It's been raining non stop this whole week which has been a little depressing but spring is around the corner and I can't wait. We've been walking more and taking the bus instead of biking which has been a lot better... except for when the cars splash you as they drive by. That's always kinda funny actually.
We had an amazing miracle lesson. We committed A. to be baptized a couple weeks ago. But he has a girlfriend M. sorella Bennett taught M. before I got here and M. wasn't receptive to the Gospel. We were both nervous and wanted to be able to get both of them on board. We got in there and everything went perfect. We taught the restoration and M received it without hesitation. We committed her to read the Book of Mormon with A. and for them to pray together. We committed them to come to church when they have work off. M. said she would be baptized if she received a testimony that the Book of Mormon was true. We finished it off with chocolate covered gelato bars. I was grinning from ear to ear after that lesson. I'm so excited to see where things progress with them.
We watched the Joseph Smith prophet of the restoration movie in spanish with our investigator family. They aren't progressing because they are trying to get their marriage papers figured out but I was happy because I understood about 70% of the spanish. I wanna learn spanish when I get home. Also I felt the spirit sooo strong that Joseph is a prophet of God and he restored this church to the earth. It was a beautiful lesson.
So I learned the coolest principle in Alma 43. In this chapter Moroni's army (totally want to meet him in the next life) are fighting the Lamanites. He mentions things they had to help them fight. These things can help us fight our trials and temptations in this life:
1) They had thick armor and thick clothing. We can have the spriitual armor of God and thick clothing is faith and peace. When we have these things in our hearts, minds and souls, we are strong and have the strength to keep going and keep fighting.
2) When we are fighting a trial we need to make sure we aren't guilty of anything to do with it. We can't be hypocrites. We need to repent daily and be obedient. Obedience brings blessings.
3)Fear and faith can't coexist. When we are afraid we need to have faith and remember what we are fighting for, why we are fighting and the victory that will come when we have conquered the foe.
Sunday was fast sunday and a day of bearing one another's burdens. it was amazing. The members bore the most beauitful testimonies and the spirit was so strong. We taught gospel principles and it went fantastic. We had a mom and daughter in our class and they asked the most amazing questions. After church we visited E. and comforted him because he had gotten robbed earlier that week. It was amazing to see the difference in his countenance from when we first got there to when we finished the lesson. He went from despair to feeling peace. The message of the Gospel truly works miracles in a person's life. We also visited a family and came to find out something horrible had happened to one of them. We shared a message of comfort and prayed with them. I felt helpless because with both of these situations there was nothing we could do to fix it. But I learned that part of a missionaries job is bear another persons' burdens and to pray with and for them. Prayer really is a soothing balm for when we are in pain or feel like we are hopeless.
Overall my language is getting better. I understand about 80% of what the people say and I'm starting to start and end lessons as well as give larger portions of a lesson. I'm soooo happy that my study efforts are finally paying off. It's still hard especially when we teach people who are native spanish speakers. They speak Span-alian and it is really hard to understand their accent. We also taught some Africans and they speak It-lish with a thick accent. But it's been a huge blessing. Instead of understanding their words, I've been forced to listen with the spirit and try to understand the person's heart instead. I've learned so much about people.
So I'm giving my first talk in sacrament meeting this sunday. Excited and nervous. I'm just hoping my pronouciation will be good and that I don't end up saying the wrong word because I pronouced it wrong.
Overall, the mission is by far the best experience of my life. I wouldn't trade any of these experiences... the good or the bad... for anything in the world.
scripture is alma 43.
challenge: find another person who has a heavy burden and bear it with them. pray for them and help them in any way they need.
phrase: Io amo Italia
No comments:
Post a Comment