Progressing or moving backwards?

Greetings young padawons,

This week was NOTHING compared to last week...

But, it's always a fun time when you're living the good life.

"twinsies!"

Last week we had 8 investigators. 3 were baptized, we had to drop 2 and the other 3 have been investigating forever and aren't progressing. So, this week we were busy trying to find new people to teach. 

It was very difficult. 

We had lots of people tell us very boldly that they want nothing to do with any aspect of the church.

Just last night we were walking around the Ralphs (equivalent to QFC) parking lot trying to finish our OYMs. I only needed one more and there was a lady who had just gotten out of her van. She was definitely trying to avoid us because she waited to get out of her car until she thought we had moved on to the next row...which only makes me want to talk to her more. 

So I approached her with a lot of excitement and let's just say I did not get that same feeling in return...

Our conversation went like this:

"Hi Mam! How are you doing today!?"

Startled, she looked at me, rolled her eyes and said "fine."

"Well, I know you are in a rush (she was trying to get her kid out of a car seat) so I won't take much of your time. We are representatives of Jesus Christ and "

"Yeah. You're Jehovah's Witnesses"

"Oh no we are"

"Seriously? What church are you from?"

"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" 

"Oh, you're Mormon! Even better. Not my favorite."

"Well I am sorry to hear that, do you mind if we just leave you with"

"No, I don't want anything from you people"

And she walked off.... 

That is just one example of how people have been this week. 

It's been a ROUGH one. 

We even went tracting one day, which we haven't done in a long time because I am not the biggest believer in tracting. But, we had 3 referrals from Bishop Loudon on the same street and just decided to knock on every door.

The first man who answered was Michael. I have talked to him 3 times now and he has never been interested, always nice though. This time he actually wanted a blessing! But, not right then of course. He told us to come back next week...not my favorite response.

We knocked on a couple more doors with no answer.  Now, the reason I probably don't believe in tracting is because it's practically impossible to be optimistic when it's beyond humid and 104 degrees, so at this point I was very much over it and just wanted someone to let us in so we could be blessed by the AC. 

Then what-do-you-know...guess what happened next? :)

The nicest lady answered her door and the second we said we were representatives of Jesus Christ she said "Girls, come in right now! It's way too hot for us to even stand with the door open, let alone walking door to door. Can I get you some water?" 

Which, of course in unison we responded with a big happy "yes!"

We sat in her living room with her 13 year old daughter (I think that's how old she is) while she got us some ice cold water. We then offered the blessing, which she gratefully accepted. As we got to know her and her daughter, we soon realized that she was one of the referrals we had received from Bishop. 

As we talked to her about her family and her current situation, we quickly realized that the Loudon family was inspired when they gave us Shannon's address. She could clearly benefit from a blessing and it was the perfect timing too. 

She told us that just the night before she was talking with her daughter about God. We testified that our timing was not a coincidence and that her Savior had some things He wanted to give to her that would come as a result of the blessing.

Sister Anderson left a beautiful blessing. The spirit was so strong and Shannon immediately recognized it. We bore testimony of the love that the Savior has for all of God's children and that we had a unique message that was specifically for her and her family. 

We scheduled another appointment, gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon and left quite happy. She truly was a blessing in every way. 

I know that the timing wasn't only for her, but for us too.

A few days later we stopped by Bishop's house to have him sign some baptismal whites and talk to him about a few of our investigators and less active members. Bishop and his wife opened the door and were very excited to see us. 

Sister Loudon asked if we got any of the seven text messages she sent, which we didn't, and then said 

"Oh girls, I have to show you something!" 

We followed her to the computer and she said "I have to read you this post Shannon wrote on her blog, it's so exciting!" 

I wish I could just copy and paste the post, but it said something like this: 

"The neatest thing happened this week. Monday night we received a delicious plate of cookies from our adorable mormon neighbors the Loudons. That night, Cleone (her daughter) and I talked about God and our beliefs and the beliefs of others. Then the next day three beautiful, happy, sweet sister missionaries from their church knocked on our door and left a blessing with us which included many of you. They taught me a little about their beliefs and I invited them back to our home. I am excited to learn more."

There were so many positive comments...we are excited to see what will happen with her and who she will lead us to next! 

I know everything happens in Heavenly Father's time, but the majority of the time I am prideful and impatient. 

That's where faith and humility come into play. When we forget about ourselves and trust in the Lord, that's when the timing is perfect. That's when we receive blessings and that's when we come one step closer to fulfilling our divine potential.

This past week I have really understood how black and white the Gospel is. Either we are doing what we are supposed to or we aren't. We are never at a stand still...we are either progressing or moving backwards. 

It's so important for us to be striving to do our best because if we aren't, we are going to lose our testimony and our understanding of our purpose here on earth.

I love this gospel. I love this mission. I love all of you.

xoxo

Sister Nelson

PS. Bishop Rowe (the bishop who was released a little bit ago) sent me a 7 page text about the game on Saturday...I don't know if that's allowed, but he is now my best friend. Really sad about what happened in the game though.

PSS. When we ride bikes we try and stay optimistic by saying it could be worse...we could be walking. Well, this week we are discipling ourselves by walking ALL week!! We are taking too many things for granted and so we are trying to humble ourselves.  Pray for us.

"It warms my soul every night when I can see/hear football practice"

"I don't know if you know this but..."

"I could use some more scripture markers...mine are getting pretty low" :)