Tender Mercies for EVERYONE!!

Tender Mercies For EVERYONE


Boy oh boy what a week and where the heck do I start!? Heavenly Father has 
blessed me with more spiritual experiences out here than I could have ever 
possibly imagined! So much so that I am starting to have to pick and chose 
the ones I write about! Crazy eh!



First off I had another great opportunity to get out of my comfort zone 
this week thanks to Elder Rogers and Elder Dewey (our zone leaders.)
 On Wednesday I got a call from them asking if Sister Waal and I would
 instruct the zone on Friday at our skills and interviews.... WAIT WHAT! You
 want ME and Sister WAAL to get up in front of the zone and instruct 
everyone else on how to ask inspired questions and how to listen.... YA
RIGHT! Unfortunately I was a little too shocked to think clearly and ended
 up saying sure.... So Sister Waal and I started to prepare for our
 instruction. We got a basic outline of what we wanted to discuss with the 
other missionaries and we figured that what we really wanted to hit home
 with everyone was that
 

->what makes a question inspired is not how wordy or elegant it is, but
 whether or not it comes from the spirit.<-


In order to hit that point home, we decided to do an object lesson with all 
the missionaries. In the middle of our instruction we got them to get into
 groups to talk about a concern their investigator has. While they were 
talking amongst themselves I stood at the front and recited the first
 vision and bore my testimony in a quiet voice. After 4 min we called them
 back in and asked if anyone had heard what I said. They all said no (now 
in order for the point of this demonstration to hit home with everyone we
NEEDED the spirit to be strong).
 

I took a deep breath and I said that I had shared something very close to
me.... I said, "After I had retired to the place where I had previously 
designed to go..." As I recited the first vision you could hear a pin drop
 in the chapel. The spirit was so strong it was like I could cut it with a
 knife. I even almost started to cry.... some of the missionaries even
 started to cry! 


It was an incredible experience.


We told them that while preparing for lessons is important, ultimately we 
need to listen to the advice God gives us about our investigators because
he knows them best and in order to do that we need to allow moments of 
quiet in our teaching. 



Now on to my dear Jake :) This week we got to share a very tender moment 
with Jake, which I will now tell you about. 


So I like what my Dad wrote to me last week about Jake. He said that Jake 
is the type of person who will test every principle of the gospel to make 
sure that it is truth. And he is very right. Jake will do that- some may 
look at Jake’s progression as slow, but when I see Jake I can see the gospel
 changing him and it is incredible! 


Last time we talked with Jake we asked him the next time we met with him 
if he would say one of the prayers (he hadn't offered a prayer yet). He 
smiled awkwardly and said that he thought he was ready for that. So fast
 forward to the next time we talk with him. Our lesson we had with him was
 on the gospel of Jesus Christ focusing in on the role of the Holy Ghost. It
 was a really great discussion and we were able to help Jake see the role of 
the Holy Ghost as a guide, a teacher of truth, and a comforter AS WELL as
 talk a little more about why baptism is important. At the end of the lesson
 we all look at Jake- haha there is an awkward pause and then he says he will
 give the prayer. We all chuckle. Then he offers a simple and heartfelt
 prayer. As he prayed I could feel the spirit touch my heart and prayed with
 all my might that Jake would also feel that. When he said Amen we looked up
 and saw tears in his eyes
.

->for Jake’s sake I will clarify: he did not cry because the tears never
 left his eyes ;)<-


He leaned back in his chair and said "Wow, what just happened?!" I could not
 help but smile from ear to ear! What an incredible experience for him! We
 told him to write down the feelings that he felt and explained to him that 
this is what the Holy Ghost feels like. This is God's way of showing you 
that He is there and that He is listening to you and loves you :) Jake was 
radiating... like seriously glowing and his smile was so big!
 

The next day was Sunday and it happened to be district conference so our 
mission president was presiding. He decided to have a special meeting for
 all investigators and recent converts so that he could talk with them. Both
 Jake and Winnie were able to go and it was an incredible experience for 
them! After church I was talking with Jake and he told me how he hadn't
 told his mom that he was investigating the church.... he paused and said 
that he had better tell her soon though because this is getting more
 serious.....


-> cue Sister Hall freak out on the inside! I was smiling so big that my 
cheeks hurt!



If this is not enough, Heavenly Father decides to bless Sister Laing and I
 with ANOTHER tender mercy! So it’s about 6:30 pm and we are walking around
 outside talking with people, not having that much success when we get a 
text from the zone leaders challenging us to find a new investigator....
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED :) 


Sister Laing and I say a quick prayer on the streets asking God to help us
 to find a new investigator. We say Amen, look up and lo and behold a Queen’s
 student is walking towards us! We stop him and start talking with him. As
 the conversation progressed we began teaching him about the restoration of
 the gospel. Next thing you know we are saying a closing prayer and have a
 return appointment with him and a new investigator.... this all happened in 
about 7 minutes.
 

Truly anything is possible with God!



Jessica did not end up getting baptized this weekend, but that is ok! We 
are continuing to work with her and I know that she will be baptized when 
the Lord needs her to be :)



All in all it was a pretty amazing week over here :) I appreciate all the
 emails and letters I get from you guys and hope all is well!



P.S. Nathan, I almost died laughing at the cheeto stain! I thought it was way
 funny!



Line of the Week:


Sister Waal: "What did you draw in that guy’s Book of Mormon?"


Me: "A prayer burger."


Sister Waal: "A prayer burger?!?!?"


Me: "Ya... I used to call it a prayer sandwiTch, but then I realized I
 didn't know how to spell sandwich so now I call it a prayer burger."



Scripture of The Week: Helaman 5:30

"And it came to pass when they heard this voice, and beheld that it was not a voice of thunder, neither was it a voice of a great tumultuous noice, but behold, it was a still voice of perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper, and it did pierce even to the very soul."



A Haiku for YOU:


lack of gears


adventures up hill


mission bikes


Sister Hall

Sister Waal got whip lash from the accident and was less than impressed to
have to wear a sling

Just before heading out into the cold and just before our we meet Keagan
our new investigator