October 8, 2018

Fam, 

One thing I've begun to notice recently is that the people we are working with seem more prepared and willing to even just hear us than ever before. Discussing this with Elder Wiseman I think it has to do in part with my own level of conversion  to the Gospel of Jesus Christ between now and when I started the mission. I think as I've striven to dedicate each day to the service of others and spiritually preparing for each day I've been able to grow the trust the Savior has in me allowing me to be guided to people who we could influence for good. 

Carlos, our friend in Lansing, met with us on Tuesday. We hadn't really involved the sisters in the area very much, due to the obvious language barrier, but we've had consistent contact with the members who speak Spanish there. Much to our surprise as we started our video call the sisters were present with the members we had invited to join. What I first thought was weird actually turned out into a really positive moment. We involved the sisters and translated their responses and that really invited the spirit into the lesson. Language is a small barrier which the spirit can cross. In 2 Nephi 31:4 I like when it says that, "For the Lord God giveth light unto the understanding; for he speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding." The spirit brings an understandable force or enlightenment that can be felt regardless of someone's language because the spirit always speaks according to our understanding. Though the sisters testimonies were shared in English it was their testimonies that invited the spirit and not directly from my translation. 

Wednesday we had Trade-offs with the Zone-Leaders. It was enjoyable. I went with Elder Cloward. He was a blast to be with, just a ball of energy. 

Thursday was filled with two miracles. We have not been meeting with David as much due to lack of progression but we decided to stop by him after a short absence of visits. Before the visit I had explained to Elder Wiseman a portion the situation, one of the issues being his aversion to prayer. During the visit we invited him to attend General conference and shared a talk we had felt he might like. It was a good visit and we even ended the visit with him offering the final prayer. As we walked out I smiled knowing that that was a big step for David and that Elder Wiseman wouldn't appreciate it, only due to not having known the entire situation. It was slightly funny to watch the visit unfold differently than expected after outlining what I thought would most likely happen. 

The story continues. 

Later on that same evening I felt we needed to stop by a specific family that has faced some challenges with the church and because of that has shown some animosity towards us. In the dark we sat in the car and I gave him a warning that we've never really had a positive contact with this specific family and that he should be aware. We knocked the door and were very warmly welcomed in to their home. It was late already so we didn't get to stay as long as we might have liked but we had a very good conversation with them, shared a brief message and planned a return appointment. We walked out and I explained the extent of that miracle to Elder Wiseman. I'm grateful that the spirit was able inspired us at the opportune moment to be able to meet on good terms with the people.

Friday nights we've started an activity night for the branch. It's been an great success. It's not a super formal activity, but we share a spiritual thought and then have some form of activity. This week we opted to play volleyball again. We were happily surprised to have two completely inactive members join us, and a few less active members come out, some even brought friends. The late President Hinckley said once that, "activity is the genius of this church." Growing in fellowship and unity comes by these activities, they also allow people to serve in capacities within the church which then lead to deeper and stronger conversion to the Gospel. Activity helps congregations have their, "hearts knit together in unity" (Mosiah 18:21).

General Conference was great. Not sure how I feel about two hour church but the new "Come Follow Me"  curriculum looks fantastic. I skimmed through the entire booklet on Gospel Library and am impressed. I'm excited to go through it starting in January. 

Here's an introduction video if you'd like to know more:
Video