Friends and Family,
What a marvelous and wonderful week it has been. Every week that goes by, my love for being a missionary just expands. It's definitely December...with snow, cold weather, and putting on many layers but the gospel still can bring light and truth despite the weather.
Sister Alius and I had an experience our first day back together that I never shared. In Powell, we grew very close to a family. One night in February we all decided to drop off a pan at the members home that they had lend to us (at this time we were in a trio with our lovely Sister Scott❤️). Brother and Sister M weren't home but there son Josh answered the door. Josh was inactive and we didn't really know him but we got to know him while we stood there. Without realizing, we had transitioned into how much our Father in Heaven and Savior love us. He shared a really personal story from his past that showed him that Christ was there for him. Without thinking about it, we simply invited him to church and to partake of the sacrament. He then said, "You know, I was just eating dinner and thinking about how I needed to go to church again." We didn't know Josh was home, we didn't even plan to talk to him but our Father in Heaven knew we would be at the home and knew that we would help build his faith. Sunday came and it was the most precious experience to watch Josh walk into church with his dad. My heart was filled with so much joy to be able to see his dad's eyes fill with tears and love that his son was at church. I can't imagine the joy that our Father in Heaven had to see his son, Josh makes steps of faith and change to come to church. So from there we would teach Josh every Monday night and it continued while I trained Sister Birchett and even continued after I was transferred. Well, flash forward to December 1st as Sister Alius and I were about to leave transfers, we saw Brother M walking up to the temple. With tears in his eyes Brother M, shared that Josh was still progressing and now paying his tithing. What a tender mercy to hear.
We read 3 Nephi 11 together as a zone at Zone Training Meeting and it was very powerful. The spirit was so strong and hearing the missionaries bare testimony was a sacred opportunity. I feel so privileged to stand side by side with these Warriors and Servants of Christ as we proclaim simple truths.
A is doing well. We had two great lessons with him in members homes. Tuesday we shared the Light The World video with him while we taught service. We asked him how he would have felt if he was there experiencing those miracles like those who walked with Christ. With tears in his eyes he said, "in a way, I already have." The spirit was so strong. For awhile A was atheist but with personal experiences he has come to believe in God and the Savior. Isn't it wonderful that we too can experience miracles in our lives just like those of old? Saturday we had a lesson at the Bishop’s home and A said he had some questions but bishop answered them through his testimony. It was SO cool.
We had dinner at our ward mission leaders home yesterday. It was awesome, him and his wife both are return missionaries. In fact, his wife is a convert and was found on OSU campus. (To all my OSU campus missionary friends, keep up the good work! You truly are making a difference). At the end of dinner we asked who we could share the Light The World video with and they invited us to share it with their neighbor K. We went over without any hesitation and K let us right in. We came to discover that her ancestors were pioneers, members of the church, missionaries, and even her great great grandfathers son served as a mission present over the North German Mission for the church. The same simple truths, the Book of Mormon that we were sharing with her....was the same message her ancestors were sharing with others years ago. We could feel the presence of her ancestors in that room with us and it was such a powerful experience. We are excited to share more with K. This experience truly was a testimony to me that the work we do is true and that the individuals on the other side of the veil are very involved.
Family and friends, I know how true this gospel is. I know the light and joy it brings. We each can find our purpose on this earth as we turn to the Savior, understand His gospel, and LIVE His gospel. There is power in righteous doing. The Book of Mormon is true. Jesus Christ lives. I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. Until next Monday. Thanks for all the love and support!
XOXO-
Sister Detamore
Recent Convert, Erika. We love her.
Harriet Malone. Our dear 101 1/2 yr old best friend.
Zone Pic #LightTheWorld
YWs of our ward. We taught them yesterday.
No comments:
Post a Comment