There are some weeks that just blast by. This is not one of them. Just kidding, it was.
So I'm bored out of my mind sometimes in this city. Amsterdam just had so much going on and we could do different kinds of contacting whenever we wanted. Now, it's just knocking doors pretty exclusively. And it's not Amsterdam. But the ward really is awesome and I'm having a good time still! I've got a fun district, dedicated companion, it's fun being a district leader's companion, etc.
So this week, we had our investigator Johanna in church. She's from Bulgaria, has a super rough background and difficult situations that she's in, but she LOVES the Gospel and just keeps thanking us all the time for bringing the Spirit to her. So she'll probably be baptized relatively soon. She's going on vacation this week for 20 days back to Bulgaria, but she says she wants to go to church while she's there. Awesome. The ward really helped her out, and she opened up a lot.
We also had a super powerful district meeting this week where my companion chose a few people (a few days beforehand) to present particular experiences that had helped them in recognizing what it means to be a successful missionary, then their companions would prepare an activity for all of us to do. Basically, it all turned into a huge testimony meeting on sterroids and the Spirit was so strong! It really was like going to EFY again.
So this week I felt like I should be bringing the Spirit back more into my emails and also I've been reflecting back a lot on how I've become who I am. I feel like telling you all (family members) individually just super short what you've done for me spiritually. First, I still always remember when Dad explained to us when I was little how sometimes he waits for several minutes or so after praying so that he can show God he's open to waiting for answers. Mom has always been strong, dragging me to church, even if no one else wanted to go either. Also, to both of you for giving all of us kids so many choices after providing counsel. Love you guys =) Carly helped me to realize how important and powerful the scriptures were when she used to invite me to come read them with her each night. One of the big reasons I'm on my mission is probably because I saw the change in Chris after his mission, not to say he was horrible before or anything =) Jason inspired me when he baptized Hailee and Zach and seeing how happy they all were those days as a family! And Angie for always bearing her testimony of Heavenly Father's love and the power of prayer, especially when our family was going through really hard times.
Sorry if that makes any of you feel awkward, but I'm ashamed of myself for not telling you most of these things sooner! I love you guys a lot and hope this week is awesome!
So I'm bored out of my mind sometimes in this city. Amsterdam just had so much going on and we could do different kinds of contacting whenever we wanted. Now, it's just knocking doors pretty exclusively. And it's not Amsterdam. But the ward really is awesome and I'm having a good time still! I've got a fun district, dedicated companion, it's fun being a district leader's companion, etc.
So this week, we had our investigator Johanna in church. She's from Bulgaria, has a super rough background and difficult situations that she's in, but she LOVES the Gospel and just keeps thanking us all the time for bringing the Spirit to her. So she'll probably be baptized relatively soon. She's going on vacation this week for 20 days back to Bulgaria, but she says she wants to go to church while she's there. Awesome. The ward really helped her out, and she opened up a lot.
We also had a super powerful district meeting this week where my companion chose a few people (a few days beforehand) to present particular experiences that had helped them in recognizing what it means to be a successful missionary, then their companions would prepare an activity for all of us to do. Basically, it all turned into a huge testimony meeting on sterroids and the Spirit was so strong! It really was like going to EFY again.
So this week I felt like I should be bringing the Spirit back more into my emails and also I've been reflecting back a lot on how I've become who I am. I feel like telling you all (family members) individually just super short what you've done for me spiritually. First, I still always remember when Dad explained to us when I was little how sometimes he waits for several minutes or so after praying so that he can show God he's open to waiting for answers. Mom has always been strong, dragging me to church, even if no one else wanted to go either. Also, to both of you for giving all of us kids so many choices after providing counsel. Love you guys =) Carly helped me to realize how important and powerful the scriptures were when she used to invite me to come read them with her each night. One of the big reasons I'm on my mission is probably because I saw the change in Chris after his mission, not to say he was horrible before or anything =) Jason inspired me when he baptized Hailee and Zach and seeing how happy they all were those days as a family! And Angie for always bearing her testimony of Heavenly Father's love and the power of prayer, especially when our family was going through really hard times.
Sorry if that makes any of you feel awkward, but I'm ashamed of myself for not telling you most of these things sooner! I love you guys a lot and hope this week is awesome!