Thursday, September 17, 2015

August 17, 2015- Week 20 in Armenia

Such a great week! It was weird, I didn't feel like that much was going on this week, but we reviewed everything yesterday and we actually accomplished a lot more than I thought! By small and simple means for sure.

First, our rough day. We had a member set to go out with us all day!!! And then... she bailed. She was home and everything and she wouldn't even come to the door :( And then we found our new member's brother (who won't let our member come to church) outside with his friends. They just wanted to fight with us a little bit... And then we had this awesome lesson about the Restoration with a new investigator, and then she didn't want the Book of Mormon. That was probably the most heart-breaking. We just wanted someone to want it!!! And then on our way to our next appointment, this old guy asks us if we have any brochures to give him. So we gave him a Restoration pamphlet with our number on it and didn't think much about it. We went to our appointment and we hadn't seen this investigator in weeks, and she wasn't super interested... About 20 minutes in, I get a call from an unknown number. "hello", I say. Then a man says, "do you have a Book of Mormon I can read?" It was the man we had given a brochure to no more than half an hour later. He said he had read it and wanted to find out for himself what the book was about. So here's what I learned: The Lord truly is preparing people to receive the truth. How ever many rejections we face, it is worth it when you meet someone who really wants it. We have learned a lot about how the Spirit guides us as a companionship this week.

Sister K, one day on our way to an appointment, said she felt like one of our inactive members was outside and we should walk down by her house. We walked down the street a little ways, and there she was!!! It was so cool because they had just moved and we didn't even really know where she lived anymore, but there she was! I don't think I've ever had such a direct impression from the Spirit. Usually, I would say, it's a little more subtle. We had a former investigator call us this week ask us to come over. We were at her house and didn't really know what to say to her. We were praying that we could say something that would help her. We decided to just do what we are supposed to and extend a baptismal date. She accepted! I think a lot of times the Lord expects us to pray for guidance and just keep moving forward. I know the Holy Ghost was guiding us and that if we are earnestly seeking to follow the Spirit, we won't go wrong.

We had a better turn out at church today! And we got that same investigator to church too!! We are really trying to support the branch and just love these people. I feel like there are so many ways it needs to improve and grow that I get a little overwhelmed! But we are just doing little things to try and help people. We've started taking this journal around when we visit members so they can write their testimonies in it. We're trying to get them excited about the Gospel again! I think it's been good so far. Last night our investigator that came to church called and she was feeling really sick so we went over with the elders so they could give her a priesthood blessing. And I can tell you one hundred percent that the power of the Priesthood is real. The elders gave her a beautiful simple blessing and the woman said she felt so much better. Her whole countenance was changed. I am so grateful for Priesthood power in my life, and that we can feel God's love and sustaining power so strongly in our lives through the Priesthood.