A really cool experience with an active member visit

I feel like someone took one of those memory eraser things from MIB to me this week, I can hardly remember what we did! We spent a lot of time really trying to reorganize the area. We don't have any progressing investigators and we ended up dropping a lot this week. So we are basically back to square one, especially since the one real promising investigator we did have is moving. So I guess I'll get my fill of knocking on doors here pretty quickly. I guess that's what I get for making fun of older people who did that for forever on their missions back in the day. This week we also went on exchanges. I went to Chamisa and we taught an awesome lesson about the plan of salvation. Both in that the lesson was awesome and that we actually got to teach someone! Ha, star heights, don't you know that God loves you and wants you to listen to us so we can help you find more happiness? Be more like Chamisa! It was also nice to not have to drive for a day. Not that I really mind but it's easier to be a navigator. 

Thursday we had an interesting experience with a former. We were reading though the list and decided to go visit JR and Lisa. We knocked on their door and they let us in right away. They told us that they weren't interested but were really nice and we talked for a while. The weird part though was that after we had talked about weather and normal junk for a bit JR said to us "I knew you two were going to come by today" and we were like "um.. How?" He didn't really answer us, just showed us some pictures of the sunrise that he had taken so, I'm not really sure what he was talking about but, that's good I guess?? We are having dinner with them this week so we'll see how things go. Leslie might be interested but JR currently classifies himself as a believing nonpractitioner.

We had a really good meeting this week with the stake about missionary work. It was for the Bishops, full time missionaries, ward mission leaders, and ward missionaries. We talked about how even though President Miller has the keys over teaching and baptizing, Stake Presidents and Bishops hold the keys for missionary work and how it is to be done over their particular areas. The main message behind it was that you can't just assume that the missionaries and President Miller and going to get things done, this is all of our responsibility. The Bishops, the members and we as missionaries and there to teach and assist them in that effort. It I hope will really help with getting Bishops and members actively involved, so that would be great! It's something that a lot of people either don't understand or do understand but don't do! I know we all have a lot more potential as we all work together. 

This Sunday we also had a really cool experience with an active member visit. This one was actually by request, which I've only had happen once before. So usually once a day we'll go visit an active member family to get to know them better and to share a message with them, just so we can get to know the ward better and build stronger relationships. Earlier this week we had a family ask for us to come over on Sunday and share something. We said yes of course but it felt like a lot of pressure for them to ask us rather than us ask or just show up. We decided to share the newish Mormon Message I think it's called "You Never Know" and talk about how even when it feels like things aren't going well or we aren't getting anything done, you never know the impact and difference you make to other people. We also pared it with the Mosiah scripture that talks about the blessings and happiness we get from living the gospel. The family recently has had a lot happen to them. He had just started a new business when the father suddenly got really sick right before Christmas. It's difficult now for him to do really anything, talk, walk, he told us that breathing makes him tired. A few weeks after he got sick their son was born. So now the family has three young kids, the youngest about two months, a father who can't work and can hardly do anything, and a business to try and save. Oh and they also just moved. What they told us though after we were done sharing though was amazing. They said that they wanted to do anything that they could to help us because they knew that it was important. They talked about the last conference talk "Are we not all beggars" and how when you are in need is when it is most important to turn to others and serve. They told us that they didn't have much to offer but their home. That if we ever needed somewhere to teach or somewhere for someone to be, or if we ever needed anything from it, that we should come to their home. And that anything else we could do for them, they would love to and want to do. The father said to us that he had to admit he had a hard time paying attention to everything we were talking about but he knows the spirit when he feels it, and he wants and need that in his home as much as possible. We left them a few copies of The Book of Mormon and asked them to write their testimonies in them. Honestly though just being there was amazing. I'd like to be as spiritual and as strong as that family someday. 

Something else that I have really come to realize more this week is that God answers and wants to answer prayers, even if you don't remember what you asked for. We have had a few situations this week were we have had something happen and then realized, "hey, didn't I ask for this? Isn't this an answer to my prayer?" One example that I can think of in particular is on Sunday. We asked that those less active members would remember the desire that they had felt to come to church and learn more and become more active. We had three less active families come to church this week, two of whom we hadn't even taught and I hadn't even met! They just felt like they should come and did! It was about half way through sacrament when I kind of clued in to "Hey, didn't exactly what we asked for happen?" It really reminded me that God loves and listens to us. In many cases more than we listen to Him and in some cases even more than we listen or pay attention to what we talk to Him about. I had completely forgotten what we had asked for, but he hadn't. So, pay attention to God! He pays attention to you! More than you realize! 

I'll try to have more adventures this week so I have more to tell you! Until then, happy St. Patrick's Day!  

Love, 

April