HOW ARE YA'LL. I hope everything is going well, besides the fact that school just started..... sorry about that. Ya'll should move to Canada really quick, they are all still on summer break.
Anyways, this past week was wonderful, and full of miracles as usual. I am astounded at how much God blesses his children. He loves us.
First of all, I failed to mention that sweet Emily Brown, our less active, came to church for the first time! She is incredible, and we are so grateful things are starting to turn around for her. She came again this Sunday and is just loving it.
Second miracle, last week I wrote a while bunch about the Book of Mormon, because literally it is so awesome. Well listen to this experience!
So this last week, Sister Macindoe came out to a lesson with us, and we followed up on her scripture study (which she had been doing everyday for about 2 months now). She had already finished the BOM, the Pearl of Great Price, and was just starting on D&C. Well she said that due to some daily routine schedule changes, that she hadn't read the last couple of days. So we asked her, "Have you noticed a difference since you stopped reading?" And she was like, "No."
It was way awkward....
like really awkward. I was just not expecting that reaction, and so I basically didn't know what to say. But I know that reading the scriptures absolutely, without a doubt, makes a difference in our lives, and so we recommitted her to read them anyways, and promised her that that it really would make a difference and help her continue to prepare for the temple.
Well a couple of days later she called us and said, "Remember when I told you that not reading my scriptures didn't make a difference? Well, I lied." She said a couple of days after we had asked her that, she started to notice herself becoming really intolerant and more judgmental of people, and just frustrated overall. And then it dawned on her, 'hey, maybe reading really did have an effect', so she started reading again and things changed. God is literally so good, and now she knows for sure, without a doubt, that his promises are true, and that reading your scriptures is a blessing from God.
This week we also got to teach a man named Clint and a woman named Manizheh. We met Clint at the bus stop, and Manizheh was a woman that the missionaries had worked with about 2 years ago. We were able to teach both of them the Plan of Salvation this past week and it was absolutely amazing. Clint recently experienced a divorce, and just realized throughout his life he has never felt much happiness or purpose. After teaching him he said, "I want this. I totally believe in this, just no one has ever explained it like this to me before. I want in." Manizheh has a much different story. She is Iranian and comes from a Bahi background. This past week as we were teaching her God's plan for us she stopped us and said, " I feel good when you teach." God's love is real, and his plan for the salvation and happiness of his children is true. I know that He wants each of us to be able to know the truth for ourselves, and the spirit is able to guide us to it. I am so grateful to be a firsthand witness of how God works in each of his children's lives, and how truly, the spirit will lead all of us to the truth and to the blessings that God has in store for us.
This past week in our District Meeting we talked a lot about opposition. After all, that is a huge part of God's plan for us. As we learn from the scriptures, without opposition, we wouldn't be able to make choices, and therefore we would never be able to learn or grow. We wouldn't be able to experience joy, because we have never known pain. Opposition and adversity come to each of us during our time here on earth. Sometimes due to bad decisions on our parts, others due to the bad decisions of others, and some because God and Jesus Christ need us to grow spiritually. Although some of these hard experiences seem insurmountably impossible, I know that there is still light."We should never confuse local cloud coverage with general darkness." Each of us experiences challenges and trials in this life, but they don't last forever. God will never leave us in the dark. It is as we choose ask, "What can I learn", rather than, "Why did this happen to me?", that our burdens become blessings, and we are able to gratefully accept all that God has in store for us.
In the scriptures we learn about so many who face opposition. This past week in our district meeting a simple story from 1 Nephi was shared. I will never stop learning from the prophet Nephi. He is the perfect example of obedience and grateful submissiveness to the will of the Lord.
I am running out of time, and won't be able to explain everything, but I would encourage each of you to read through Chapter 18
Like Nephi, we can all "praise God" for our challenges and trails.
Pictures for this week (sorry I know there have been few and far in between lately)
1/2. I hit my 11 month last week. Monday was British Columbia's birthday, and the day after was my 11-month, so we figured we would celebrate both with some cake (:
3. Laughing Selfie
4. My baby is 4 months <3
5. Got to paint Sister Macindoe's house. We forgot to take the picture before I changed... but still. I absolutely adore this woman. She is rock solid, and determined to follow God's plan for her.
6. Got an update from Thang and Van (my Vietnamese investigators I taught in Surrey). Here is their sweet baby girl. She is getting so big! Thang and Van also finally met with some missionaries out in Vietnam and are getting baptized. My heart is so full.
7. We gave Mark and Brianna a church tour this past week. Our member, Sister McIvor, taught Brianna a small song really quick and before we went she played it for her dad.
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