Like Derek said about his last week, this week was jam-packed with
so many things, I almost can't believe it all fit into one week.
Nancy is doing great! We had a lesson with her on Monday about the
10 commandments, and all on her own she came to the conclusion that we
shouldn't pray in front of a crucifix or work on the Sabbath. She's so
prepared and understands the principles behind all of the commandments
so easily, and then accepts them with a lot of faith and a willing
heart. She's very solid for her baptismal date of October 21st. She's
already very committed to not working on Sundays and she's in a position
where she'll be able to ensure that she has Sundays off, starting in a
couple weeks. It's such a blessing to be able to share the gospel with
her and see the very sincere faith that she's showing as she accepts
it. Thank you for all of your prayers in her behalf! I've felt a
little disappionted because I haven't been able to teach Nancy very many
times up to this point since I've been out of the area on exchanges for
the majority of her lessons. It wasn't planned that way, but it just
happened to work out like that. I might have even been feeling a little
jealous that I couldn't be there to have spiritual experiences with her
and Sis. Osborn and the members during the lessons. But the great
thing is that even if I can't be there for every lesson, we still get to
be a part of each others' lives and the work I'm doing outside of the
area is still the same beautiful work. There are always different
things we sometimes have to give up, even if they're good things, as
part of serving, and I need to learn to appreciate all of the
opportunities and blessings that I have, and not focus on the things I'm
"missing out" on.
We also got to go to the temple this week! It was so wonderful to
go back to the temple and realize the bigger "whys" of the gospel.
Everything we do in the church leads us to the temple and the beautiful
promises and blessings we receive as we make covenants there, and I
think that was made more clear to me this time as we went to the
temple. It was interesting to me that even though I wasn't there with
any of my family members in the temple, I felt close to each of you, and
even to our family members who are on the other side of the veil, as I
thought about the gospel and the plan that Heavenly Father has given us,
and the covenants that literally bind us together. There is no greater
blessing than having those eternal ties. Our bishop talked about the
temple in the 5th Sunday class yesterday, and how those covenants and
ordinances should change the way we see and do everything. Thinking
about those blessings and promises makes everything we do have so much
more significance, even things like going to work or doing the laundry.
Even day-to-day temporal activities help us to be able to focus on
acheiving our eternal spiritual goal of being together as a family
forever. The gospel is true, and the covenants we can make with
Heavenly Father change EVERYTHING. I want to understand that better in
my life and be a better teacher as I talk about covenants with those we
visit. There's no greater joy than drawing closer to Heavenly Father
and leaving the rest of it behind.
On Wednesday I got to go to the Tongan program on exchanges! It
was pretty awesome. :) I thought people were exaggerating when they
talked about how much food they give you... they weren't exaggerating. I
went to a missionary correlation meeting with the ward, and after the
meeting they had a "snack." On my plate, they put a giant chunk of pie
probably 8 inches long, two chicken salad sandwiches on French bread,
and 8 or 9 scones. Then they gave me a big glass of Otai (look it up
and make it! It's soooo good!) and sent us out the door so we could eat
our "snack." My companion that day said, "oh good, they're giving us
light food!" Wow! Another thing that was amazing and not exaggerated
is the singing of the Tongan members. WOW. Even in the lessons we
taught in members' homes, the harmonies and their beautiful voices
floored me. I almost started crying during the opening song at
correlation meeting. So awesome! And it just comes out naturally!
Amazing!
We also got to watch the Relief Society broadcast on Saturday. It
was so great! It's like a sneak-peek of General Conference. I loved
hearing the sisters talk so earnestly and sincerely about the power of
the Atonement. I realized that I need to do more to help others feel of
the depth of the power of the Atonement, whether I'm teaching someone
who's been a member for 30 years or someone who's talking to
missionaries for the very first time.
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