Hello Family & Friends!!!!!!!
I miss you all SO much! This has been a trying week! But I am grateful that my Heavenly Father has helped me prepare for everything that has been placed in my path. I have truly seen Heavenly Father's hand helping me through each stumbling block.
In my last email I told you about Monday and Tuesday...
Monday we spent in the ER.
Tuesday we were home all day.
Well, Wednesday we had district meeting and I gave a 30 minute training! It was sure fun! I love training the other missionaries! I learn so much! I trained on our "Balanced Missionary Day" which consists of four parts..
"Missionaries Finding" - HOW: by talking to everyone we see, serving, visiting potential investigators, and former investigators
"Helping Members Find" - HOW: by sharing the "Willing & Brief", the Book of Mormon Challenge
"Member Present Lessons" - HOW: having members out with you all the time - using a variety of tools to do so
"The Rescue" - HOW: using an action list, visiting members monthly
I shared a quote which I just love found in this months Ensign by Elder Davids A. Bednar, of the quorum of the twelve apostles, he says,
"We properly pray for the safety and success of the full-time missionaries throughout the world. And a common element in many of our prayers is a request that the missionaries will be led to individuals and families who are prepared to receive the message of the Restoration. But ultimately it is my responsibility and your responsibility to find people for the missionaries to teach. Missionaries are full-time teachers; you and I are full-time finders. And you and I as lifelong missionaries should not be praying for the full-time missionaries to do our work! If you and I would truly pray and ask in faith, as did Joseph Smith—if we would pray with the expectation to act and not just to express—then the work of proclaiming the gospel would move forward in a remarkable way."
It really was a great district meeting! Afterwards we had a lesson with Lou! We talked about prayer and he prayed for the first time with us! It was short and sweet! But the Spirit was SO strong!! I love being a missionary! Later on we saw Jenny, it is so hit or miss with her! She is always so excited when we come by, but then she isn't there when we set up appointments and it is really hard to teach her when we don't see her consistently! Her family is so ready for the gospel, but they just need to be more committed!
Thursday we had exchanges!! I was with Sister Hope in her area here in Boulder City! It is like another world! Their area has SO many trailer parks and apartments. Our area has just little house that were built when the Dam was being built. Sister Hope opened up to me about somethings going on and we had to meet with President and Sister Neider at the Mission Office. We discussed many things which I can't include here. Our companions had to drive down to the Mission Office and meet with President and Sister Neider as well! It was very awkward for all four of us and really a hard thing to do. But I know that our loyalty is first to the Lord, then to the Mission President, and then to our Companions. I was so grateful that President and Sister Neider talked with us all about some challenges and concerns that were occurring in our areas. After Sister Hope and I left President's office, we had Bishop Taggard with us for an hour! It was awesome! He is just very easy going! We saw our investigator Brandi, whom we can never seem to see anymore, and said a prayer with her! It was great! Then we saw Caitlyn and her Less Active mom, Lisa! We talked outside with Lisa for about 15 minutes. Bishop invited them to church and to have Tev, Lisa's husband, call Bishop about being a Scout Leader or coming to help at Girl's Camp! Tev seemed to be interested in those things even though he hasn't been to church yet! It is pretty exciting!
Friday we were in Vegas from 10am-8pm at 4 different doctor's offices, doing so many tests, scheduling appointments. It was really a tiring day! We were able to go to President Richardson's home for dinner and spend sometime there while the medical advisor, President Richardson's mom, was working with Sister Barth. It was a very interesting day.
Saturday we drove back down to Vegas for even more tests. I don't know how many more tests they can possibly do! When we finally got back to Boulder City we went to the High Priest Group Social with all the old people in our ward. It was fun to socialize with them we played a game where everyone wrote down 5 things that no one knows about them and then we had to guess who it was about. It was pretty cool to hear all of their stories! I really do love the nearly dead people here in the Black Canyon Ward.
Sunday we had a great Fast and Testimony Meeting. Bishop Taggard read this quote to the congregation at our request,
"We properly pray for the safety and success of the full-time missionaries throughout the world. And a common element in many of our prayers is a request that the missionaries will be led to individuals and families who are prepared to receive the message of the Restoration. But ultimately it is my responsibility and your responsibility to find people for the missionaries to teach. Missionaries are full-time teachers; you and I are full-time finders. And you and I as lifelong missionaries should not be praying for the full-time missionaries to do our work! If you and I would truly pray and ask in faith, as did Joseph Smith—if we would pray with the expectation to act and not just to express—then the work of proclaiming the gospel would move forward in a remarkable way."
It really is my favorite! And many members shared their testimonies of sharing the gospel! We can really see that things are changing here! We are bridging the gap between members and missionaries!! Sister Bath and I taught the Young Men during the third hour. It started off with a bang! Everyone was seated in this room upstairs and I was walking/hurrying up the stairs, which our at 90 degree angle, for real! and as I was almost at the top I tripped! My hands were full of things and I went face down! It was SO embarrassing! I scrapped up my knee! Oh it was bad!! But after that spill we had a great lesson! We did a mini District Meeting with them! We talked about how they can help us with our balanced missionary day and then we role played the "Willing and Brief Invitation" with them! they were siting in two rows facing each other, they would extend the invitation and testify, then we had one row slide down and switch people! It was SO fun and the Spirit was SO strong!! I love working with the youth! They remind me so much of my little brother and sister!!! After church we went to see a less active family, the Smyth's! They said they would like to go to the Why I Believe fireside next week and are planning on taking us as well! I just love them!!!
Later today Sister Barth will have another test called the Hida Scan, for her gallbladder! Hopefully from this test we will know how to help her! Right now she is on a Gluten Free and Dairy Free diet!! I feel so bad for her! I sure hope that we can find some answers!!
I hope you all have a great week! I wanted to attach one of my favorite quotes about the Book of Mormon,
"For 179 years this book has been examined and attacked, denied and deconstructed, targeted and torn apart like perhaps no other book in modern religious history—perhaps like no other book in any religious history. In this I stand with my own great-grandfather, who said simply enough, “No wicked man could write such a book as this; and no good man would write it, unless it were true and he were commanded of God to do so.”" -Elder Jeffery R. Holland
I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God! I know that it has brought me much peace and answers! I know that it can do the same for you! Keep the Faith! I know that this road can seem long and hard! But I know that we can make it through hard things! You, me and the Lord! Love you and miss you!!
Love,
Sister Davis
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