WOW! Where to begin! First of all, sorry I didn't get to
write a weekly blog last week. I ran out of time at the library.
Thanksgiving was great! A normal missionary day with a good little feast at
the Ortega's house. It seems like this whole last week was a little weird
though with the holidays.
We were not able to meet with any of our
investigators because they were all out of town. We did, however pick up a new
investigator named Guadalupe who has come to church 3 times already! She has a
9 year old daughter who is participating in the Primary Program.
This last week
has been filled with tons of service that we have done just about everyday, so
it has kind of felt like a P-week, but it has been a great week none the less.
As for the mission. I am sure many of you are dying to hear what happened with
the goal we set for 70 baptisms for the month. Before I get started with that, I
want to point out that when President Packard got here in this mission we were
averaging between 25-30 baptisms a month. The time that President Packard has
been here we have averaged between 50-55 baptisms a month. So, this goal for 70
was a nice stretching goal for us as a mission. The amazing thing is that when
President Packard first came out he felt this mission had so much more potential
than that. He had said time and time again he felt that there would be a month
where we would not only get 70 baptisms, but hit triple digits! Well ladies
and gentleman, we did not get the 70..... with all of our hard work, with all
of the prayers from the leaders of the Chruch, including Jeffrey R. Holland and
the Lawrences. We did not get 70 baptism, but we did get 100 baptism for the month
of November!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It has been a miracle and a great example to us of
what we can accomplish according to the faith and trust we put in the Lord. I
wanted to thank all of you who have been praying and supporting us with this
goal. Last night at 10:00 we had a phone call with the whole mission where
President Packard shared with us SOME of the MANY miracles that have been
happening in the mission. It truly is a great blessing to have been here for
this and to have been part of it. Last night as I reflected on what had
happened, part of me really wished that we could have been among those who had helped with that number. I decided to ask the Lord and
express myself to him in this regard and as I did a very sweet feeling came over me and told me I
did the best I could and that I was indeed part of this great miracle we
experienced. As a result of that, I feel I understand a little better now than
before about how the body needs every part of the body to do its job. The head
is not any better than the arm, leg or foot, but all together allow the body to
move forward and to work and bring about whatever means it is trying to do. I
am very grateful for the great mercy, love and power we have experienced from
the Lord this month. It has been a miracle. Now this is only the beginning.
With Christmas coming up and all the different events happening I feel that
things will only get better.
Christmas time is always a very special time of
year, a time where the whole world comes together and feels of the great
Christmas Spirit that the Lord pours out on all of us. Yesterday was filled
with so many tender mercies from the Lord where I was able to be an instrument
in his hands. I was blessed to be asked to give two blessings
of health to people. I am so grateful for the Priesthood and for what I have
learned about using it when giving blessings. It truly is amazing that our
Father in Heaven trusts us enough to allow us to use it. By the second one,
right before I laid my hands on the man's head, I started to be overwhelmed with
a great love and started to weep. Following, was a blessing not from me but, from the Lord who I have been blessed to represent.
After the blessings we felt
prompted to go to the Relief Society President's house and invite her non-member
husband to a family home evening that night. When we showed up, his mother was there,
as well as his inactive son. We had a great time just talking to them and
invited them not only to the Family Homer Evening, but to the musical fireside
coming up as well. Being able to be there to meet with his mom was truly a miracle as we were told she is not too fond of the church, but she sure didn't seem
to be like that, she is the sweetest little old lady only second to my own
Grandma.
In addition to all of these many blessings I witnessed yesterday, my
favorite was during church. The pianist seemed a little down that day and I
tried to think of ways to help boost her spirit, but didn't know how. Then the
thought came to mind to simply thank her for playing the piano and let her know
how grateful I am for it and how much it makes a difference (I felt a little dumb that I hadn't ever thought to do that before). I
wasn't able to get to her to talk to her because she was running around as
well as we were, but 3rd hour I was able to write a note and pass it along to
her. I had my companion give it to her and she read it and turned around and
smiled at him. It was nice to see later that her day seemed to turn around just because of a very small
thing as a thank you note. The best part was the brownie points my companion received!
Transfers came and I get to stay here in Central
Falls to die. I am very happy with that because I love the members here so much
and feel that I still have a lot to do. Just another blessing coming my way.
I
know that this is truly the Lord's work, that God is a God of Miracles and that
all he requires is for us to put our faith in Him and move forward working as
hard as we can putting our trust in Him. I know as we do that we WILL see
miracles and come to know that He is truly there, loves us and knows us. It is
my prayer that all of us during this time of year take time to not only offer
thanks to the Lord, but ask Him what we can do to help those around us and what
gift it is we can give our Savior as we celebrate this Christmas season. In the
name of Jesus Christ, amen.
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