I can't even believe that it is already the 4th of July. This month I have been on my mission for 9 months, it is already half way over and I feel like I could do this for the rest of my life. Life is just so simple and focused. I absolutely love it.
How are you all doing? What do you have planned as a family for the 4th of July? What are you going to do for the weekend? How is Grandma Emily doing? Have you all gone camping yet this summer? Hurry because summer is going to be over soon lol. Is it hot there?
Well this past week has been full of so many miracles. I can't even describe how many we have seen as a companionship. Yesterday one of our investigators A, who is only 11 got baptized. We are so happy for him! He is such an example to his family. We stopped by to see him on Sundayafternoon because we saw his mom at church. He asked us to be baptized and we told him we would love to help him prepare for his baptism! We have seen him every day for the past month, teaching him a little at time and helping him get a habit of reading in the Book of Mormon. Now he is reading a verse a day by himself and his older sister A (who is less active) is reading with him too. We are super excited to see his family continue coming to church so that they can all be an example to their dad who is not a member. Their family is amazing and in only the month that I have known them, I LOVE THEM. I feel the love that the Savior has for them!
On Sunday we also had 4 investigators at church which is the most we have had at church in two transfers. One our investigators named Ash who is 14 came to church without her family. She was a little scared to be there by herself but she really enjoyed it. Then she ended up coming back to the Youth Conference that night which was from 4 - 8 pm so that she could get to know more people in the church. She has been reading her scriptures every night before she goes to bed. We are so excited to be on this journey with her to be baptized on July 20th!
F who is another investigator we have, says he doesn't have faith but he comes to church each week and we see him every day too. Little by little he tries to pray and understand the principles we are teaching. He loves the pictures in our pamphlets and we teach him using those. Then when his friends come by he shows them our pamphlets and tells them the story of what is happening in each one. He is amazing. He is in a wheel chair from an accident and can't hardly walk but with all of his problems he loves coming to church! The Lord has blessed us with the opportunity to teach him the Gospel! He told the Elders on Sunday at church that we come see him every day at 5 pm and he can't wait to see us again on Tuesday.
I experienced sorrow this week and heart break for an investigator named M. He was supposed to be baptized this past weekend but he had a little problem with depression and drank last Wednesday. He is super depressed about not being able to work right now. When he finally allowed us to come see him it was Friday night and he said he wouldn't ever drink again but that he needed to repent. As I explained the process to him I felt my heart breaking, not because he had to repent but because I felt as thought I failed him. I felt like I didn't teach him that doctrine clear enough and that if I could just help him be stronger than maybe he wouldn't have gave into that temptation. We are now stopping by his house every day that way we can see him and he knows that we are their for him. Just like the Savior we are here to help him walk this path. We are his guides, just like we say. We were so happy that he told us that he has been praying to ask God for forgiveness and that he came to church on Sunday.
Sunday, I was also asked to speak at church during Sacrament. I was super nervous and didn't have time to really study out my talk but I just keep reading things and little by little made my talk. So I tought I would tell you about it and try to translate it back to English for you. I talked about the Work of Salvation,which isn't just a work for missionaries but members as well. Well really everyone.
I read a talk from the October Conference by Elder Ballard called Put Your Trust in the Lord which says, "My message this afternoon is that the Lord is hastening His work. In our day this can be done only when every member of the Church reaches out with love to share the truths of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. We need to work together in partnership with our 80,000 missionaries (one of them is me) now serving. " We have the truth as members, we have the happiness, we have the hope, we have the blessings from God. We have the best promise every that have ETERNAL LIFE. In 2 Nephi 31:20, it says, " Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life." So, as you read this think about who you can invite to hear more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
In Luke 15:3-7 it says, " And he spake this parable unto them, saying, What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost." Who are the lost sheep? You, me, family, friends... We have all at one time been lost and needed help. So reach out and help someone.
We can all pray, fast, and then invite someone to hear more or to come back to church. The prophet Joseph Smith said, "After all is said and done, the most important work we can do is share the Gospel."
So that was my talk, people came up to me and said they loved it. Which was great because I was so worried that they wouldn't be able to understand me. Giving my talk really helped me to remember where I was 5 years ago. Not coming to church, not wanting anything to do with it, and not living the commandments. I had an interview with President Weidman this week, and we talked about it. I have been feeling like I still need to repent for things but I know I have already repented for them. When I talked to President, he just listened and then shared with me in 2 Nephi 4:16-31, as we were reading these verses together I felt like the last little bit of weight was removed. I haven't thought about it again. It just showed me how powerful the scriptures are.
I am just loving my mission family! I love the people and love the area!
Here are some pictures for this week.
Love Always, Hermana Weller
P.S. I hope that you all have a great weekend and that you all write back. Miss you like crazy!
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