Happy Thanksgiving à tous!
Well kinda...for my American family out there... haha. This week our ward went all out and I ate more turkey than I've ever desired...we had three different Thanksgiving dinners! I guess having a mostly American ward has its advantages...
This week I felt like I had one of those 'real missionary moments' of seeing people change and come unto Christ. I can't remember how much I've told you about the less-active, part-member family we've been working with. But basically they have been less active for 5+ years and so two of their three girls have not been baptized. The youngest just turned eleven... and is seriously the french version of Kaila. She and I are best friends. She teaches me all sorts of fun french words...anyways...when we first got here Soeur Murray saw their name on the ward list and felt like we needed to go pass by them. We stopped by several times, getting to know the family little by little...and finally worked our way up to a fixed rendezvous with them. Well last week was our rendezvous and it was very intresting...the dad told us he was not intrested at all in coming back, but if his family wanted to go he wouldn't stop them. The wife said she understood that, but she didn't want to have to deal with coming to church and then coming home to his anti attitude. Well then last week she came to church with their youngest daughter. This week we had another rendezvous...and it was amazing. He had completely changed...he expressed to us that he really wants to come back, but he wasn't sure that he could. We assured him that he can. By the end of the rendezvous that had promised to pray together as a family every day and he had asked for a priesthood blessing. Well this week he came to church...and the ward was amazing! Welcomed him and involved him immediately. It was so good. I feel so blessed to work with this family and to see the miracle and change that can happen in just one week!
We also had an amazing rendezvous with a refferal. This family was referred to us because the mom is the sister of a member of the ward. When we showed up at the house the mom and the four kids were very friendly and excited to see us. Apparently the mom had to been to church a few years back but because she lives a little out of the way, the missionaries never came by. We had an amazing rendezvous and told them the first vision story. Afterwards we asked what they thought, the 18 year old son told us that 'well its intersting...I think someone would have to know for themselves if its true'. He is exactly right! We gave him his own copy of the Book of Mormon and he just kept turning it over and over in his hands and flipping through the pages and telling us how excited he is to read it.
Soeur Murray and I have been talking alot this week about how it feels like in our mission we get so excited when just ANYone is interested in listening to us...then lots of times we end up baptizing people who are not completely ready, or are the only member of thier family and end up struggling. In the wards Ive served in, we then end up with these recent-convert, less-actives who don't have testimonies and are difficult to work with. I don't mean to diminish them at all...its just hard on the wards to support pages and pages of these less-actives. I think whitewashing has been a good experience for us because we've really had to listen to the spirit when trying to decide which amis are really progressing...and which just aren't ready to progress quite yet. Its hard on missionaries too- to pray for and prepare for and teach people who just aren't ready to progress and keep committments... because you learn to love these people you never want to give up on them. I guess the product of my whole ramble is that I have just felt so blessed this week to work with people who really have been prepared by the Lord and are ready to progress. You can feel the spirit with them and know they are taking your message seriously. These are the amis we're looking for...its just hard sometimes to have the faith to turn down a person is willing to have rendezvous with you...to go knock on doors or go contacting to find the one that will take you seriously. But its worth it.
Well that's my missionary wisdom for the week. I guess since I hit HALF WAY this week it has some legitamcy... but probably not because I still have so much more to learn and do here! Lots more people to trouve!
Love you and miss you!
Soeur Smith
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