 |
Coon Daddy! Apparently Tommie's cat resembles a
racoon...so he calls him Coon daddy. HA XD and yes...
I use lots of itch creme here. There's just no way to
not run into animals in Georgia. :)
|
This week we have had so many amazing moments where we have felt the spirit come more fully into the work and into our companionship. Starting with Monday, we had a lesson that evening with a part member family. We are focusing on teaching the wife right now. Her name is Lisa. As we neared the end of our lesson, I was speaking about Joseph Smith. I delivered the same words I have done so many times over about how he sincerely wanted to receive an answer from God, knelt down, and delivered up all the feelings of his heart... I then felt an additional witness other than my own added to my words. The spirit touched my heart. It wasn't overwhelming, but it was beautifully noticeable. I have had those moments before, but what stands out to me this week is how we can have that same witness and "moment" during every lesson. At the end, Lisa became emotional and asked us a few questions. She's very nervous about everything she's learning, but at the same time, you can see the spirit working within her. She wants to know more, and our loving Father in Heaven is guiding her to it through His messenger: Holy Ghost. Living even more worthy of Holy Ghost is changing my mission completely. When we focus on sanctifying even the littlest things, repenting of the most minor offenses, that's when we feel the last bit of spiritual power added upon our efforts.
A few small miracles we have seen is how much more often people stop us to talk to us first. Or they ask us first if we can come back and talk to them. When you have the Holy Ghost with you, others will see and recognize that influence. I still have so far to go, but what I have seen so far has been amazing.
 |
This sneaky little guy was sitting right
there when I opened the door this
morning. Long story short, he sneaked
into the apartment and Sister Anderson
chased him around our study room for
a good while.
|
For example, we were walking back from an appointment one afternoon and crossed through a parking lot. An older man stopped us and asked where we were from. From there we started talking with him and eventually led to our purpose as missionaries and the message we share. He kept telling us over and over what wonderful people we were (it wasn't us, but rather the spirit touching his heart). We got his information and now plan to all go to lunch so we can talk this week. He then called us the next day relaying yet again how glad he was to meet us and confirming that we still would all go eat together. Amazing!
Just a couple of days later, we had a relief society activity at the church. A lady named Belinda, who isn't a member, was asked to give a demonstration about how to be more organized. We went to the activity, listened, and chatted with her after. Everyone told her what a good job she did and thanked her so much for coming. When we thanked her for what she spoke on, it really touched her..visibly. She kept saying how sweet and kind we were. Yet again, it wasn't us at all. It's amazing to see what the Lord is doing for his children. She felt His love through our simple message of gratitude. She later said that if we ever wanted to chat she would absolutely love to visit with us. Wow. For so many "Southern baptists" to be the first to ask if we will talk with them...it is truly amazing.
I feel so grateful and lucky to be a part of such an incredible process. I am, by no means, "worthy" of these miracles at all. I pray every day that I can be focused and pure enough to do what the Lord has prepared for this area. I love these people. I want, with all my heart, to see them partake in the blessings God is waiting to give them.
Last night, we had a lesson with another part member family (i've talked about them before). The mother and her 2 boys are learning about and preparing for baptism. They haven't set a baptismal date yet, however, because the father has a hard time helping everyone get to church. (This week we saw his heart soften SO much. Miracles!! He is now reading the Book of Mormon and we are pretty sure they will be at church this week! Answers to prayers :') ) Anyways... the mom, Larissa, has had lots of challenges with her family recently. Most recently, her grandmother has been diagnosed with Leukemia. The boys and Larissa are really close to her grandma. In fact, she watches the boys every day while the mom goes to work. Well, we hadn't been able to meet with them for a while. Finally, we were able to go over last night and teach them about eternal families. We weren't sure how the lesson was going to go because our lesson plan was all over the place...but we read many scriptures, used modern revelation, and basically taught and testified with love. Well, near the end of the lesson, the oldest son (who we met for the first time that evening because his mom is this man's first wife and doesn't always get to stay with his dad) interrupted our lesson and almost frantically asked, "Can I be baptized?" His family never was active, and he never had the chance to be baptized. Because of the spirit pressing upon his heart, he felt an urgency and incredibly strong desire to enter into such a beautiful covenant with God. AMAZING! Sister Anderson and I just smiled real big and said, "You most definitely can. We would love to teach you more to get you ready for step like that." He was so happy!
 |
Happy independence day from us!!
|
Just writing about everything we have experienced this week makes me ever grateful for this gospel. My heart rejoices each and every day! For lack of better words...this is amazing!! As members of the true and living church of Jesus Christ on earth, we are the luckiest people on alive. Let's share that with our loved ones!
Love you all!
As everyone here in the south says, "Be safe!"
-Sister Brown
PS a couple of smiles:
*while teaching an older lady this week she asked us, "So you haven't been to the dark side yet?" haha we answered no ma'am, not really..we've been pretty blessed.
*We got to celebrate 2 older ladies birthdays and they both loved the cards and flowers. So many sweet ladies here.
No comments:
Post a Comment