I hope it isn't raining on your parade out there cause it sure is coming down here! We had the craziest weather this week...two or three days of pure death touching 94 degrees outside and inside our apartment, then it got cooler again, and now it is raining and cold. #moodymuch?
Don't wanna dance around anything but get right to the best part of the week! Our investigator accepted to be baptized on June 24th during our lesson on Thursday with the family and then they all came to church Sunday! You have no idea how excited we were. Church was absolutely perfect. They had a great experience, have already made friends, and said to everyone who asked that they would certainly be back next week. #blessed #couldnotbehappierforthem Literally the best thing about missionary work is the joy you feel because you see others finding it.
I think back a lot on all that has happened in my mission and all that the Lord has done. Thinking back to initially making the decision to come out I remember the feeling I had: finally partaking of the dang fruit, instead of just tossing it back and forth in my hand and looking at how desirable it was, then instantly feeling the need to get what I had in the hands of everyone I saw. I think that is the biggest blessing: feeling the love of God so much in your own life that you feel it for everyone else. That is what motivates us to serve and love others and, really, what makes us disciples of Christ; "by this shall men know ye are my disciples; if ye have love one to another"..."we love Him because He first loved us," as Sister Staker said. #thatcharitything #stillworkingonit #arentweall #butlookhowfarwehavecome
It was a great week for us in finding new people to teach and seeing the Lord really do His work. I was asked to give a workshop Tuesday about accountability and have been thinking about that a lot the last few days. I learned that in reality everything we have isn't ours but simply under our stewardship for a time until we turn it back over to the Lord. That made me think about if we are doing our best with the "talents" the Lord has given us for the building of His kingdom.
I didn't often think much about the literal application of what the scriptures say but have learned that much more is quite literal than I have been thinking. We had a meeting Thursday with a new senior couple who taught us about temple and family history doctrine in relation to dispensations, specifically the responsibility of this last dispensation. It was cool to sit back and be taught and have all of these doctrines we know kinda connected. The whole time I felt like I knew where he was going as we were being taught but then he would connect two things I knew and de repente the understanding was there --as though every loading bar was just finishing! Ding ding ding, one after another. I was just full of understanding all of a sudden. Isn't the gospel great?
There was a really cool experience for me personally this week in seeing the Lord actively engaged in my journey of becoming. I feel it is easy for us to say that the Lord knows us, the Lord is here, God is a part of the details of our lives, He is concerned for us, and the like. All of these things are true, but sometimes I think to myself, "do I know and believe all of these things or is it just what I have been conditioned to think?" That is how the journey of conversion begins for everyone: someone loves someone else enough to share what they know and believe with others. Those others then lean on the knowledge and belief (or testimony as we call it) of those who first introduced them to this special thing until they know and believe for themselves (or they on their own obtain a testimony by acting in faith on the word of the other who already knows and believes). You following me? Maybe a little :) sorry :)
I hope you have a great week. I'm gonna go see what you've sent now :) love you!
Mucho amor,
Hermana Karra Gourley
P.S. Also, the subject line is in reference to a funny moment this week. We read a chapter together for our language study but I read in Spanish and Hna Rosario reads in English while we correct each other. She was trying to say "Sariah" and I told her, "you know there's a guy named Nephihah?" She looked at me terribly confused and exclaimed, "Nephi? With a 'huh'??" Then proceeded to grumble about the ridiculousness that is the English language. It was a fun moment :)
No comments:
Post a Comment