What a fantastic week. I heard from President 3 times! On Tuesday we had a zone meeting/President interviews, which is always really nice. Then on Friday we had MLC and on Saturday he spoke at our stake conference. He wanted us to be there because we were doing some role-plays with the members, right there in the chapel. Anyway, it was a really good week.
At Stake Conference he showed us really simple, easy statements members can use to share the gospel, with friends and strangers alike. There are: "Would you be willing to listen to a brief message about_____?" (The key words being "willing" and "brief") and "We would love to have you and your family join us at church this Sunday!" Easy, right? And he talked about how we make it SUCH a bigger deal than it is. We think we need to "prepare" our friends for the gospel. But, as Preach My Gospel says, the LORD is preparing his children. We need to have faith that He will put them in our path.
He told a story about a woman (actually one of Sister Regan's converts) who was working at a blood bank. She was complaining about relationships or something with the man who was giving blood, who was a member and had brought his Ensign to read with him. He said to her, showing her the cover of the Ensign which had a picture or a happy couple, "You need a husband like THIS. You need to come to our church!" And she did! And she got baptized soon after.
He also talked about his 15-year-old son who felt prompted to invite a rough-looking boy at school to church. When he did so, the boy told him that he was also Mormon, but that he didn't go to church because his dad wasn't a member and he didn't allow him or his mom to go. But the two boys planned together to have the missionaries come over and teach his family. They did come over, but the dad stormed out of the house. A little later, however, the missionaries got a text from him saying that he was sorry, and that he was ready to listen to them. He got baptized this Saturday.
And President himself talked about an experience he had at a restaurant. His server was a Mexican man who introduced himself as Jesus. President said, "Jesus. I like that name. I've taken that name upon me. (leave it to President to say something like that) Would you be willing to listen to a brief message by some of my missionaries?" The server left the table and came back with his address and phone number written on a card. He said, "I haven't gone to church in a long time. Thank you for inviting me!" See? It isn't that weird! Y'all can do it, too!!
He also talked about what to do if they say no. Just make it natural! Just say, "Ok, that's fine! How 'bout those Spurs?" (even us missionaries know the Spurs are killing it right now) or, "Ok! Well, just know the invitation's always open." It's only as big of a deal as we make it. And more people will say yes than you'd think.
Switching gears, I wanted to share a couple of my journal entries. The first one was written on November 5, 2013. About my 9-month mark.
"I cannot believe how slowly the work is going here right now. We're honestly about to sipe our investigators completely off of the board and start over. (I then proceed to write a long list of all my investigators and the woes we're experiencing with them.) I feel at a complete loss. Planning and setting goals is awful. I feel like we're scraping the bottom of the barrel. It's impossible to not think you're doing something wrong, especially when the Elders, who work in the exact same area, are thriving. What?! It's hard."
Sorry if that depressed you. Here's one from June 7, 2014, about 7 months later.
"Phew! Missionary work's been a bit rough lately. No progressing investigators, all the members are too busy for anything, and it's HOT. But I've never loved missionary work more. It doesn't hurt that we had MLC yesterday and that I went on an awesome exchange with Sister Breakall, either. Or that we just got back from an INCREDIBLE Stake Conference where President taught. I love being a missionary! I will always be a missionary. It's just the best! It's crazy that you can feel so good and successful with so little to show for it. But we work hard with faith every day. We talk to everyone. We are obedient and strive to improve. I feel successful, and that's because I am!"
Same kind of situation, completely different attitude. What's the difference? I think it's my faith. I have such a stronger conviction now that God is working miracles, even when I can't see it. I trust that He's with me and that He will give me the strength I need to do His work. I know that this church is Christ's church and that I am literally His representative. I still have my moments. I can do more and I can trust more. But my goodness, am I a changed person. It's my constant plea that I can keep what I feel and only build off of it when I get home.
I have so much more I could say! I can't wait to just sit and talk to y'all when I get home. I love you all! Have a fantastic week.
Love,
Hermana Lund
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