So I was sick. While I was sick, I had a dream where I was telling someone else how to get unsick. When I woke up, I followed my own advice and started recovering pretty quickly. I finished the night with a workout at our gym and then felt 90 percent better than I did yesterday. Then the rest of the week, I was pretty much good to go, with the exception of some congestion. Neat.
The family that we have been teaching had just kept growing and growing in the gospel. This time around, we brought a woman fellowship to help teach, and they really kicked it off with her, especially since she has kids their age. We taught them about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which we sum up with faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. The Dad was totally down to be baptized and said he would have all his kids come, too. This was the mom's second lesson, and so her testimony hasn't grown as much. She says that she will be baptized, but she wants to wait and learn a little bit more. When the lesson was almost done, their 15 year old son decided to stop playing minecraft in his room and shimmied down to join us, saying something to the effect of, "I don't really know what you guys have been doing, but my family had been getting better and better since you two started showing up, and I want to be a part of it, too." Wow! Now there are only two people left of the family to join in. It's been a pleasure seeing them blossom in the gospel and love for one another.
I got to go on a companion exchange with a pretty great guy this week. It was a whole lot of fun. I've found a lot of joy in going out and doing work with someone who can support me in testifying. We managed to pick up two new investigators that day. It was as if we had been companions for weeks! We went around with major power, testifying and working hard. It was so neat finding one family who was really dedicated to their religion. I told them that their love for one another was evident, and our church would enable their family relationship to perpetuate beyond the grave. They politely declined, so I said, "that's not good enough. I testify that through the church of Jesus Christ, your family can be sealed together forever, not just until death do you part." The wife hesitated hard core and then turned us down again. We continued talking and we learned that she believes in revelation. I testified yet again that this is the way for her family to be together forever, and inviting us over would be the first step to making it happen. She hesitated again! I asked her to pray, because I knew God loved her and her family, and he would tell her what she needed to do, then left her with our phone number. The spirit was undeniable. I'll be kind of bummed if she never reaches out to us, but I know that we made a good friend that day and we have done our part. Now it's up to her to accept or reject the two Angels God sent her way. (The Bible Dictionary says an angel is a messenger from God)
We had zone conference this week. It's always fun getting to see my buddies and exchange punches. It hurts to see with each conference more of my friends have finished their missions and I might not see them again, but I'm glad I got to know them. Anyhow, this was quite an influential zone conference for me. I learned a lot about persuasion and God's love for us. A well known scripture was shared to us which in my own words says, "you shouldn't ever use your position or power to make people do what you want. You should only try to persuade through your love and your actions." The zone conference continued on with a theme that these truly are the last days, and we can no longer be passive. We shouldn't say, "oh, ok". When people hit you with the all too common "I'm not interested". After all, the Savior and Redeemer of the world suffered everything and rose from the dead this week 2000 year ago so that these people could repent and come unto Him. Christ never yelled at people for not following him. He'd perhaps lament, "how oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chicks", but He wouldn't force anyone to follow Him. However, He wouldn't just take a "no" either. He would try and persuade everyone with his love and His patience to follow Him. So now, that's what I am trying to do. There's no more passive Elder Ruth. These are the last days, and there also isn't a crap ton of time for my mission, either. I've got almost 4 months left, boys.
So that's just about it for shareable material this week. Oh, in other news, I successfully ate 4 California sushi rolls. It may not have been easy, but anyone who knew my history with sushi would be shocked.
 |
| Thou art a true friend unto my son, Nephi. 2Ne1:30 |
 |
| Talking to our Moms on P-Day! |
No comments:
Post a Comment