Since then we gained two fabulous spanish speaking missionaries. They called me today after church and asked if I could go with them on a few appointments today. I was so excited to go even though my spanish is broken to say the least. The first appointment ending up falling through because only one of the two people were there. The father only spoke spanish so I helped translate the few words and sentences that the sister missionaries did not know. It made me realize that I need to know a lot more spanish but I was also amazed at the words I remembered.
The second appointment was with a member and since the missionaries are new in the area we did a "Get to know you" visit where we just learned more about the member. It was really cool how the missionaries LISTENED and shared their own experiences and then also tied it into a Spiritual Thought.
The third appointment was also with a member and we got to know her as well. I felt the spirit so strong speaking with her about her family. Her goal is to go to the temple with her husband and be sealed and to continue to do family history work. I was able to share some experiences about my family going to the temple together and preparing family names for family history.
I am so grateful for the Lord and that he has sent our area sister missionaries that I can go on missionary visits with. It is such an experience, if you have not gone on out with the missionaries yet, you need too. They will be so grateful for the "Joint Teach" (member missionary present during a lesson).
What I learned today:
- Learn how to listen and stay attentive (the sister missionaries were both tired)
- Find a way to tie the discussion back into the lesson by sharing a story
- Always keep an eye on the time, so you are not horribly late to your next appointment
- Carry your "area book" with you so if an appointment falls through you know where to go next
- Keep your planner up to date for the same reason
- Have a scripture or two memorized for each major topic (atonement, prophets, modern day revelation, repentance, sacrament, sabbath day, word of wisdom ect), this helps a lot during the discussions so that you can easily flip to the scripture and share it.
- Ask members questions to keep the conversation going
- Always relate your experiences back to the members so that they know you are listening
Tips from the Sister Missionaries:
- Pray before each visit, today we prayed in the car, next to the car, and outside next to the apartment, pray for the spirit and to know what to say.
- Memorize your scriptures for each topic!
- Be prepared (always have your scriptures, Book of Mormons, pamphlets, pass along cards, and memorize your number to give out).
- Write your name and number on the back of a pass along card, to pass to people you track into, members, ect.
Hope this helps!
Hermana Weller