It's been a
miracle-filled week- as are all of them! But especially this last week, we have
seen a lot of progress and success in our area. We have just been so beyond
blessed and I am thankful for the time that I have spent here in Amity!
Sister Men and I
have been working extraordinarily hard to talk to absolutely EVERYONE we see!
For me, it is hard to talk to people who are walking from their car to their
house or vice versa, or walking quickly down the street. It's just HARD to talk
to them because I feel like I'm just an interruption. BUT, Heavenly Father
blesses us as we do hard things!!
We were walking to
visit someone we were teaching when I see this guy walking away from the gas
station on the corner. I knew I needed to talk to him, but that also included
walking across one of the busiest streets in the city. It could've been SO easy
to not talk to him and continue on...but I knew I just needed to do it!
There was an
opportunity for us to cross the street and we immediately went up to him and
started talking about the weather (it's easy to begin that way because I
introduce myself as an Arizonian in the cloudy weather). Of course, we are able
to swing into the gospel pretty quickly as we explain our roles as missionaries
and the conversation went pretty deep!
We were able to
testify about the love our Heavenly Father has for us and how much He is involved
in our lives. We gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon and told him about how
it often shows how much the people were blessed as they followed God and were
obedient to His commandments. Even though he wasn't ultimately interested, I
felt the Spirit during that conversation. Before he walked away, he even asked
us why we had crossed the street to talk to him...I laughed, he had noticed!
We taught him about
how he is a son of God, just as we are all His children. We told him that God
loves him and that He is trying to reach out to him and give him truth through
us. I could see something change in his face expression as we talked to him and
I pray that he will talk to more missionaries in the future!!
Another miracle
(less gospel- related): I'm wearing PANTS!!
I missed wearing
pants more than I thought I did, and out of the 7 days this past week, I've
worn pants for 4 of them! It's really fun wearing pants and a lot of the
members were excited to see us wearing them!
So to explain the
subject line...
The previous week
was...really hard. Situations that occurred just made it really hard. Last
Monday the first line of the email that I received from my Mom said,
"Ready to tackle this week? This will be your best week yet, I can feel
it!"
I wasn't so sure
when I had read that line, because of the events that had transpired just a few
days before that. But...this week was SO good! We were able to find new people
to teach and we were kept really busy with lessons and always doing our best to
use all our time most effectively with finding and contacting. We saw so many
blessings and miracles- God truly is SO good!
So Mom...thank you!
You were right- it really was one of my best weeks yet! And I got to wear pants
for the first time while doing it!!
I just...LOVE being
a missionary! I love teaching people about how they can strengthen their
relationship with Christ. I love seeing the change in their eyes as they feel
the Spirit during lessons and I love sharing the knowledge that I have which
has blessed me SO much in my life, more than anything else. I love reading the
Book of Mormon, no matter how many times I've read it, and I love the Spirit I
feel when I read it.
I have an increased
hope and faith for the future. In a meeting with other missionaries, one elder
talked about putting "our fears on the altar". We were discussing the
subject of fear that we may experience as we strive to talk to people in the
street, but I know that it can reflect to any aspect of life. I reflected about
other fears that I need to "put on the altar":
- the fear that I
will never be good enough
- the fear that God
isn't preparing people for us to meet and teach
- the fear that I
won't be guided in where to go or what to say
- the fear that no
one will accept the message I share
- the fear that I'm
alone
Of course, these
aren't fears that I've necessarily been feeling this past week... but they are
definitely fears that I've had since being on my mission. But I have also seen
that as I exercise my faith in Jesus Christ...that the fears go away. Not
permanently...they are often in the way back of my head...but they don't stop
me from being the best missionary that I try to be. I forget about them as I
shove the fear away and talk to someone I've never met before about the gospel.
I am excited for the
future and what lies ahead. There are miracles and challenges I have yet to
experience, I can feel it!
I love being a
missionary and focusing all my time and efforts on serving God and serving His
children. I know that this is the best thing I could be doing right now and I
am so thankful for the physical, mental and spiritual capabilities that I have
to be here. I love my Savior and I love you all! Thank you for all your support
and love!
Have a fantastic
week!
All my love,
Sister McCown
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