This week was a little more challenging, in other words as it gets colder we get more and more people answering the door and saying "its told cold for this and shutting the door" but hey that just means there will be more miracles next week.
During the sacrament this week i was reading 3 nephi 18( jesus instituting the sacrament) and i was pondering how this simple act could change a person. then i read "Blessed are ye"(vrs 14). it is truly an honor to partake of the sacrament each week, and sometimes its hard to see that. but God through the mouth of his son has declared "Blessed are ye" if you make it to the meeting every sunday it means you have an understanding of who God is and are willing to express your love to him. in return he blesses us in thousands of different ways. I love partaking of the Sacrament.
Travis!
a little while ago ( i don' know if i talk about this) I gave a blessing to a nonmember, named Travis, in which God had deemed at that time for a lot of his personal concerns and problems to be answered with out us(me and Elder Raymond) knowing beforehand of the relationships. well after that we invited him to read the book of Mormon and learn more about who God is while the rest of his Less Active family has been meeting with the missionaries, well he lives in a household of all girls, and Girls do this thing us guys call Girl talk where they talk and no guy ever understands... so while the sisters visit Travis has just kind of been walking out on lessons when they start "girl Talking" (i don't blame him). so the family Decided for his benefit that we come back and teach him!!!! and he is just the best, it is not every day you have the opportunity to start teaching someone who Already has a witness from God of the Truth.
Sam!
Sam is a super star, what can i say more?... sam is a YSA age young man who struggles with social anxiety and a Less Active family, well from my time here in lakeside park, i have found a great care for him and have tried to include him often in missionary work. He came out with us again this week and we had a very powerful lesson, but afterwards in the strength of the spirit we talked and identified how despite his circumstances being what seems lonely he know he has to serve a mission. following that power, we felt inspired that at his current state he does not have the faith to do so. So we received and inspired commitment i have never had before. We invited him to Baptize someone by the end of the year before he goes on his mission. after looking at the ground for a second he looked up at us( i knew the invitation was extremely challenging) he said i dont know why but i feel it is right and it is what i need to do!
we talked about statistics of baptizing and he is really putting forth effort... he is awesome i am excited for him.
good with the bad...
Allen told us this week that he is happy to keep meeting with us but his mother wants him to start taking her to church so he is going to her church with her...
Badminton, Elaine and Robbin
Badminton is still amazing it, Elaine and Robbin(male) are two young adults who have been recruited to teach mandarin in america. Robbin has come to church twice now and really sees a big difference in the sabbath day even though he doesn't know what they say most of the time. Then Elaine came for the first time and she just adored it, she speaks a little more english then Robbin, not much though. she especially loved relief society.
new analogy
when teaching JC i was prompted to use a new analogy; that's a little strange, but turned out to be very powerful.... priesthood authority is like electricity when you pay your bills (keep the commandments) you have the ability to do what you need to do, cook clean and survive. However when The Son of God was killed it was as if someone blew up the power company with the blue print along with it. so it would take a long time for the company to be fixed so was it that the earth needed time before the Authority could be returned to the earth.
I hope that makes since, it was better in the moment.
JC! Complex i have never been too. Electricity analogy
lastly we had a huge miracle, looking at the map of are area i noticed a dot that i had never been to before. so we planed in to go that night.... during that day we were Rejected by members an non members a like from 10am to 7pm. but we set the plans that we would follow.... another hour goes by and everyone in this large apartment complex up on a hill is just not interested in talking to us, but we keep working. We had this one address in our records that just wasn't correct it was apartment Q when the apartments are numbers 1-12. we tried a few of the numbers seeing if we could get any info on JC... low and behold we knock on his door.
he didn't remember ever meeting with missionaries but with a little persuasion he let us in. he is struggling with loss but the spirit constrained us to teach the Restoration instead of answering questions about our purpose in life. we felt as if we miss heard the spirit because he didn't seem very attentive, but then at the end sharing the book of mormon with him. he told us that a few days a go he received a dream where a relative told him that something big was about to change in his life. and it occurred again the night before we came. he shared how he has felt lost for a long time but now finally has found a way to God. I am Really Excited to work with him. When God declared he is hastening his work he meant it.
love ya
Elder Jarvis
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