Happy late Canada Day! I promise that I did Canada proud- Sister Maeta and I dressed up in red and white and at district meeting we made everyone sing Oh Canada. It was great!
I had an experience this week that really helped me to realize that I need to work on my pride haha. We dropped by a less active and her older son answered the door. We talked with him for a little bit and I asked him why he stopped coming to church. With a smile on his face he explained that when it comes down to which church is the true church of God its either the Catholic church or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and that all the other churches dont stand a chance. In essence either there was an apostasy and Joseph Smith restored God's authority to the Earth or there wasn't an apostasy and the apostolic keys are still within the Catholic church. I agreed with his statement. He went on to tell us that in his research he found that the Catholic church had the truth but that he was always open to a discussion on the matter and said if we had any resources that pointed to an apostasy he would love to hear it. We readily agreed and said we would love to talk to him more about it. He then got this smug look on his face and said some thing to the effects of...."The last missionaries who talked to me were a little overwhelmed by the subject. I think they were fairly new in their missions and didn't know enough to counter my points but you guys look like you have been around a while."
I ignored his comment and affirmed that we would love to talk with him more and asked if we could come back when his mom was home so that we didnt have to talk outside. His smile got cockier and he said, "Sure you can. Plus that will give you some time to do some research to help you out."
A couple things ran through my head after his smug little comment. First I wanted to get my Bible out and slap that smile right of his face. Then I wanted to pull out all my arsenal and Bible Bash the heck out of him until he was down on his knees begging for mercy. I mean what does he think this is, amateur hour? Is he really questioning my knowledge of the scriptures?! Does he think he is the first person to question me about if an apostasy took place? Boy, dont flatter yourself. Thankfully I had left my Bible at the apartment so I just smiled and said something and left with his number to make an appointment with him. Once we got in the car I unloaded on poor Sister Maeta haha. That very night I started refreshing myself on all the knowledge I had about the apostasy to get ready for my throw down. Once I had cooled down however the spirit helped me to recognize that I was in the wrong. I had always known the way I reacted was not Christlike but I was just too prideful to care. I know that no matter how plainly the Bible foretells of an apostasy and no matter how much evidence there is today that it occurred, none of that would prove anything to this guy. Only the spirit can teach people truth and convince them of their errors.
Side note- we texted him the very next day asking when we could see him and he never responded. HA!
Moving on, remember last week when I said Jen dropped us for a while? Well we have been picked back up again! The miracles just keep on coming! It all started when we invited Jen and the boys to the strawberry social at the church on Friday. We made an effort to inform and give assignments to a ton of members to go up and talk to her and introduce themselves. Everyone was welcoming and Jen seemed to be enjoying herself. We hit the money though when we got Shona, one of our less actives who we are reactivating, to introduce herself to Jen. Turns out Shona is also First Nations AND they are from the same tribe! They totally hit it off and got each others numbers. The boys had a ton of fun playing games and made a few new friends too. We took them all on a chapel tour and they were very impressed with how big and how well kept the building was. When they saw the baptismal font Jen got excited and asked if they were still good for July 20th.... wait what?!? You could imagine my confused look on my face when she said that! I kinda just stood there staring at her until finally I said, "Suuuure?" It took a little longer for me to recover from that one since just days earlier she had told us that she would never change religions and that she would die a Catholic. But hey I'm not complaining! Sunday we arranged a ride for them to come to church and they all showed up except the oldest, Christian. Church was long and Jen kept asking where the coffee was haha but they enjoyed themselves and she plans on coming every week. Later that night we stopped by so that we could finally finish the restoration with her so that she could have a better idea about where the church came from and why she should want to be baptized again. When we got in the door Jen nearly pounced on us! She sat us down and told us that she had amazing news for us. She had been talking to David, her faience, about the church and our visits and told him that her and the boys were getting baptized. Well, David is from South America and comes from a very Catholic background and so we figured that we would face some opposition, but David was totally cool with it! He said that he was supportive of the boys getting baptized and that he himself wanted to get baptized when he got home. We all sat there shocked but this didn't even seem to phase Jen! She went on to tell us that after church she found out David got an early release for good behaviour and that instead of coming home on August 3rd he would be coming home this wednesday. The spirit filled the room as we sat there in awe while Jen cried tears of joy. She told us that he wanted to get married in the church on August 9th and Jen said she wanted to invite all the members to be there. Can you say tender mercies of the Lord? It never ceases to amaze me how merciful and loving our Father in Heaven is :)
To be honest, Im not sure what's in store for this little family but I know that Heavenly Father is watching over them and wants them to be together for eternity. I have this feeling that there is a lot more that they will go through before they make it to baptism, but I pray and hope they make it through the storm to see the beauty the gospel brings.
Line of the week: Driving down a back country road
Me: "ITS A WILD TURKEY!"
the car comes to a screeching stop
Me: "Lets see if we can catch it!"
as I jump out of the car to run after the turkey... "Sister Maeta take a video!"
Scripture of the Week: Alma 28: 10
"And from the first year to the fifteenth has brought to pass the destruction of many thousand lives; yea, it has brought to pass an awful scene of bloodshed." (J- another mistake scripture perhaps?)
A Haiku for You
evidence
the tender mercies
of His love
This week is a prime example of why I would be happy to stay out here and be a missionary forever. Being able to be apart of and witness so many miracles, seeing God's hand every day and knowing that I have been a tool in His hand to help Him with His work, seeing people change and experience the same joys I have has brought me more happiness than words can describe. I have never felt God's love for me as strong as I have on my mission. I have never been so sure of who I am as a daughter of God as I have laboring among His children in Ontario. Real joy. That is what I experience every day and I dont ever want it to go away.
My invitation to everyone this week is to not just read this letter but take some action. Take the time to share with someone the joy the gospel has brought you. Go out with the missionaries! Give them a referral when they ask you for one! Do your visiting or home teaching! I promise you that as you do these things you will experience the same joys I have been talking about. You will see miracles, you will be reassured of Gods love for you and the trials you are going through wont seem nearly as hard.
If you aren't a member and you are reading this, my invitation to you is to go find the people with name tags on, talking to people in the street about God and ask them to learn more. I promise that by listening to what these people have to say your life will never be the same. It will forever change your life for the better and you too will experience this joy and peace I keep talking about.
Alright well my rant is done now haha. God Bless! And remember: "How great shall be your joy" :)
Sister Hall
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