April 13, 2015
Hello again family!
This week has overall been good, but a little slow. Things in our area have not been taking off as much as they could be. I partially feel like that is because I was not trying my complete hardest this past week. Sister Maas has been struggling a little, and I let that work in me as an excuse not to talk to people or be as devoted as I should be. If anything, I should have stepped up more as opposed to what I did. I am repenting for the lack of effort, and will change! :) I have faith that as I begin to truly do all that I can do, things will improve in our area! We are just going through what Sister Maas calls a "refining period!" Our teaching pool is continuing to shrink as we are discovering who has real intent, and who does not. We have struggled with finding new investigators, but we have to be patient and know that it will come! We have to continue to do all that we can, and know that blessings will come! Just keep trucking, and get through this part with patience and diligence!
So, I promised some miracles, and here we go!
Tuesday, some of our plans fell through so we decided to go and visit a less active member. We rang the doorbell and knocked, but no one was coming. As we were standing on the steps, trying to plan what to do next, she finally opened the door! She was just cleaning the tub upstairs so it took her a little longer to get to the door. It is a miracle that we caught her though. The time we showed up was literally the only time she was home and available to talk to us that entire day! Members had tried to get in touch with her for a while and were just not making in through. How blessed we were and are! We came in and she began to tell us her story, how she came to the church, and why she hasn't been coming to church. She did basically all of the talking, and that was okay! Turns out, she has only been baptized for a few years- and is the only member in her family, and got a little turned off from the church, and then her family moved to this area. By the end, she had basically talked herself back into trying to come to church again! We are excited to keep working with her!
Another miracle is that we had the big Law of Chastity lesson with two of our investigators who are engaged and living together. The lesson went really well though. At the end, we talked about temple and eternal marriages, and even gave them a picture of Jesus, the Toronto temple, and the Family Proclamation. The next day, we got a text from them saying they have decided to live the Law of Chastity, and that one of them was moving out and in with some family so that they can get baptized and keep God's commandments! It is amazing to see the change that comes about in people as they keep the commandments and feel the spirit!
The most frustrating thing about being a missionary is when you teach someone, can tell they felt the spirit, and then decide not to do anything about it! This week, we met with a potential. We had an awesome lesson with him. While sharing the First Vision with him, he began to tear up! The spirit was SO strong! However, for whatever reason, he denied feeling it and decided to go on in his life. It is frustrating, but at the end of the day, as said in General Conference, not everyone is going to accept the gospel. The number of Saints in the world will still be small in comparison to the number of people in the rest of the world. Our job is to invite others to come unto Christ, and not everyone is going to accept that! Luckily, after, we went to another lesson that went much better! Our investigator even accepted a baptismal date! :)
There is definitely disappointment in missionary work, but there are also great blessings! Quick update, Emmanuel officially moved, but should be getting baptized this weekend regardless! We are so excited for him and will hopefully be teaching some of his friends later this week!
I have come to the realization this past week of how much faith, hope, and charity connect. To have faith, you must have hope. To have hope, you must have charity. And as you said, charity is a gift that we can only acquire through the Lord. Someone said something in sacrament meeting that I found very interesting. They said "The way to increase our faith is to serve others." When we serve, we develop charity. That leads to us developing greater hope, which then leads to us developing greater faith. I am so grateful I have been called to serve. I have seen my attitude towards this work change as I have strived to simply serve others, and help them be as happy as I am in the gospel. This past week I have truly been implementing 80% gratitude and 20% asking for blessings for others in my prayers as directed by my mission president, and it has made a great difference in my outlook and my desire to serve.
Welp, that's about all for this week! I am doing well, just learning patience and diligence! Know that I love you! I pray for you! and, I can feel and appreciate all of your prayers! Keep being awesome!
Lots of Love, Sister Robison
Sister Akantu! We helped her with indexing. In return, she bought us japatties,
Jamaican patties, and some Jamaican Pop! We Love Her!!!
Jamaican patties, and some Jamaican Pop! We Love Her!!!
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