April 30, 2012 "Grace"

Bonjour Bonjour,

Well this week has been kind of the same as all the weeks this transfer.

We walk. We talk to some people. We get rejected.

We take the metro. We talk to some people. We get rejected.

We knock on some doors. We talk to some people. We get rejected.
We call some people. We get rejected.

Thrilling. I know. I bet if I tell you that it was also raining on top of all that joy...you'd all drop what your doing, jump on the first plane to the promised land of Belgium, and join in all the wonder.

Well, this week I was inspired by an article in the April Ensign by Elder Bednar. It talks about the atonement and grace.I've kind of always wondered what that little word means-'grace'. I think I always thought it was some sort of equivalent of 'hope'. You know has members of the church, we always talk about how you have to work, not just depend on grace, to be saved. Somewhere in all the sunday school lessons, I started to assume that grace meant being lazy. Just sittin back and hoping we could be saved 'grace à' Jesus Christ.

Well then Elder Bednar decided to rock my world and put a little spin on things. He said that as he reads the scriptures, he replaces the word 'grace' with 'enabling power of the atonement'. Well this week I've been searching the scriptures for the word 'grace' so I could test his theory and understand exactly what all this means. What is grace? Is it even important? How does it help us?

Well then one day we came in for dinner. It was day that went something like this:

studies. finding. lunch. finding. dinner. *que giant rainstorm*. Finding.

We came in for dinner and I had this feeling of despair. I know as missionaries its kind of taboo to admit failure. But I was ready to do it. Just sit down, cry, eat all the chocolate the country of Belgium could provide, and admit that there is no one in our area prepared to accept the gospel. Well then, something popped in my mind from studying all this grace-bussiness. Its from the bible dictionary. Goes like this "It is likewise through the grace of the Lord that individuals, through faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ and repentance of their sins, receive strength and assistance to do good works that they otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to their own means."

That's how I felt. I was trying with all my own means to find someone, who would listen to us. A few humble prayers later, we were out on the streets, and managed to give away three books of mormon and get some numbers that night.

I can honestly not tell you how I even got out the door. I had no energy and no desire to leave the apartment.

Oh I can honestly tell you, it was only by grace, that I was able to get out the door. The Lord help me to have strengh to do good works that I would not have been able to otherwise do.

So the conclusion I've come to. Grace is the exact opposite of being lazy. It is trying your hardest, working with all your own means, praying with all your heart, then working a little more. Then out of his tender love, the Lord sends you a sign of approvel. Some sort of sign that your on the right track. Just enough grace, power, and encouragement, to keep you going. Then you start all over again, working, but relying on grace to make up the difference.

Maybe NOW you want to come join in on all the fun here in Belgium? Its pretty wonderful, coming to understand the gospel, one rejection at a time.

Love you all! Have a great week!

Soeur Smith