Dream Big

This week was super, super busy!  We had a training on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday, and Leadership Council on Thursday.  It was so busy!  We were running around all week!  On Monday we had a training by Brother Avila, who is apparently the most successful man in Peru, who just happens to be a member of the church.  He talked about how he grew up destitute, and his parents didn't even have enough money to buy him boy sandals, so he had to use girl sandals.  He talked about his whole story, and everything that happened to him.  He talked about how sometimes we are born poor, but that we have no right to die poor.  He talked about how God needs us to be well off, so that we can help build his kingdom (Jacob 2:19). 

For example, Brother Avila told his bishop that whenever someone wants to go on a mission, and doesn't have the money, he'll pay for whatever they need.  He's a great guy!  He talked about how we need to stay focused on our goals, and dream big.  If we ask God for 2 baptisms per month, and we are worthy and work for 2 baptisms, we're going to get 2 baptisms per month.  But if we are worthy, and ask for 50 baptisms per month, we can reach 50 baptisms per month!  We can help 50 people come to a knowledge of Christ and how it is that we can return to live with him.  It's awesome! 

He talked about how his zone leaders would tell him, "Be realistic!"  But he responded and said that the realists in the Book of Mormon were the wicked:

Helaman 16:18:
"[I]t is not reasonable that such a being as a Christ shall come."

It was really interesting to see the Book of Mormon in that light, helping us really see our potential as "children of God.  And if children, then heirs" (Romans 8:16-17).  What can't we do!  As heirs to the Most High?  It really opened up my eyes!  He talked about how we need to really focus on our goals, and keep thinking about how we can achieve them.  When we run out of ideas, that's when revelation comes!  We need to have our minds firm (Jacob 3:2) in achieving our goals, with the end goal being Eternal Life.   It was so cool!  I feel like I can do anything!!

We also taught a new investigator this week!  She is super cool!  She works at the MTC, and she said she wants to know what all the people who live there do.  She wants to know why it feels so good to work there!  It was such a powerful experience!  I felt the Spirit working through me to answer questions in better ways than I have ever done by myself.  It was super cool!  She seems really excited to learn more!  We also taught our investigator with a baptismal date, and his daughter and his son.  They are super excited!  They are learning so well.  They are learning how to return to live with their Heavenly Father.  They pick everything up so fast, and it's just so much fun teaching them!  Can you guys pray for them?  We are trying to help them really feel the Lord's hand in their lives, and helping them make the necessary changes.

Thanks so much!  I love you all!  Have a wonderful week!

Miracles

This week has been awesome!

We had multizones all week, which was pretty fun, we got to listen to some trainings by president and the assistants, and it was super cool! They told us about some miracles they had experienced, and it was super cool! They laid out a plan for how we can have at least 4 baptisms per area per month. President then changed the standards of excellence, to at least 4 baptisms per month. It's going to be super cool to see the results of greater faith and vision! 

We have been experiencing some crazy things in our area as well. This week, almost out of the blue, we are seeing a ton of miracles! There's our investigator with a baptismal date, and we are receiving some super awesome references, and we have appointments with the members, it's absolutely incredible. I feel a little like God was like, "Alright, move over, I'm taking control now." I really feel like the spirit is guiding this work and showing us how we can be successful, if only we can let him and depend on the Lord. It's so cool!

Also, last P-Day, after I wrote you guys, I took a personality test, which was super interesting! I came up as ENTPA, which is classified as a Debater personality. Go figure :)

Teaching by the Spirit

This week we had an awesome experience. We got to teach an investigator, after fighting to set up an appointment with him. He failed us 4 times before we got to sit down with him, but we finally got there, and he and his daughter are going to be baptized the 3 of February. They are so cool!

We also tried out a brand new teaching method. We have obviously taught the lessons using the pamphlets before, but it was interesting to me, the focus on the Book of Mormon from the leaders of the church. We decided to teach the first lesson, using only the Book of Mormon. We taught it using the introduction, and then recited the first vision and James 1:5 from memory. It worked out pretty well, and I think it will help the investigators be able to really get to know the Book of Mormon better.

I have often felt like it was important to leave the pamphlets to move on with the teaching process, but also to leave parts in the Book of Mormon, in order to strengthen their testimony. I think we can teach the contents of the pamphlets, without leaving the actual pamphlets, and focus more on their testimony. It's part of teaching lessons, not people.

The thing I'm realizing here, is how important it is to always teach with the spirit. If the spirit is not testifying, they won't even listen to you. And so we have to use the biggest sources we have of the spirit, AKA the scriptures and our testimony. Like Nephi says, "[The churches of the world] shall teach with their learning, and deny the Holy Ghost, which giveth utterance." Which means that if we are to be different, we must teach with humility, and depend on the Holy Ghost, which will allow us to speak. It's super awesome! I felt the spirit testifying that this really is his gospel, and that he is at the helm, directing us. He is the source of our happiness. I love him, and I know He loves you.

Love you all!