First of all i want to thank each and every one of you that sent me emails and cards for Christmas, I really appreciated the time that you all took to do that and it was super sweet to hear from so many people from home. Also I should give a shout out to the anonymous person who sent me (from Utah apparently) an envelope of Anti-Mormon information... that was definitely a weird experience but it reminded me that my beliefs aren´t based on facts and I haven´t put my faith in just any person, but in the Savior Jesus Christ. I know without a doubt that He has restored His gospel here on the earth through a prophet and leads this church today. I know this because I have asked God and through the Holy Spirit, He has answered me and I could never deny it. This is the church OF Jesus Christ and I couldn´t be happier to be a part of it! :) (I opened that envelope in front of my zone and everyone got a kick out of it and needless to say, my Zone Leaders ended up destroying it). But whoever you are, I hope you know that I am praying for you and I wish you the profound peace that I have in my life by having a testimony of these things. Thank you for reminding me of that and for actually strengthening my resolve to make these things known to all "nations, kindreds, tongues, and people"...just please don´t send more.
But anyways, enough of that...
This week was way cool. We have really been focused lately on finding the people that are truly prepared to receive the gospel. We have been trying to search diligently and be more specific in our prayers about that and have seen results. We have found a handful of people this last week who have been searching for a religion and aren´t satisfied with a lot of the ones theyve seen. It´s cool to teach them the Restoration for the first time and especially when we explain the church that Christ established and how the exact same church is restored in these last days. They understand what the true church needs to have, and when we teach them about this church you can see how it clicks for them. People generally have trouble accepting prophets because they want to follow Christ and not a man, so at times that or the Book of Mormon becomes a bit of an obstacle, and without a spiritual confirmation/answer from God it obviously would be. But I know that those who seek answers from Him will find them and be happy because they have the truth from the only real source.
We have also been referring a lot of people to the Mormon Channel/Mormon Messages on YouTube lately. They are so well made and explain things clearly, I would really encourage everyone to watch them and share them with others. I love the one about the park in Idaho Falls- we show that one a lot because Hermana Thiel always ran there, haha.
Another thing I just wanted to mention is the importance of scripture study. I am so glad I got into the habit of it before my mission and it has blessed me so much. I am really grateful for the study journals our mission gives us and theyve really helped me organize my thoughts and the things I´m learning. Ive attached pictures of it with an example... pretty cool huh? Apparently this setup is the "Bednar" method. Haha. It´s cool to see how preparing and studying every morning really has given me the words to say when I face situations throughout the day. For example this last week we had a reference who is a 18 year old girl who lost part of her arm in an accident. The member who referred us told us she needed "animos" because it´s really hard for her, naturally. Without knowing we would meet her that day, one morning I had read in a Liahona a story about a little boy who was born with a "nub" and saw that the Jesus in his familys nativity set happened to have one too and told his mom, "Look, Jesus is like me!" The mom taught him that Jesus doesnt actually have a nub but he knows exactly how the little boy feels having one and taught him about the resurrection. I told this story to the investigator and I felt the Spirit testify to all of us of the Atonement and the infinite power that it has to heal us both spiritually and physically. I was glad in that moment that I had recently read that little story and could share that with her.
I know that Christ lives and this is His work. I´m so grateful to be a tool in His hands and for the opportunity to see this change people. Yesterday both Eduardo and Piazzoli both recieved the Priesthood. Happy day!!
Les quiero! Cuidense mucho!
Hasta luego!
Hermana Bledsoe
No comments:
Post a Comment