So our little friend Joel finally got baptized!! It was the greatest experience ever and I'm so humbled I got to be a part of it (it's pretty rare here in Washington to have a baptism during your two transfers of training). Also, our ward is actually amazing. So many members came to support him and we ended up filling the chapel! My cute companion sang "Nearer My God, To Thee" with our ward mission leader's wife and it was beautiful. The spirit was so strong in the chapel.
And....Joel brought his mom to his baptism! Not only is she the coolest, most supportive lady ever, but she asked our bishop if she could go up and bear her testimony! After Joel was baptized, his mom went up and shared her thoughts about how her faith in God has grown. She ended up talking for like 15 minutes but it was such a powerful testimony. At the end of the baptism, she gave us her phone number and asked us to keep an eye on Joel. She has so much trust in us and we barely just met her!
A couple days later we went by Joel's apartment to drop off some things he left at the church. We asked him how he felt after being baptized and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. He said he "felt lighter" and I definitely could see it. I wish you could see how he used to be. He used to be so negative about the future and his self-image. Now he's happier and knows he is cared for by the ward. He shared with us that he quit his only job because they asked him to start working on Sundays at the same time church starts. He only has like $10 left and no idea where he's going to find a new job, but he's so hopeful. If that's not faith, I don't know what is!
Ok now can we talk about General Conference?? Best birthday present ever. All the missionaries got to watch it in the chapel and we just partied in between sessions. I love love love our prophet so much. So much revelation received! I'm taking the challenge to read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year and I encourage you all to do the same. The Book of Mormon has brought me so much comfort and knowledge during my mission. It is truly what will be the foundation of our eternal conversion.
Now something crazy to tell you! So transfers are here and we've all been dreading it. Most of the missionaries in our zone have been here for at least 3 transfers so we knew the zone was about to get scattered. For the last couple of weeks everyone has been telling me I was destined to train next transfer. I blew it off because I thought there was no way our mission president would trust me to train someone right after I just completed training. But it's not the mission president's decision....it's God's decision. So anyway, I've been super nervous about taking over the area because I knew my trainer, Sister Morris was going to leave me next transfer. Then, on Sunday while we were watching the morning session of General Conference, without warning I heard a voice say "You are going to be a trainer." It totally threw me off and I kinda looked around. The feeling came again and even stronger. I silently told Heavenly Father I wasn't ready to be a trainer, but then I felt an overwhelming feeling of trust and I knew this is what He wanted me to do. I can't remember who gave the talk during that moment, but he was talking about letting our faith in Christ overcome our fear. It was exactly what I needed to hear.
Sunday night transfer calls came and sure enough, my trainer was leaving me. On Monday, I helped her pack and we went to say goodbye to all the members and our friends. Mondays are also the days we are informed if we have been assigned a leadership calling. While Sister Morris and I were studying, the phone rang and it was the assistants to the president. My heart dropped as Elder Corbett told me I would be a trainer next transfer. These were his exact words: The Lord has a lot of trust in you Sister Smith. You will either make or break this sister's mission." Then he hung up. Talk about a lot of pressure! I definitely freaked out but after some much needed encouragement and advice, I feel better about training this next transfer.
The mission truly is there to push up and mold us into what He needs us to be. I hope to be the best trainer for this new sister. I know that my faith in the Lord's plan for me will mean everything these next couple of months. Please pray for me and wish me luck!
Grateful for you all and please never forgot how much you are loved!
Love,
Sister Smith
No comments:
Post a Comment