I hope ya'll enjoyed your New Year celebrations and the rest of Christmas break. Our ward luau went really well! Us sisters and the young women did a hula dance (a woman in our ward is from Hawaii) and the elders and some of the men did the haka. There were some other musical numbers as well and a lot of good food! Including 30 chickens, a lot of rice and pasta, and a real, full-sized, cooked pig. Yes, some members in the ward (from New Zealand and the Philippines) cooked a real pig. It all tasted really good, and we got tons of members and some non-members out! I met some new people, and Sister Benjamin found a part-member couple who was willing to have us over! It was a success.
This last week we did a lot of walking, but thankfully the weather hasn't been too bad. There have been some cold winds (like today), but overall it's been dry and the sun has shone. The border of our area with the other sisters' area also changed this last week, so Sister Benjamin and I now have a smaller area, and we now live about 3 miles from the border of our area....sound familiar? Haha I'm now in almost the exact same situation as I was in Florence - 4 sisters in an apartment, area is 3-4 miles away, and you share a car. The biggest difference is that our area here in Shreveport is a LOT smaller than in Florence. It's good though! It means we are able to focus our work more because there is not as much to cover.
Fun moment of the week! Actually two! One, we ate at a fast-food chicken place called Church's. Yup! I tell ya, the South loves church. :) Actually it's named after a guy with the last name Church, but I thought it was kind of ironic. Two, Sister Benjamin cut my hair! Don't worry, it was only a trim and some layers, but it was a monumental moment for me because I can't remmber anyone else cutting my hair besides my dear aunt Lynette. (Thank you Lynette for all of your years of service!) Sister Benjamin did a good job! It really doesn't look too different, but I decided to take the opportunity to have it trimmed and touched up while I had a companion who does hair. Sister Sellers in the apartment actually does hair too! It's kind of fun because we get to see them cut elders' hair on p-days, plus they get to cut out hair. :)Yesterday [our investigator that was baptized last Sunday] was confirmed and given the gift of the Holy Ghost. It was good. :) I loved seeing people reach out to him in fellowship. That's the best, when the members embrace the new people you bring to church - the people you have worked so hard to help come to church and then into the gospel. We did a lot of tracting and trying to find this last week, because we don't have anyone who is currently progressing now that [the latest investigator was] baptized. Those times can feel long, but we were blessed yesterday to find someone who I feel will be receptive! . . . We were on a less-active hunt to find members who havnn't come to church in a long time. At one house no one answered and it looked kind of abandoned/vacant (actually at almost all of them no one answered and the house looked abandoned haha). We had noticed that a man was sitting in a chair outside next door, so we decided we would talk to him. When we came around the less-actives house though, he wasn't there. We decided to knock anyways and met [this man]. I felt bad because there was a piercing cold wind blowing and we couldn't go inside since there wasn't another woman in the house (no one else was there), so we stood on his door step talking with him. The wind didn't seem to bother him though, as we talked. He seemed genuinely interested in what we were saying and sincerely thought about the questions we asked him. He was waiting for some people from another church who were coming to help him move that day (probably why he came outside and sat on his porch after we drove up). By the end of the day he would be moved out. We talked about faith and read from the Bible in James 2:17-19, and the Book of Mormon in Alma 32:21. We asked if he would like a Book of Mormon and he accepted! He said his brother-in-law was a Mormon and had talked about the book a little bit. Nice! We also said that we would love to talk with him more about some questions he said he'd been having, and he accepted that invitation and we set up a time for later this week. It was a miracle for me. I have been praying and fasting to find someone, and to find a family, and I feel that he will be one that is open and ready to accept the gospel. I pray he will remain open. :)
This week I have also been blessed with answers to my prayers about my district. I have been pondering about how we could strengthen our district to become even stronger in unity and in the power of our calling. Answers have been flowing. One of them came yesterday as I was reading in Alma 43. A great vision of all of us fighting side by side in an epic battle came to mind as I read through this chapter. Here is a summary of what I felt as I read:
Alma 43 describes the first battle with captain Moroni and Lehi vs. the Lamanites. It talks about Captain Moroni (President McDonough) dividing his army into the East, South, West, and North (us for companionships in Shreveport) so that he could fight the Lamanites (enemy) by strategem. It talks about the army of Moroni (missionaries) being protected by head-plates (hope of salvation = saving ordinances), breastplates (righteousness), and armshields (faith - look to Ephesians 6:11-17). It talks about what motivated the Nephites (missionaries) to battle, even when the Lamanites (enemy) fought with more strength and courage than ever before, even like dragons. In fact, the Lamanites (enemy) fought so hard that they did smite in two many of the Nephites (missionaries) head-plates, pierce many of their breastplates (righteousness), and smite off many of their arms (faith). Nevertheless, the Nephites (missionaries) were inspired by a better cause. And when the Nephites (missionaries) were about to flee because of the fierceness of the Lamanites (enemy), Moroni (President McDonough) inspired them with these thoughts: their lands (areas), their liberty, and their freedom from bondage (spiritual bondage, which Christ freed them from through His atonement and by their repentance). So as they thought about what Christ had done for them, the Nephites (missionaries) cried to the Lord their God with one voice for thier liberty and freedom from bondage (repentance through the atonement). In the moment they did that, they were able to stand with power - the power of the Lord - and the Lamanites (enemy) fled from them.
This image really hit me. All of the symbolism just started pouring out of the pages and into my heart and mind. Scriptures kept popping in my head as to tell how this related to me and our district. We are fighting in the last times, the last battles, before the Savior comes again. Satan is fighting with more strength and courage than ever before, to the point where many are falling from spiritual wounds and weakness. Nevertheless, we can prevail and stand with power if we will remember our Savior Jesus Christ and His saving and freeing atonement, and choose to repent so that we might have liberty and eternal life (2 Nephi 2:27). This will strengthen us.
I love this gospel. I know that it is true and that we are in the last times when we NEED to live it to the fullest. It is so important that we keep our faith strong, our righteousness increasing, and our covenants valid by doing our part. I would strongly encourage all of you to read this chapter for yourself and search for how it applies to you right now. I know that you will find answers as you study and pray over the next week. You can do it, and I know the Lord will strengthen you for it.
I love you all so much! Strengthen your faith, remember the Lord, and increase your righteousness, and THE force will be with you - always! (Moroni 4:3)
This is after the hair cut, and in our matching scarves and raincoats. Sister Benjamin brought her raincoat with her, and I got my raincoat from my Mom for Christmas! Funny that they are the exact same! And our scarves are from Sister Benjamin's Mom. Thank you Moms! :)
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