May 5, 2014

Week 62

Drodze Kochani,

I would like to start out with repenting for the fact that no letter was written last week! Not making it seem like these little letters once a week are the things that your whole week revolves aound, but I rather need to change and improve because writing these letters on Pday is something that uplifts me spiritually everyweek as I reflect upon the things that have happened and the way the Lord has blessed me. So it was definitely my loss that I didn't write one! But that being said...onto the miracles of this past week!

I feel like a lot has happened in the week! It has been full of uplifting, spiritual, funny, and wacky moments (just as all the best weeks contain!) This past week I was really focusing on teaching by the Spirit. We had a lesson last week where I felt like I simply taught a lesson...compaing it to a bad teacher in high school who just gives all the information but doesn't make it interesting or apply to me. I felt like that, and it didn't feel good! From that moment on I decided I really needed to brush up on my teaching skills and trust in the Spirit more to guide it...czyli: improve (or in other words: repent! :) ) It was really amazing to feel so uplifted during the lessons during this week!

The Holy Ghost always teaches me something new when I teach by the Spirit. For example, this week we were explaining to a Catholic women that the reasons why she feels love when she thinks her own thoughts and directs them in conversation to God is because she is being sincere with Him. With all do respect, I truly believe that repeated prayers that are written on cards or in books can't yeild the same results in any comparison to the prayers that are sincere and from the heart. I learned as I was speaking with her that our relationship with Heavenly Father works in the same way that our relationship with any other person works. When we are sincere with Heavenly Father, He opens up more too and can be more sincere with us. We can feel his love more wyraźnie and feel His influence on a deeper and more personal level because we are being deeper and more personal with Him!

We had zone conferences today and as a mission, we have been asked by our mission president to fulfill our missionary purpose upon the first interaction with people we meet, boldly and lovingly. We have been asked to declare repentance (improvement and change) and baptism when we first meet people. Starting this week, 2 hours a day and 5x a week, we have been asked to contact without beating around the bush and talk with people about how they can change their lives and relieve themselves of the burdens of guilt and shame that comes from making mistakes by being baptized! There have already been many miracle stories from this past week of people who are accepting this invitation and who have been waiting for this invitation! It's so amazing! And it feels so good to know that I am doing what the Savior asks His missionaries to do: "preach repentance to all nations!" I'm grateful for the guidance our mission president recieves from the Lord!

Funny Moment: We got invited in tracting by a man and his 4 1/2 year old son. We weren't exactly sure what to think because he didn't even listen to what we were going to be sharing a message about before he let us in, but he did! We sat down in his living room when his son was playing and he said: "okay ladies, so i'm going to go out for a drink and I'll be back in 2 hours. You guys can handle looking over my son for that long, right?"... i was so shocked, but i mangaged to squeek out a "..Nie." and he says: "oh, okay fine, an hour and a half. See you later Max! Daddy will be back in a little while!" and starts walking to the door! AHHHHH!!!!! sister owen and i looked at each other and then jumped up off the couch and tried to beat him to the door!! hahaha it turns out he was kidding and got a real kick out of the fact at how much he scared us, but we were a little skeptical for the rest of the meeting! hahaha pretty funny, nonetheless!

I'm doing great and loving the mission and LOVE my area and companion and I'm so grateful to the Lord for helping me learn the lessons I need to learn of being integretious and being diligent and being grateful!

Love,
Sister Blake