Following the Spirit

Dear Family,

         This week was one filled with some exciting news and some heart breaking letdowns. The young man we found tracting is doing incredibly well! He has committed to baptism and we have a lesson setup with him right after we leave here. He is such an amazing young man. Unfortunately for us, we won’t be able to teach him much longer. We have a Young Adult ward here and so he will need to be taught my the Elders that are in that ward. But I am so grateful to have met such an incredible person and to have been a small part of that huge change he is making in his life. Another one of our investigators is a  mom of two. She is married and has seen her fair share of difficulties in her life but despite them has created such a beautiful life for her family. She loves the Lord and tries her best to consistently follow Him in her life. Upon meeting her I was SURE that she was one of those people that was "searching." The questions she asked and all of the many things she has wondered in her lifetime are answered in the gospel. Lately she even mentioned how baptism had been something that was weighing on her mind a lot. It’s incredible to see the way that the Spirit works with people but how rarely they recognize the answers they receive. Her husband is not nearly as interested in having

us in the home as she is. Overtime there have been moments where the

Spirit is so strong and even prayers in which she has said that she,"Knows these Sisters have been sent by God." She has not however, been to church. We took her on a chapel tour this past week to show her the building and to help her to be familiar with our Sunday service so she knows what to expect. We invited her to come and the response was no. After much prayer and thought...it’s been made clear that we should no longer be meeting with her. After having so many spiritual experiences and praying for her countless nights....it seems unfathomable to me that we would just "give up." But it has been made very clear to me this week that we are not to let our OWN thoughts and desires get in the way of God and His will. It’s difficult at times to distinguish between the two and I feel like I am still learning. (And will be for the rest of my life) But I have trust that all will work out. We will be having our last lesson with her this week. I'm sure a little piece of me will die inside but I know we are doing the right

thing. She is just not in the right state of mind right now to seek out truth. She feels the spirit. She knows that God loves her. But she is comfortable and afraid to leave the bounds of  her comfortable space. I wish I knew a better way to let people know the peace and comfort that is waiting for them. Why are we so persistent? Because we care so deeply and want so badly to help them to feel that peace and forgiveness in their lives. So it was a rough week. But after hearing from Elder Cardon last week talk about the spirit, I knew there were some improvements I needed to make. Elder Cardon asked us to all come prepared with a talk on, "What I have come to understand better about the workings of the spirit from my mission experience." It took a lot of thought to narrow it down. But for me, the two biggest things are one; we must experiment. No matter how little we think our faith is or whether or not we are "sure" that we believe. We must do it! We must experiment. If we do not heed Alma's advice and experiment upon the word, we will never know. The second is to be humble. The more humble I am, the stronger the whisperings of the Spirit are and the easier I recognize them. I love you guys sooooooooo much! Thanks for all the help with Sister Rupp's Birthday! I am so excited!

Love,

Sister Mitchell