Sunday, January 11, 2015

Sunday, January 4, 2015

Mini Mission

I had a really cool opportunity to do a "mini mission" with the Sisters in my home ward! 

Here's how it went down: 
They picked me up at 8:45pm on Friday night. 
I went back to their house with them and planned for the next day. 
We went to bed at 10:30
(I barely slept)
I woke up at 6:30am on Saturday
By 8:00am, we were doing our personal scripture study. 
9:00am, we began companionship study. 
10:00am we went spirit tracting and did "missionary stuff"
2:00, we went home to pack because the sisters are moving, and transfers (!!!!) are on Monday. 
5:00, we went to an appointment
6:30, we went to dinner
8:00pm, transfer doctrine!! 
And then at 9:30, they dropped me off at home! 

This experience was insanely awesome. 

First of all, I found out that I totally need earplugs. I thought maybe I could get away without them, but nope, I was oh-so-wrong. 

I also found out that I totally love studying the scriptures. Before I knew it, personal study was finished and it was time to move on to comp study. It's really fascinating how quickly an hour goes by when you are dedicating that time to the Lord. It was also very neat to see all the things I could learn when I had prayed and I was in a dedicated mindset. 

Comp study was quite great because we got to share what we learned in personal study. I was really intimidated to do this because I felt like these Sisters knew way more than I knew. But I discovered that they were reviewing things that I also knew! Not only that, but I learned from them, even though it was just a review. 

Spirit tracting was not at all successful (at least not on a surface level). However, it was very different from the last time I went spirit tracting. The last time I was out with this Sisters, I was terrified to knock on any doors. Loads of doubt filled my mind and the last thing I wanted to do was be at that door. This time, though, I was so filled with love. 

My mission prep instructor from this last semester at UVU often addressed fear. He pointed out the scripture in 1 John 4:18 that explains, "perfect love casteth out all fear." He then explained that pure love means charity, since "charity is the pure love of Christ (Moroni 7:47)." Chapter four of Preach My Gospel (How Do I Recognize and Understand the Spirit?) explains that a true missionary cannot bear the thought of losing a soul. 

So when we were knocking on doors, I prayed that I would be full of charity. That I would feel the pure love that Christ has for each person that would answer. 

We did not have much success in sharing Christ's message, but I learned something very valuable: 

the time that I took to prepare myself in the morning made a complete difference in the love I felt towards God's children. 

This was a new chance for me to understand that study and prayer is essential to God's plan for us. 

Overall, the day was incredible. I searched for miracles, and I believe I found many, but not in the way I expected. 

They aren't kidding when Returned Missionaries say that the days feel like years. Despite Saturday being one of my best days, it was also one of the longest. I was completely exhausted halfway through the day. 

However, when you are diligently doing His work, Heavenly Father provides a way for you to be successful.