6/8/15

I never thought I would have said it 5 months ago, but I love being a zone leader. The love I feel for the missionaries under my stewardship causes much anxiety to my heart, but I strangely love the feeling. I pray that every missionary could learn to love their mission. I pray that every missionary will feel joy and satisfaction in there work. What could I do to help them love what they do, and do it with diligence. Much of my thoughts this week have been spent on how to help the missionaries in my zone. Most of them are doing wonderfully, but there are a few who are very discouraged, and that hurts me. I have been anxious about converts, missionaries, and investigators to the breaking point this week, but I trust that they are in the Lords hands. I just have to trust that he will take care of them. Notwithstanding all these things, I will do what I can cheerfully and leave the rest to the Lord.

Let me tell you about Sarah! If there is anything I am sure of its that the adversary is real. That being said, we have power to overcome. She is being hit hard from everyside and is frustrated that she isn't changing as fast as she wants to. Her family is hard on her for the decisions she is making but she is not letting it stop her. Her significant other is not as enthused as she is, so the marraige has been pushed back, as well as the baptism, but she is just as on fire as ever. In one of our lessons, she needed to vent about everything going on, and we read Mosiah 4:27 with her which reads, "See that all these things are done in wisdom and order, for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize." After the lesson she posted on facebook:

"Had a meeting earlier with some very awesome people ,, I swear you two have something real special . I. Am ever so thankful you have entered my life ... The script you read to. Me has set in.. I keep hearing those words of not running a marathon just sprint ..." Gotta love it :)

This week she brought 3 of her daughters to church, 1 of whom is her 20 year old daughter Tiffany. She was previously against the church totally but now she is very interested. She felt a little lost at church but must have loved the feeling. Last night she told her mom "Ma what if the real reason they came into our life is to bring me to God? For me to believe in God because I have soooo many questions and always have." I swear we did no missionary work on her!! It was all Sarah! We should be picking her up this week as a new investigator :) 

I think I am just going to start a quote of the week from her haha this was my favorite from the week. She posted:

"Went to church then had a meeting with the Elders , they know how to make a person feel sure about themselves and comfortable ... I have made so many changes in my life but the best one is deciding to find the lord And incorporate him into my everyday life ... Amazing what prayer and reading scripts and going to church can do to your life ..."

Dominick will be getting baptized this weekend barring any tragedies. He is so awesome. He doesn't open up to much, so a lot of people are questioning his real intent, but he has such a heart of God. He texts us multiple times to make sure we have a way to get him to church and when he got out of a members car yesterday, he just says, "I am so excited for my baptism." Nuff said :)

Now, let me tell you about the biggest miracle of the week. We picked up a new investigator on Monday named Janell. She is turning 18 this week and just graduated High School last week. She got super into church last year, but became curious about other religions, so she requested herself twice on Mormon.org, because the first time we weren't fast enough. It was probably the best Restoration of my mission, and at the end we put a Book of Mormon in front of her and invited her to read and pray. She said, "I mean.. I'll do it, but I already know it's true... Is that weird?" We asked her how she knew and she put her hand on her chest and said, "When you put the Book in front of me, I just had this feeling that gave me chills, and I know it's truth." Ummm... What? She will be baptized on June 27, and here's the kicker. She asked how the missionary thing worked, and we told her that young women go at 19, and she said, "You mean I have to wait a whole year???" Yea... never in a million years did I think I would commit someone to serve a mission in the first lesson. I love her!!!

You know.. as I read through these emails, I realize that people who read them must think I am insane. I may sound happy and full of joy all the time in my emails, but I must say that missionary work is crazy difficult. Between sending these emails, there is a lot of sweat and tears shed. There are heartbreaks and stressors everyday. It is the most difficult thing I have ever done, but I am thankful that the Lord blessed me to get excited about little things, like a post on facebook from an investigator. No one may feel or see the significance of these small moments, but they mean everything to me. They carry me from day to day. I love the little things, and I am so grateful the Lord helps me see them.