So this week was both long and short. Its true when they say that the days feel like weeks and the weeks feel like days. I have learned a lot this week. We had zone meeting on Tuesday and it was so wonderful. A spiritual high. There is so much I can improve on and sometimes it is overwhelming but I know that I just need to have the faith that Heavenly Father is molding and sculpting me into the best Sister Kasteler I can be. Sister Beacham and I decided we need to work on gaining the Lord's trust and having faith in him. Then the miracles will come.
Love bugs. They are crazy. There are so many all the time. We are having an issue with bugs in out apartment. It's a pretty new apartment but there are tons bugs. Some of the members have said that they have never seen the love bugs this bad before. When we walk up to our car they are all over our car and flying all around. On Friday we were driving and it literally sounded like rain on our windshield. Was it raining? Nope. It was love bugs be smashed on our windshield. Gross. I guess it could be worse. At least they don't bite or sting or anything like that. They just fly around...being all lovey dovey all over the place. (If you know what I mean.)
I had a really neat experience at a member's house on Thursday. She was feeding us dinner and right as we were about to leave she got a call from her husband giving her some bad news. She was very emotional and we expressed our love for her and her family. She asked us to pray for her. We said that we would. At that moment I thought about how often people ask us as missionaries to pray for them. I also had the thought that whether people realize it or not, the recognize that we are very close to the spirit. I know that God answers prayers and especially those of His faithful missionaries. I felt God's love for me and also for this sweet member so strong at that moment. I know that God is proud of me as one of his missionaries.
My companion was called this week to be a Facebook missionary. We will be spending an hour on the computer each day. For right now we will be going through the training to be a Facebook missionary. I am so excited to see how missionary work works on Facebook and how much we can accomplish.
We taught the Restoration on Friday to a lady named Ashley. The elders found her through street contacting and she is really interested in learning more about the gospel. During this lesson Sister Beacham and I were completely led by the spirit to know what to say. We came out of the lesson feeling so great. The spirit was the teacher and it was wonderful. I know that it is so important to teach by the spirit. I don't really know these people. But Heavenly Father does and he knows how to touch their heart. I am merely and instrument in His hands. I need to work even more on teaching by the spirit because I can't be an effective teacher if I don't.
Something else I am working on is getting to know the area better. Our area is really big and mostly spread out. The elders in our ward are on bikes so they take the more concentrated area that is closer to their apartment which means that we do a bunch of driving. I am starting to feel like I know the area a little bit better.
Missionary work is tiring but I am loving it. I love testifying of my Savior Jesus Christ every day. It makes me sad when people shut doors in our face, not because a door got shut in my face, but because they need the gospel of Jesus Christ in their lives. They don't know what they are missing. They need to know that Heavenly Father loves them and has provided the Book of Mormon for them. They need to know that the priesthood has been restored to the earth and that there is a living prophet to lead and guide us today. I know that this church is true. Oh how grateful I am to have it a part of my life. I love my savior Jesus Christ and know that he lived and died for me. A lady shared a parable in stake conference yesterday that I really liked. She called it the parable of the power line. She was having a problem at her house where the lights were working but the water, stove, and air conditioning weren't working. And even the lights were dimmer than usual. They tried many solutions to fix the problem and finally called the power company to investigate. They found that one of the power lines to their house had been chewed on by some squirrels. They were still getting some power but they were unable to access the full power. How often do we think that the Atonement is just to forgive us of our sins? There we are receiving some power from the atonement but we aren't accessing the full power of the Atonement. I know that the Atonement covers everything. Not just our sins. We must use the atonement in everything that we do. We must learn to access the full power and strength of the Atonement. I am so grateful for the Atonement and the strength it gives me everyday. I can't really comprehend it but I know that through my savior I can receive strength. I can be molded and shaped into the person he knows I can become. I can live with my family forever. I can be forgiven of my sins. I can come closer to God and become more like Christ. The Atonement is Beautiful.
Always,
Sister Lauren Kasteler
No comments:
Post a Comment