Brr it's getting cold! I survived last winter, but I'm further north this year, and it's way too cold already. We're going to Target today to get more layers so we don't freeze. I do not like winter. I survived Rexburg for 5 years, but it's quite different as a missionary being out in the cold more often.
Anthony's lessons are always good. We have an advantage with him since he's been taught before, we don't have the pressure of trying to cover everything with him, so we can take the time to focus on him and what he needs. We've been diving in deep into the Atonement and the repentance process. The lessons are always spiritual. We all feel the Spirit. I'm not quite sure yet if Anthony recognizes it's the Spirit, but it's definitely moving to action. We asked him what his feelings were about our lessons, and he said he always looks forward to them, and he told us that after last lesson, he went and applied what we'd shared - and we didn't even ask him to! The Boomhowers are great in adding in their comments (and providing their home). Sister Boomhower told us afterward that Anthony seemed different after the lesson this time. That's good! I hope we always get to see a new Anthony as he internalizes what we teach.
Laura continues to do well. We started into the Plan of Salvation with her by giving her a brief overview and asking what things she didn't believe (yet) or what she hadn't heard of. She was prepared to recognize that families are important and that the Fall was necessary so we could come to earth. We had another great lesson with her and the whole Arnold family (in-laws) and talked about earth life and the reason for opposition. We asked her what things would prepare her for her baptism, and we showed that Satan was going to oppose those things. She now knows that it's not going to be easy. We also asked about what stands in the way of her and her baptism right now. She again brought up that she wants to know more. But her 1st answer was really good. She said that she feels the Holy Ghost with her as she reads and learns, and she wants to feel that she's worthy of the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. She's obviously thought about this! Her reading and comprehension are a little slower, but she's got the feeling there already, and she recognizes it for what it is!
Laurence is awesome as well. Tuesday we had our first question/answer session with him. We decided Tuesdays would be question/answer and Saturday would be a lesson since he has so many questions. He didn't really have any specific questions for us this time, but we had a good conversation (I can't remember what the topic was unfortunately). Saturday we finally got to resurrection, judgment, and the 3 kingdoms. He's been waiting for that lesson for a long time, as he keeps mentioning that he feels there are tiers in heaven. The lesson went really well, and he accepted it. We had the Svedins with us too, and after we explained that baptism (and marriages - Laurence brought up families) performed by the Priesthood will be recognized in the celestial kingdom, Bro. Svedin did an awesome job of teaching about and bearing testimony of the Priesthood and it's restoration to the earth. There is power in having a Priesthood holder teach and testify of the Priesthood. That's something us sisters can't quite do as good as most men I feel.
We got to see Linda again, and again we focused on God and His true nature. We talked about the importance of going back to the basics. Linda seemed kind of insulted to go back to the basics because she is an intelligent person. I shared with her the concept I learned from drumline - if you can't play it slow, you can't truly play it fast. At first I didn't agree with that concept, but as I went through drumline, I realized that it was true. Sure I could muddle through it fast, but if I wanted to be able to have the proper technique and be able to master it, I had to take it slow first. Assuring Linda that the goal is NOT to stay just at the basics helped I think. She as well has been taught all the lessons, but with her I feel it's a disadvantage. She's got all these thoughts and ideas floating around that she of course can't make sense of completely and put into proper perspective with her incorrect notion of who God is. We don't know exactly how to help her. Any time I pause to bear personal testimony, she sees something in me. Apparently she needs to hear my testimony. It's very humbling. And it provides more motivation to be a worthy vessel and be in tune with the Spirit.
Destiny. Destiny. Tuesday we decided to talk about the language of the Spirit and how it's different for everyone. We asked Destiny why she thought it was important that everyone had their own individual language. She said she didn't understand why, since God is orderly. She feels it would make more sense for God to just have one language. I brought up The 5 Love Languages, and how it's important to speak someone's language so that they know you're talking to them. I think that helped her grasp it a little more. With Destiny not understanding her language, she's not recognizing when God does answer her prayers. We had a member exchange with us, and she went on (and on and on) about some experiences her son (?) had that were quite miraculous answers to prayers. We were just about cringing because that's exactly what we're trying to get Destiny AWAY from thinking (she's looking for these miraculous things to happen) and because we were late for our next appointment. We came back Tuesday (just us) and asked what her thoughts were since Tuesday. She said she has a lot of doubt. She said she questions if God even exists, though I don't really feel that she does. She then told us that something that the member exchange said motivated her to go talk to her husband (the less active member) about church. Thank God for translating what the member said into what Destiny needed! Our lesson plan was again, the language of the Spirit. We started somehow on her prayers, and she said that a good prayer for her is about 15 minutes of heartfelt conversation, and that sometimes she isn't very heartfelt, and it's just a quick prayer. She noticed that the heartfelt prayers get answered. We picked up on that and related that to each of us having to talk to God in a way that He will recognize and understand, just as He does that with us. She told us that she prayed that neither of us would get transferred. Prefacing my question with the disclaimer that it was not a selfish question, I asked her why she prayed that we would stay. She told us that we push her and she connects with us. That was good to know that she feels pushed because we were not sure if we were doing any good or getting through to her. But she is being reached. We've brought up that she's not been to church, and then because of our consistency in mentioning it and what the member said, she was pushed to talk to Br. Ruby about it. We told her that motivation was the Spirit, and she about near jumped up in agreement. She found her language. At the beginning of the lesson, we asked her just what a "surge of adrenaline" felt like when she used that to explain when she feels the Spirit. She now explained that it was like a push/pull to do something. A very strong motivation. There was much excitement as she realized her language, and as we were able to understand her language so that we can know how to help her feel that more often. The Spirit was strong, and for the first time since I've been here, both S. Latu and I KNEW that Destiny felt it too.
We went to go see Steve again. He's been visiting with missionaries and coming to church off and on for a number of years (at least 5). He's given up hard drugs and drinking, but he's still hanging on to the cigarettes. He's on his 3rd time through the BOM though. He told us that he's been doing a lot of thinking lately about if he wants to really quit smoking or if he just kinda wants to "work on it". He didn't have an answer yet, but good for him for thinking about it. He also told us that he prayed we would come by. He doesn't have a phone, and he's always home, so we just drop in. Last time I visited him when S. Latu was gone, he also told us that he prayed we would come. But this time, he said it was just a few hours earlier that he prayed, and then we showed up. It's pretty amazing how the Lord works.
We had another good lesson with Elizabeth and her 3 daughters. We decided to help Elizabeth get in to the BOM. She mentioned from the beginning that she wants something for her family. And we meet on Wednesday because that's when all 3 girls are home. We decided to have them draw/color pictures of the people and things mentioned in the summary of 1 Nephi. As they did that, we read through and discussed it with Elizabeth, and then read chapter 1. Then we had the 3 girls present their drawings and Elizabeth told them the story. It went really well! I could see how much of a difference it made to spend time on that summary. I don't know why I've never really done that before, but I think I'll be doing it more often now to get people into the BOM.
We usually stop in to see the Bailey family on Wednesday nights. Only the dad is a member, and they've never let the missionaries past the door until I got here. We've been in to see them twice I think. The kids are so bright and very eager to participate in our lessons we've had on prayer. Monday we got a call from Br. Bailey inviting us to Amber's school Christmas choir program on Wednesday. We were excited for the invitation. We went and had a good time and then we talked to them afterwards. Apparently, it was all Amber's idea to invite us. She wanted us to be there since we wouldn't be able to visit them at home. How thoughtful! We met her grandparents there, and it turns out that her grandpa recognized us from tracting into him a few weeks ago. I can't remember if he was nice or not. I'm sure he was though. :)
We taught Br. Workman about the wise man and the foolish man from Matt. 7. I tried to convince S. Latu to sing the song and do the actions, but I didn't prevail. :( It was a good lesson as our intention is to strengthen his faith and understanding of the Bible to get him to the point that he can accept the restored gospel. We tied in Hel. 5:12 and the importance of Christ and His teachings being our foundation. It was a great lesson. He's slowly coming around. Took our last commitment to heart and he said he'd listened to all of Luke on his mp3 player since last week. Right on!
We finally got to sit down with Debra on Sunday. The Spanish elders found her. She met with missionaries about 25 years ago for about a year. We spent some good time getting to know her and where she's at so that we can address her needs. She never was able to go to our church 25 years ago because she worked on Sunday. She moved and then lost contact with missionaries. She realized that had she not met with the missionaries, she probably would still be in Chicago living the crazy life. This gospel has changed her. We invited her to church and she said she'd love to come, and she may bring her friend. Awesome! She said she's looking forward to meeting with us often. The Spanish elders told us that her eyes were like "dancing fireflies" as they talked to her. There's definitely a light about her.
Br. Lerma is my new best friend. He cooked us steak, shrimp, and baked potatoes last night. YUM! He is an excellent cook. We had a lesson about the importance of church attendance and keeping the sabbath day holy. It's interesting to see the Lermas change as we meet with them. They know what's right, and slowly they're beginning to implement it. At first they had no time for church. Now they're starting to get in the habit of it.
The more S. Latu and I are together, the more differences we see. It's a good thing we love each other, otherwise these differences could prove our downfall. We've had a lot of discussions about my perspective and her perspective, and how we need to find a common perspective. It's interesting that at the beginning, we were so much alike, and now we're realizing how different we are. Differences are good, it allows us to complement each other. But it also takes understanding and patience and humility. We're still a lot alike in the sense that we both are used to the "my way is the best" mentality. We're both learning a lot. I love her to death.
My eyes are continuing to be opened to just how selfish us missionaries are sometimes, especially me. We focus on getting people baptized, and we want it to happen before we leave, so we rush it. The investigators either miss their date or they fall less active. I'm learning a lot from S. Latu about the importance of taking me out of the equation. I never really realized just how much I had inserted myself into the equation. And that's why the desired results aren't accomplished. Again, lots of learning!
Sorry, no time for pictures this week. :( Maybe next week!
sister humpherys
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