Another month has gone by, and it just keeps jumping faster and faster! This last week I have learned a lot about priorities and expectations. I've also learned about the mercy and justice of the Lord.
First of all, I had a neat privilege of going to a community event called World Religions. All four of us Shreveport sister missionaries got to go be a part of this yearly event that Shreveport and Bossier have been doing for the past 15 years. Different denominations in the community come and have a booth set up where you can see what they believe, talk with them and ask questions, and take any literature they have. There were also treats at many of the tables. :) It went from 1-5 on Sunday. We were able to talk to a lot of people to get a better understanding of what they believe, and to share the gospel. It really strengthened my testimony of what we know to be true. It is so interesting to see how the beliefs of others can be traced back to the core doctrines of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Sister Benjamin and Sister Valdez were even interviewed on the news for it. It was really neat, and I'm so grateful for that opportunity we had. I'll send a picture. :)
We had to take our car into the shop on Tuesday morning for some exterior repairs, and will be without it until probably next Monday. This has brought up some new challenges and brought about more stress than usual as we have tried to find members who can give us rides and coordinate with the other sisters so all of us can have rides when we need them. Things kind of built up from some other stresses that were going on (just normal missionary challenges of scheduling and communicating) and Sister Benjamin and I kind of had a melt down Wednesday morning right before District Meeting. I was asked to say the opening prayer and as I prayed from the deepness of my heart, I shed some tears. I asked that this District Meeting would be motivating and uplifting, and that we would all come together and be a support for each other. I was really hoping that the Elders wouldn't notice my tears, but I just kept praying from the heart. I really wanted help from my Father.
The District Meeting was the start of a flow of comfort from our Heavenly Father. It was what we needed. What followed was even more answers to our prayers. We needed a ride to get out to a part of our area that is about 4-5 miles away from our apartment. We couldn't find anyone who could; however, through all of those phone calls we got rides that we needed for the next two days, including an early morning ride to transfer point in Bossier at 5:15 this morning. It was amazing. It was seriously like the Lord had done some inception because a couple of members thought that they were going out with us at a time that we hadn't previously set up, but was exactly what we needed! The Lord made it so that the things we didn't need to do that day just didn't work out. They "fell out" of our schedule. We ended up only going out of the apartment for a few hours with a member to visit two less actives. The rest of the afternoon and evening we stayed inside and did paper work and phone calls. It was exactly what we needed to re-energize, re-motivate, and get cought up on some teaching records that we were behind on. It was a miracle day.
I am learning more of what the Lord meant when he said, "it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength," but it is "expedient that he should be diligent." (Mosiah 4:27) It's a tricky balance to learn, but I do know that when we try to be dilligent, the Lord will make things work for our good.
I know that our Heavenly Father lives and loves us. His son - our brother - Jesus Christ, is real and wants us to follow Him so that He can help us. Accepting the help of our Savior to make changes in our lives and in ourselves is repentance. It is good and happy. :)
I love you all so much! I hope all is going well! Press on and remember who you are - a child of God! May THE force be with you!
Love,
Sister Jones :)
P.S. I talked with Sister Walker on the phone yesterday, and [someone I taught] in my last area got baptized last Saturday!! I don't know how much I talked about him, but he called us his angels. We found him tracting on Oct. 12th and kept going by to see him, even though he was very hesitant the first month and a half. A returning member in the Florence ward, Brother Newell got to baptize him. Brother Newell's wife and daughter were baptized last April, and he came back to church. I love them! They had [this investigator] over for some lessons after I left, and that's when [he] really picked up and just was on fire. Oh what a sweet thing to hear!! I was so happy! And I found out that another [man] we taught has accepted to be baptized and has a date for February 15th! Sister Valdez will get to finish teaching him with Sister Creager. I'm so happy for him and for Sister Valde, because she hasn't had a baptism yet and has been out 6 months. Oh how I love this work!!!
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