These two transfers have not been easy. The Lord worked hard to humble me. I've learned a lot these 3 months here with S. Latu. I wish I wouldn't have been so hard headed so I could've learned them quicker, but such is life. I've learned so many things, I can't even try to enumerate all of them, but the most important lesson I've learned is the need for a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Not only the need for it, but the availability and power of it. Everything these 2 transfers has been breaking down my barriers and my pride to teach me and help me desire to make room for the Savior in my life personally. It's been a tornado. This growing process is sure heart-wrenching! A lot of times I felt that S. Latu was leaving me hanging, but looking back, I see that everything she did/didn't do was necessary for me to learn the things I've learned. The Lord sure knows what He's doing. I've learned that I need to trust Him more when He sows trials in my life. I couldn't have learned these lessons from any other companion, and I couldn't have learned them in any other way. I wanted these 2 transfers to go differently, and I still have a tinge of regret for things not going "better". But really, this is what God wanted, and it's what I needed. Had things gone the way I wanted, I would not have grown. I would still be the same distance away from my Savior. I hope that through the days and years I can remember that rather than my foolish expectations not being met. I still have a lot to learn from this time of trial and progression. Hopefully it will all sink in soon and that I'll be able to apply these things in my life. I remember writing towards the beginning of last transfer that I was certain this time with S. Latu was going to be the best, because of the growth that would come. I didn't really understand at that time how the growth was going to come. But it sure did come (it's still in the works). I wish I had more time to ponder and reflect on these things.
Tuesday I went on an exchange with Sister Summers and Sister Esplin went with Sister Latu. All 4 of us worked here in Lafayette. Going with Sister Summers was just what I needed. I was able to talk with her a lot about things going on in my mind and things I was struggling with. Talking through things with an "outsider" was very therapeutic for me. And it was great to be with Sister Summers again. We had our difficulties while serving together and I was grateful for the chance to kind of make amends. We talked a lot about things that happened while we were together, and we were able to see how each of us has learned and grown since then.
Tuesday we met with Laurence. He just finished 1 Nephi! He said he didn't really understand the Isaiah chapters, but he read them a few times. He pushed through. He'll need that perseverance to get through 2 Nephi. :) We taught him the principle of keeping the sabbath day holy, and it was great to see him be able to apply the principle into his own life, rather than giving him a list of do's and don't's. On Saturday, we wrapped up talking about the gift of the Holy Ghost by explaining the gift vs. power of the Holy Ghost. As we talked, he stopped us after a bit and said that his sister is going through a really hard time and he had planned on talking to her later that day. He said he felt that he needed to talk to her about what we'd been sharing. Right on! He is so ready for this gospel! He set Feb. 7th as the day to quit smoking. We encouraged him to pray about it and see if that's what the Lord wants. He's down to 3 or less cigarettes a day - he can quit faster if he wants. That smoking is the only thing standing in between him and baptism. Oh, wait, I lied. There is one other potential thing from an incident awhile back that still isn't cleaned up. If the case doesn't get thrown out, he'll be on probation for a time. Hopefully it gets thrown out! I guess we'll have to wait and see though what the Lord wants.
We met with Krystal and her husband Paul twice this week. S. Summers and I taught about prayer and recognizing the Holy Ghost and answers to prayers. It was a good lesson and Krystal said she felt she understood more about prayer and would soon be comfortable praying in front of people. S. Summers asked her the things she would tell God and she listed them off. S. Summers then said that she basically had just prayed. Krystal at first got upset that she had "tricked" her into praying, but then she realized that the purpose was to show her that it's not that hard. Friday we talked about the importance of families and the Law of Chastity. She had asked how God viewed her family since they had Hannah before they were married. We were able to allay (I think that's the right word) some of her fears about God being mad at her. It was a great lesson.
We met with Destiny and talked about the principle of faith. I felt kind of a disconnect a little bit. She knows too much for her own good, but I think she hasn't let it affect her personally. She understands faith, but not necessarily faith in Jesus Christ. And that's her biggest stumbling block. If she can learn and apply that, she'll be on fire.
We met with Br. Workman that night and Br. Baer came along with us. We chose to discuss Matt. 13:44-46. Man, I have never learned so much from just 3 verses. We spent the majority of the time discussing verse 44 and its applications. There is SO MUCH to learn there! I learned a lot during the lesson, and since that lesson, a lot of things have come up that have pointed me back to the things I learned from that parable. Probably the biggest thing I learned was from a question Br. Workman brought up. He asked just what was 100%, or all that you have. He brought up that if you're watching tv, well you could be reading your scriptures, so how do you know what is 100%? The discussion that followed was very enlightening. We talked about how sometimes the Lord wants us to learn, so he requires us to study. Other times, he wants us to go apply, so we don't spend as much time studying because we go out and apply. These two times look very different, but each one is giving 100%. That's been a good lens for me to look at these two transfers through because the things I've done have been different than before, and I felt at first that I wasn't giving 100%. Our 100% is very individual, and it's something that can change from day to day. Man, I love that parable now.
We got to see Latasha again on Wednesday. She's finally back from Christmas break. We had a great lesson on the Church in former times and the Church today using the cup lesson. We shared a lot, but she was able to begin to soak it in. She had some really good questions about why it's important for her to know about Pres. Monson and how does the prophet get called. We met with her Friday as well, and Calvin was there, as well as his sister Shinetha. We reviewed the cup lesson by having Latasha explain and build. They were all excited to learn and the visual was great. Calvin knows too much for his own good, so he's not totally on board, but he said he'd have to read more of our stuff and learn for himself. Their excitement to learn is awesome. Shinetha said she'd be there for sure for our next appointment. Sister Henderson lives above them and she's been to all but one of the lessons. She invited them to church as well as to Sunday dinner. They accepted the dinner for sure, we'll have to see about church. Go members!
S. Latu and Esplin taught Laura on Tuesday about baptism, and the lesson went really well. Laura said the thing keeping her from baptism is that she wants to go to church more (she's missed the last while). Our lesson on Saturday was awesome. We taught about the gift of the Holy Ghost vs. the power of the Holy Ghost. She's felt the Holy Ghost a lot and we asked her to imagine what the gift of the Holy Ghost would be like. She said she couldn't even imagine how awesome it'd be. We then talked about the blessings she is in need of and how those are available to her through baptism and the Holy Ghost. That really hit her. We again asked her what's keeping her from receiving these blessings, and again she brought up church. She said that she feels that Feb. or Mar. would be good for baptism. We reminded her that the requirement is 3 Sundays in a row and that we knew she was ready once she did that. We encouraged her to pray to find out what Heavenly Father wanted. If He wants Feb. or Mar. that's great. We want her to be comfortable with the date and for it to be her date, not ours. She is doing so awesome! She came to church Sunday.
Man, I keep thinking about all the things I've learned during my time here. I've learned a lot about things I've struggled with for a really long time (pre-mission even). I hope that I can really implement these things and make them a part of me. I know these 3 months have impacted the rest of my mission and the rest of my life.
sister smurf
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