for us. We are just trying to strike a good balance of focusing on the needs of our investigators, sisters, and members. Right now a lot of our time and attention is on being with the other sisters in their areas and then the small amount of time we do have in our area, we are seeing our investigators. This past week, we have felt very corrected by the spirit in different meetings that we need to focus on strengthening the members as well. We're grateful for the spirit and the things that it teaches us, reminds us, or encourages us to do. There is always so much to improve on each day, but I'm grateful for this chance to learn and to grow and to stretch ourselves.

Sister Morgan and I are still in the trio with Sister Lewis, who has come in from the France mission. She has been such a blessing to us! I feel like we learn so much from her every day, we have so much fun with her, and also we are able to split a lot with the members. We just take one sister from the ward out with us and we are able to split in twos and get double the work done. It's been such a blessing for us because we struggle to get done what we need to in our own area so I know Heavenly Father put us in a trio to help us out. He is such a loving God. I have seen it every day.

The exchanges we were on this past week- we were able to see a lot of 'exchange miracles' as we call them. It has been so great. We were in Northern Ireland with the Londonderry sisters and also the Baldoyle sisters in Dublin. I love being able to spend time with the sisters in Ireland. It is so uplifting to be with them, feel of their excitement and spirit, and be able to help them with whatever they are going through or need. It's a different kind of missionary life- studying and praying for investigators, as well as the sisters. I really love it a lot. I have come to love each of the sisters we work with in the Ireland zones SO much.

We had a miracle week as far as less actives. A YSA aged guy, Patick, hasn't been back to church in 6 years but we had an amazing visit with him this past week and he came to church! Same thing happened with a man named Albert, who hasn't been to church in 20 years. His wife is active, but he stopped coming a long time ago. We started visiting him a couple of weeks ago and have had some amazing visits with him. He called us last week and said he has felt the spirit instruct him that now is the time to come back to church and he came yesterday!!!! Such miracles. It was so exciting.

Our investigator Ray came to church yesterday for his 4th time! He has made a lot of progress this weekend. Something is different about Ray - in a good way. I think the lightbulb is starting to turn on for him. (Thank you for your prayers!) We are praying that he will be baptized this month.

I just wanted to share something that really touched me this week. We started teaching a woman named Shelly a couple of weeks ago. Shelly is the most kind hearted woman I have ever met, but has got caught up in the wrong kind of lifestyle. She has turned to alcohol and smoking for her source of comfort and has really gone down hill. Each visit we have with her, are some of the most poweful experiences of my mission. As we testify to her of the power of the atonement and the reality of our savior, the spirit confirms to me of those truths and we can physically see her countenance change from the beginning of the visit to the end of the visit. This message is really bringing hope into her life that she doesn't have. Her face starts with the look of agony and ends with tears in her eyes and a big smile on her face. It is AMAZING to experience and witness it. Anyways, she's really struggling, and amidst her stuggling, she always offers us drinks and biscuits - even though she is struggling financially. Well this past week, she left us with a bag full of food (probably the majority of what she has) and asked us to give the bag to someone who is more in need tha n her. This past week I was studying the character of christ and this experience made me think of something that Elder Bednar taught about true character and Shelly reminds me of this:

"Perhaps the greatest indicator of character is the capacity to recognize and appropriately respond to other people who are experiencing the very challenge or adversity that is most immediately and forcefully pressing upon us. Character is revealed, for example, in the power to discern the suffering of other people when we ourselves are suffering; in the ability to detect the hunger of others when we are hungry; and in the power to reach out and extend compassion for the spiritual agony of others when we are in the midst of our own spiritual distress. Thus, character is demonstrated by looking and reaching outward when the natural and instinctive response is to be self-absorbed and turn inward. If such a capacity is indeed the ultimate criterion of moral character, then the Savior of the world is the perfect example of such a consistent and charitable character." -David A Bednar

I know that when we reach out to others, even though we are ourselves may be struggling, that the Lord will strenthen us and we will be happy in return - just like our good friend Shelly.

Love you all!