Standing on the road, trying to contact lots of people, I've got seven amis on my mind...
famille,
(Sorry this is short, didnt have a bunch of time!)
I hope you recognized the song in my title. But updated lyrics for the mission! "take it easy" by the eagles! hahaha. Soeur raney knows that song, too! so we were coming up with the lyrics sitting at the bus stop. yes, that was "sitting at the bus stop in Pau-oh-oh-oh-oh france", but it doesnt work as well. anyway! so this week! has been good. difficult, but good. so basically we didnt teach lessons, we just contacted and ported and walked everywhere and I had to show soeur raney the town and stuff and stuff. so we didnt have much success from the people we contacted and ported, to be honest. its hard doing that all the time and no one accepting rendez-vous and just telling you no all the time and blahblahblah complaincomplaincomplain. but you know what? I learned things from this. Very useful things. First thing, I learned that we are given trails to strengthen our character. I read "the Transforming Power of Faith and Character" by Elder Richard G Scott and it really helped me refocus. i was getting down because literally the past 4 weeks me and my companions have been trying to find new amis. have we found them yet? no. is it because we're not trying hard enough? I dont think it is. we are working our butts off, doing what we should be, being obedient, and having faith. and are our actions resulting to nothing? NO! Saturday night we were like, wow, looking at our numbers and stuff doesnt show how hard we've been working, but its not about numbers. and we are searching for the elect. if we arent finding new amis, we havent found the elect yet. plain and simple. So yesterday began, and it was incredible. It was just so great. I dont even know if it was the people we were talking to as much as it was me changing my attitude a little and just loving them, loving them till it hurt! haha. But really. and we taught marie and roger, and they are just so great and have a meeting on thursday with the law people to set up a date for their wedding so we can set a date for their baptisms, and they just love us so much! roger picks on me a lot, and its fun. he's like a french uncle I never had. they just love us. I felt so much love for and from them yesterday. then we taught the Lavie family with the 6 children, and Alex, soeur lavie's boyfriend was there, and he goes to church and has lessons when he's there on the weekends, and we have invited him to baptism several times and he's always like, yeah when i feel ready and wont accept a date. so yesterday we get there and are just talkign to them, and alex is like, "so I talked to the bishop about wanting to be baptized and he said to talk to the missionaries." and we were like, "ummm....Yeah!!!" and he said that he got an answer and he wants to get baptized! and before one of the older members, who is going to serve another mission, leaves on her mission, which is in the middle of december, so maybe sometime this transfer he'll be baptized!!!!!! He ASKED us to be baptized! And it was so incredible! oh my goodness. so great. And so we planned out what and when we'll teach him the rest of the lessons, which are only the ordinances because he has already recieved the first three lessons! It was a MIRACLE.
I know that Heavenly Father loves me. I know that He hears my prayers. We truly are given trials to become humble and to exercise the faith that we have. Each trial is for our good. As Frère Wilcox said and I've quoted this before, "what if we came out of every trial more Christlike?" After all, that's what we're here for and why we HAVE trails! And you know what? I'm grateful that I have had to struggle, that we have had to contact and porte and do all these things, to not be able to see results, but in reality there are many incredible miracles that have and will come from our hard work, whether it's miracles in Pau or someone in our district or in the mission! Heavenly Father hears each one of His children's cries. 3 Nephi 14:9-11, also the same scriptures as Matt 7.
I know that this church is true, and I am so grateful for it in my life. I am proud to be a missionary, and member, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and I know that we are all here for a purpose. What an incredible knowledge! Our purpose! The reason why we have a life, why we're on the earth. There are so many wanting to the know the reasons for this, and we have it! Share the gospel! Tell your friends and coworkers and other family members! It's the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and we have it on the earth today! What an incredible knowledge!!! AHH! Lets all become disciples of Jesus Christ!
I Love you all, and I hope to hear from you very soon. (I love letters!!!)
love always,
devano
-soeur gardner-
ps: an incredible quote that I have tried to begin applying to my life:
"We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to become each day." -Elder Scott from the talk I mentioned earlier. READ IT!!!!
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