Happy Saint Patrick's Day, y'all!
The wind is FIERCE today. My hair is not
agreeing with me, but it's fine<--definite sarcasm. How was spring break?
Only two and a half months until summer, right?!
First thing's first, word of the week! Backer: The
missionary who stands behind the car while the driver reverses to "guide
them out of parking spaces." They often get hit because no one cares or
pays actual attention.
No worries y'all. I may be the one
backing, but my companion actually pays attention...sometimes.
This week has been QUITE a roller
coaster, but it's been very spiritually uplifting.
My companion and I have made a goal to put forth nothing but
our best effort starting tomorrow. Playing has become dominant over work and
it's caused us much grief and embarrassment when we reflect on our week and
find that we've only taught...I don't even want to tell you how many lessons.
I've prayed so much for a change to occur in our
companionship that would allow the desire to work to increase. Let me tell you,
I've been praying for the same thing since the first week. It got worse and
worse. But then Zone Conference happened and P-Can (President Cannon) passed
out a talk by Jeffrey R. Holland
entitled, "Teach the Atonement" and he laid down the law---as always.
Elder Holland emphasized the
importance of the white handbook and work. He said, "When we send you
home, we'll say, 'If you want to play, play." That really struck me. I am
not here to play. I'm here to work. In addition, one of the missionary
recitations came to mine. "Teaching of Ezra Taft Benson." President
Benson says, "I have often said one of the greatest secrets of missionary
work is work. If a missionary works, [she] will get the spirit. If she gets the
spirit, she will teach by the spirit, and if she teaches by the spirit, she
will touch the hearts of the people, and she will be happy..." Sister
Ketring and I have both been struggling to feel the spirit and I know it's
because we haven't been giving our best efforts to the Lord and to our wards.
Following Zone Conference, we had a really great talk with each other, and my
companion realized that she needs to work. That was such a blessing.
So, given my intro to this email, this
week hasn't been very productive. We tried to visit less actives and got
through to some. In fact, we were sitting at McDonald's one day, and this lady
comes up to us and starts talking to us about how she left the church and wants
to come back and her daughter was walking her dog and found two sister
missionaries.....come to find, it was her daughter Tiffany who we had met two
weeks ago, and we tried to visit but no one was home and we didn't have a phone
number. So we made an appointment for Sunday to go to her home and talk to her
about the gospel. Well, during our 4th hour of church (2 wards, remember?), we
get a voicemail from Diana. She had changed her mind about wanting to come to
church and called to cancel. Nope. We still went over. She opened the door and
talked to us despite the voicemail. She told us her concerns. She used to be a
Jehovah's Witness so she has heard MANY things about our church. Her main
concern was that if Satan can disguise himself as an angel, that Joseph Smith
might now have actually seen God, the Father, and Jesus Christ and that the
Book of Mormon is really of the devil. However, I bore witness that the Book of
Mormon is good and there is nothing good save it come from God. The Book of
Mormon talks about Christ as does the Bible. The Book of Mormon teaches all to
come unto Christ. Then, Sister Ketring asked Diana, "What drew you to us
in McDonald's the other day?" That question caused Diana to think---to
really think. She responded, "I don't know. Something did." And
that's when my awesome companion testified that it was the spirit that had lead
her to talk to us on Wednesday. Diana realized that she is, and I quote,
"in the midst of a spiritual war." It's so true. We are ALL
in the midst of a spiritual war. The adversary will NOT claim a ceasefire. He
wants to win more than anything, and he will not quit until he does. We always
have to be on our guard. We always need to remain close to the Lord. I was so
grateful that she acknowledged that. She also agreed to meet with us on
Wednesday and to come to church with us next Sunday! Never give up!
Also, on Saturday, we met a man outside
some Elders' house (we were giving them a ride to lunch with the district)
smoking, who turned out to be a less active. While we were waiting for the
Elders, we approached the man and talked to him a little bit and then invited
him to attend church. All it took was an invitation. Elder Fuller and Riley
texted us and told us he was at church with them on Sunday. He may not have
been a less active in our area and it may not have counted as anything for our
companionship, but we still fulfilled our purpose by bringing SOMEONE unto
Christ.
It's amazing what can happen when we are
in tune with the spirit. SO many blessings.
I miss you all! Have a fantastic week!
Love,
Sister Tyler
PS. I'm sorry Texas
doesn't have a Winger's Bar & Grill. It's heaven on Earth. That's all.
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