You know it is a good week when:

Oct 5, 2014

you know it is a good week when:

you can't remember everything you did

you thought that monday just happened. and here it is AGAIN?

you have so many progressors that you don't know what to do with them...

you have too many blessings to possibly count. but we still try.

you find direct guidance from God in the scriptures.

you study about VISION.

you BRAFT like a crazy missionary.

you realize that this work is not just work... but a cause. 

you realize that English idioms... acutally sound really funny to other people. (who actually picked butterflies to be the things that fly around in your stomach???) 

you eat lunch with an investigator and his 76 year old mom. who then comes to church and spends the rest of the night with the youth... even though he is at least 20 years older then them all... 

you realize that "persuasion" is more than just a jane austen book. 

and finally... sunday. you pick up an investigator and walk him to church.

you have too many investigators you don't know what to do with.

you get a hand massage from the sister sitting next to you... yesssss...

you get to bear your testimony. 

and watch conference. (the RS session.) 

and you realize that you understand about 80% of what is going on. which is WAY better than the last time... when you understood just 20% and slept the rest of the time.... 

life is so good! 

we had a lot of miracles this week. 

#1 mark got baptized! 

we've been teaching her for about 3 or 4 months. pretty much as soon as i got here. she... has so much faith! and it has been a journey in teaching her. of watching her change. and seeing her willingness to follow the commandments and endure to the end. no matter what the cost!

#2 boss got baptized! (he's a boss.) 

a referral from his friend suki. a guy that got baptized only a month ago. who baptized his friend yesterday. it was a special moment. especially when suki had to help his friend down the stairs of the font (he took his glasses off because he couldn't wear them to get baptized... who knew that he was as blind as a bat?) 

#3 simple things come from prayers. we have a simple desire to work with members more... and then god sends us the means to work on them. he grants us more of the vision that we need to see HOW we can reach our goal. 

#4 i'm not good with lists... so i'm just going to say there were plenty more that i can't remember!

i had a couple of overriding thoughts this week: 

how wonderful this work is. 

how important members are.

and how important VISION is.

seriously. nothing we are doing makes any difference. we were counting all of our daters/progressors... and NONE of them came from contacting. except maybe one. the rest... were referrals from RCs... or LAs.... or they called us! It blew my mind. it made me think - hey! you have been doing EVERYTHING that you can. you can't give up and stop contacting... but look at how much heavenly father has been blessing you for simply trying to do his work! 

which leads to my next thought. members. are indispensable. (i spelled that wrong... yay for spell check!) 

this last week has pounded into my head over and over and over again how much the member have a role in what we are trying to do... and it is so easy to forget them! 

i don't really know how to fix this problem... other than to reach out to them more. to tell them how necessary they are (YOU are) in this work. in just being YOU. and inviting. 

lastly. VISION. president senior came to our district meeting on tuesday. that was freaky... giving an accountability of all of our investigators... with president in the same room.... my brain was like ahhhhhhhhhhhhh! 

we were talking about accountability. and about goals. 

then he stood up and started talking about goals. about how he hates them. 

and what is missionary work but goals????

seriously though. 

but what he said really impacted my thoughts on it. 

goals... once accomplished... actually become DEmotivating. once a team wins the superbowl... they get a ring and then they are done. and if they don't make it to the superbowl... they are a failure. so president encouraged us to start thinking more in terms of having a VISION. with goals merely as a stepping stone. and more than just focusing on the goal, to focus on the PROCESS. when we do that... everything else. the goals. the vision. just fall in place. 

i loved that thought. and it changed how i look at missionary work. it is more than just being able to write a "1" by the baptisms at the end of the week. it is looking forward in this persons life. to the temple. to exaltation. to eternal life. 

then goals... aren't as daunting. they become something to work for, but when accomplished, lead to bigger and better goals!

well. that's all for today. i love you so much!
keep the faith! 

stay strong!