Another great week has passed here in the mission field. The weather has been fairly reasonable and I am enjoying the time we spend with people, outdoors and traveling. There is always work to be done, and I am happy to help out.
This week we had zone conference (meaning we met together with about half the mission and got trained on some various ideas). The messages focused on the 2012 Mission Plan, Quality Gospel Conversations (QGCs) and a sense of urgency/desire to work (focusing on understanding the atonement and charity). While those each of those were fabulous presentations, it was not any of these messages that stood out to me most predominately. Sitting in the Chorley chapel for six hours caused me to recognize the importance of applying our heart to the work. Before I left for my mission, my father gave me a blessing. In the blessing, it said that I would "commit the scriptures to heart." I will admit this phrase always stood out to me, yet I was not quite sure what it meant. I still do not know its complete meaning, but I do know one thing--applying our heart is important. We need to have an open heart to truly love the people around us. Not only that, but it is as we apply our heart that we are able to build a trusting relationship with others. It is not always easy to open and apply our hearts freely because in the world today we have much skepticism and fear of our hearts being broken. Despite skepticism or fear, we need to be willing to use our hearts more than we might expect. Applying our hearts means that we will love, serve and welcome anyone and everyone. It is when we are able to effectively use our hearts in the work that we do that we can develop that charity and Christlike mindset for those around us.
Here is part of an excerpt from my letter to president that I thought you may enjoy:
I enjoyed having Sister Davis and Sister Doherty around for two nights. (They came to the mainland for zone conference and stayed at our flat because they are currently serving on the Isle of Man.) It was great to have Sister Davis here and spend time with her. I am honestly sad to think that all my companions, except Sister Howell, will no longer be in the mission by the end of this transfer. Although I am also grateful for the wonderful impact each of those sisters has had on my mission. On the other hand, training often causes me to reflect on my own training, and as I do so, I always look back with gladness and gratitude. I recognize that I learned much of my diligence, hard work and enthusiasm because of Sister Davis’ example. I know that our trainers are chosen and identified of the Lord.
As for Whitefield, the work is going well. We are looking forward to Reza’s baptism on Friday and are continuing to find people to teach. In particular, we received a referral from the office named Leanne. Leanne ordered a Book of Mormon online because she just ended up on mormon.org and wanted to learn more. She grew up Christian, but she has yet to find a church that is right. Thus far Leanne is very receptive to the message. My favorite instance with Leanne up to now is when we taught about the three degrees of glory. Her only comment was this sounds like what it says in the Bible in Corinthians. We said, “Yes it is. Let’s go ahead and turn to 1 Corinthians 15.” Leanne is bright and I am excited for her to learn more. (Leanne is in her mid-twenties and has a five year old son, Ben. She is fun, kind and grew up nearby. I admire her curiosity and desire to learn more.)
Well that is all I have for now. I am sure there are more things to report, but that is all I have for the time being. Hope all is well.
Love, Becca
This picture is from Valentine's day and is of Sister Davis, Sister Doherty, Sister Howell and me. It just shows how much fun and love we all shared that evening together! Hope you enjoy it.
No comments:
Post a Comment