Hello All!
What a great week! The highlight of my week was Zone Conference on Tuesday. I met President and Sister Brower! They are amazing :) I felt the Spirit SO strongly from them and know they were called of God to be here at this time. President Brower introduced many new mission programs that have come from the First Presidency. We are one of the first missions to receive these instructions. The MTC won't know about them for months. One of the new items of business was that we now only have Zone Conference once every quarter, instead of each transfer (6 weeks). The new programs will allow the missionaries to work more closely with the mission president and be trained by him. It is so exciting to get new revelation from the prophet on how God wants His work to be done :) Sister Lavatai and I are the only sisters in our Zone. It was fun to see all of the other missionaries and meet many of them for the first time. It was a life-changing day. We talked about who we really are as servants of the Lord. It was incredible. Sister Lavatai and I prepared "Jesus the Very Thought of Thee" to sing as a musical number. Then President Brower asked us if we would sing it again for the closing hymn. The Spirit was so strong. I had interviews with President Brower and Sister Brower and truly felt their love for me. I think it was just what I needed. It's really hard to be away from parents' love and I felt as if they were my parents in a sense. This was the first week I was able to focus more on the work I am doing than on thinking about my family and the future. The drive home from Zone Conference was a great one. Sister Lavatai and I were so pumped that each time we made a stop (getting dinner, stopping in a city to teach a member), we shared the Gospel with everyone we saw. When we got back into North Bay, we immediately started tracting. I was changed as a missionary! I was excited and fearless. I was able to open my mouth and the Holy Ghost spoke through me. We met many people that night, one of whom we are teaching tomorrow night.
Wednesday was full of miracles as well. I was able to testify and teach many people. We tracted into a woman named Francis (in French pronounced Franswas) and I was able to share Joseph Smith's experience when he prayed to know which church to join. I started crying. I KNOW that this is the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. When Christ was on the earth, he set up a perfect church because He was perfect. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is that same church, restored to the earth today. It's hard for me to fathom how so many people don't believe. The Gospel has been restored many times since the world was created. That's why we read about all of the prophets in the Bible (Moses, Noah, Enoch, etc.). This just happens to be the final time because it will never leave the earth again. We are preparing for Christ to come. He IS coming and it will be a glorious day for those who are prepared. The more I teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the more it makes sense. Everything about it makes sense. You can know of its truth as you pray. The Holy Ghost will fill your heart :)
Anyway, Wednesday night we taught a guy named Eric. We brought a member of our ward with us too and she was great. We practically finished the whole first lesson and the member was summarizing because Eric wasn't looking like he was understanding. Then he said "wait, what church are you from? ...You're not Roman Catholic? ....oh, then I'm not interested." HAHA. Wow, took him an hour to notice. Haha. He was really great though. The member we were with said when we got in the car "He will join the Church. I am never wrong when I say that. Just wait." It was great. I don't think he understands what we do as missionaries though because he asked for our home number and wanted to go dirt biking with us. Hahaha. Sorry, but no. It was a great experience all together. I learned a lot about how I need to improve my listening.
We have TWO baptismal dates!!!! Monday night was amazing. Sister Lavatai and I taught Pierrette and before we had even begun, she had a certain look on her face. Then she asked "Can I be baptized?" I started crying! It was so amazing. She is ready. She will be baptized August 7th and confirmed the next day. There is no greater joy as a missionary. Tracy was set to be baptized July 25th, but we will have to push it back a couple of weeks because of some health stuff. But I'm so excited for her as well.
Well, I hope you all have a wonderful week! Know that I am thinking about you and praying for you. May the Spirit be with you! Look for opportunities to serve. Pray often. Be positive. Have faith :)
Visit: Mormon.org
Love,
Sister Barton
No comments:
Post a Comment