Dear Family,
Are
you tired of hearing from me yet? Whenever I sit down to the computer I never
think about the entertainment level of my emails. Are you bored out of your
mind?
Well
I'm not! I love President Uchtdorf's message about "always being in the
middle." People from the ward ask me all the time how long I have been out
and I honestly never know the answer. I work as hard as I did on day one.
(Hopefully Harder) I have grown so close to the people here in this ward and
although I have been here for quite some time...I don't think I am quite done
yet. I can't explain the feeling but I'm almost certain that big things are to
come and, if I am so
blessed, I
will be allowed to stay here to witness them.
This
past weekend we had the joy of witnessing three baptisms! Hailee and Lexie's
went so well. We had to setup more chairs last minute for all the people that
came. It was such a wonderful expression of love to look out at so many faces
that had been apart of this family’s journey. The kids from primary sang,
"When I am Baptized," and Hailee ran up there last minute to finish
the second verse. Their grandpa baptized them. As he stood in the water and
raised his hand I felt an
overwhelming
feeling of peace come over me. We have worked with this
family for
sooooooo long and have seen them progress and the feelings of love that was
present are indescribable. I know that the Lord loves His children. He loves
them and
wants so badly for them to just take those small steps in His direction. It is
NEVER too late! There are too many incredible experiences to describe but one
of the most tender was speaking with Erin's (Hailee & Lexie's Step-Mom) Dad
privately before the confirmation on Sunday. He pulled me aside and told me
that we (the missionaries) had been an answer to years of heartfelt prayers. Tears
filled his eyes as he expressed that God truly does answer our prayers through
the
mouths of his
servants. Tears filled mine as well as I thought of the gratitude I have to be
one of those servants. At times I wonder how I could possibly be worthy of such
a privilege but nonetheless, I am grateful.
THEN
we had Martin’s baptism on Saturday. Two days before his baptism I was on
exchanges with my Trainer, Sister Adamson. (That was weird by the way, being
the exchange sister for my Trainer...) But serving together for a day was
probably one of the most spirit-packed experiences I have had on my mission.
Really though. It is such incredible thing to fully trust in your companion to
follow the guidance of the spirit. As we taught, our love for the people was so
apparent. It was POWERFUL. I am again reminded of how grateful I am to have had
such an incredible Trainer. It was bittersweet because I wondered what it would
be like to serve with her again. But anyways...we had a lesson with Martin in
which we invited him to make a list of things he wants to "leave
behind." The lesson was so powerful and you could see in his face his
desire to be forgiven, to move on
from his old
life and start anew. As he entered into the baptisimal font, Brother Heaps (our
ward mission leader), noticed something crumpled in his hand and asked if he
wanted him to take it from him. Martin then replied, "these are the things
I want to leave behind so I want them to go into the water with me." He is
such a sweet man and has come from such a hard background. To see Martin get
baptized after only meeting him a little over a month ago...was incredible. I
have a
testimony of the simplicity of the Spirit. I know that He speaks to those that will
listen. I know that if we seek Him out, we will find Him.
Thank
you guys sooooooooo much for all you do. I love you to death and LOVE all of
the Birthday presents. MAN was I spoiled this year. Okay maybe I'm just becoming
a softy now but.... the pillowcase totally made me cry. I just miss our ward
soooo much. Sometimes I think
about what it would be like to serve as a missionary in the Twelve Oaks 1st
Ward. To eat with the members and serve with
our Priesthood.
We have incredible people in our ward. The work would
EXPLODE! I
love you all thanks again for all your love and care. This is the true church
and our diligence and patience and love pay off if we recognize all the many
blessings our Heavenly Father sends us!
I LOVE YOU!,
OFA 'ATU!,
Sister
Mitchell
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