Hello friends and
family!
Another week,
another week! It's flying by and it's only scaring me a little bit!👌🏻
It has been a good
week, though, with a lot of awesome miracles and...
I got one of the
best gifts EVER:
I got to go on
exchanges with my past companion and best friend, Sister Leifson! It was an
absolute DREAM COME TRUE! The entire 24 hours with her was just a blast, and
honestly, it just wasn't long enough!
It was amazing to
see how much she had grown in the 5 months it's been since we have been
companions. As soon as we were back together it was as if nothing had changed,
except we both had so many experiences that made us better and stronger! She
has grown a lot in the gospel and it was amazing to see how much more
confidence she has and how her testimony of the gospel truly has become who she
is!
Man I just love her
so much! She literally changed my whole life and the entire course of my
mission. But that makes sense, because I'm pretty convinced we know each other
in the premortal life, haha!
We have been very
blessed in finding new people to teach. Many of them are people that have been
formerly taught by missionaries and have recently shown a lot of potential in
progressing in the gospel!
We had an AWESOME
lesson with someone named Scott this past week! We were trying to visit a
member, but Scott answered the door and said that they don't live there
anymore...sooo....we talked to Scott about the gospel! We set up a lesson with
him for this past week and talked a lot about the Atonement of Jesus Christ,
because he had a recent death in the family.
He has a crazy work
schedule (which he likes, because it also serves as a distraction from losing
the family member) so we were only able to have a 20 minute lesson with him one
evening. But man, it was so powerful! We showed him an amazing video about how
through Christ's sacrifice, we can experience lasting peace and hope for the
future, no matter what we may be going through. It is so necessary that we
completely rely on Him and His will, and that immediate peace is always
accessible to us through prayer and studying the scriptures.
Scott knows that there
is something missing in his life and I am so excited to help him see the
priceless and innumerable blessings of the gospel!
We also had
interviews with President Wilde this past week and, as always, it was amazing
and so revelatory! He is such a huge inspiration to me and he just radiates
with love towards others and Christ!
During the interview
I asked him how I could study the Book of Mormon more effectively. He excitedly
told me about this amazing devotional talk "A Reservior of Living
Water" by David A. Bednar that talks about how we Study the scriptures
more in depth. I have started reading it and am loving it! My favorite part so
far has been when he talks about understanding the gospel WITH OUR HEARTS!
Knowing Christ's teachings is so different from LIVING christ's teachings and
allowing it to literally become who you are. Its amazing and I'm excited to
continue studying it!
Another great
principle that will literally sum up my mission:
During District
Council this past week, we studied together the concept of "impossible
tasks" and how to overcome them. We read in the Book of Mormon examples of
them, such as in 1 Nephi 17 when Nephi was commanded to build a boat. If you
think about it...this is a young man, asked to build a giant boat, considering
he doesn't even know what a boat is, and he doesn't have a single tool to do
it. And the first thing he asked, was how he was going to obtain the tools! I
think it's amazing to see how much faith Nephi has, and how he was willing to
take a step in the dark and rely on God for revelation.
This principle
really applies to missionary work...because literally everything we are doing
is like an "impossible task". Heck, we're doing the work of the Lord,
and not only are we imperfect men, but we are young adults! Sometimes I wonder
why God trusts His young children to do His work, but I know that it has helped
me more than anything else has! He doesn't expect us to do His work perfectly,
but He does want us to rely on Him and do our best. I know part of the reason
why we're on missions is to learn how to rely on God, and what better lesson
could prepare me for the rest of my life!?
I love this gospel
and I love my Savior. I am so thankful for every answer to my prayers and I am
thankful for the people in my life that I know aren't coincidences. I love you
all and hope you have a wonderful week!
All my love
Sister McCown
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