Hi All,
Thanks for your prayers for me this week, and also for Stan.
He came to church in Johor again this week, and he seems to be feeling
pretty well again. I know it's still hard for him, but I'm so glad to
see such a strong manifestation of his faith in the Atonement of Jesus
Christ, and in the plan of salvation, prepared for him, for his father,
and for everyone.
This week, I have had many opportunities to practice
Christlike attributes that Elder Fabiano and I have been studying. I
got to exercise my patience, especially. Only one of our appointments
for the whole week actually happened. Everyone else cancelled, or was
not willing to accompany us to visit less actives or investigators. So,
we spent almost all of our proselyting time contacting. Because
President Mains has raised the standard of excellence from 1 new
investigator every week to 2 new investigators every week, we have been
working extra hard. I was a little surprised, because I count it a
miracle week if we find a single new investigator. However, the
missionaries in my district have counseled together, and we have
adjusted our goals and plans to meet the new standards. I sense a great
excitement from all four of us about talking to everyone, working
smart, using our time well, and prayerfully seeking those who are
prepared to receive us. I'm afraid I'm lacking in faith. I have to
constantly remind myself that although I don't know how it will happen, I
know that the Lord can provide a way for us to do as he has commanded.
I met many, many people who are not prepared to receive the Gospel this
week, but I have never felt a greater sense of purpose and
determination.
Although I could easily view last week as one
of little success, I feel very happy that the Lord has helped me see a
strength of mine. As Elder Fabiano and I spent hours trying to find new
investigators, I felt hot, sweaty, hungry and tired, but I never became
irritated or angry that people were not accepting us, and I was not
bothered by anything people said to me. I feel very blessed with
patience these last several days. I don't know how to describe what I
was thinking or what I felt except that I just didn't let anything weigh
me down. I felt perfectly happy all the day long, even when things
weren't going my way.
This next week, my focus for Christlike attributes is Charity
and Love. As explained in Preach My Gospel, I want to strengthen my
ability to demonstrate Charity by viewing others as they have the
potential to become, not as they appear to me as they try to wave me
away from their gates or avoid me in the malls. I began yesterday
night, and it really helped me and Elder Fabiano to be friendly to
people even as they all rejected us. One thing I noticed that Elder
Fabiano did especially well as we both practiced Charity - he was able
to turn someone's dismissing frown into a smile by the time we finished a
short conversation with them. I hope I can be inspired enough to do
the same this week.
I know that as other people can feel Heavenly Father's love
for them through us, they will naturally want to come closer to Him, and
we will find a new friend. I hope that this is something I will never
forget, even after the mission, and something that we can all keep in
mind as we meet other people each day. After all, we're all children of
God.
Love,
Brennan
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