This week has been a growing week and learning week for me. Not much has happened and we have been faced with a lot of things that would probably have struck us down if my companion and I hadn't prepared the way we did. We had a Zone conference which completely changed the missionary work in our area and with General conference, I feel as if I am ready to take on the world! Some quick things that I have learned this week, 1. the importance of picking and setting goals. 2. how to interact with people and 3. the importance of centering Jesus Christ in our lives.
I wont talk very much about those three things, but I felt it was important to share. I have learned to pick meaningful goals that will get me somewhere on my mission journey and better help my investigators. I have learned, and continue to learn better ways of interacting with people, and during general conference, I realized that my life needs to be more centered on Jesus Christ in order to keep my "clay" on the wheel. So it has been an adventure:)
During our Zone conference, a new plan was set in place. Called "Opportunity Generation Next" Which basically, we are going to stop focusing on tracting and visiting formers and focus on Less actives and Family Search. It sounds terrible at first, but actually statistics down here have shown to be EXTREMELY different. We have been focusing on Less Active Members and helping them return to the church, and also focusing on getting Less Active members and Members to the temple to receive the saving ordinances that they so desperately need. And that has been a joy as we are currently helping 5 less actives and helping 4 members prepare to receive the Priesthood/ temple ordinances. Now THAT is something that has made me feel useful. In my mind, I thought missionary work was only for bringing people into the church. Well elder... WRONG! I am also supposed to care for the welfare of the members and help them:) And realizing that has been a great joy for me!
I want to share a regret that happened this week. It has to do with Following the spirit so you can all probably guess what went down. We had just got back from biking, so we hoped in the car. ALL, literally ALL of our plans had fallen through and we had 2 hours to kill... So we sat in the parking lot trying to think of where we could go or who we could visit. The thought passed through my mind that we should stop by one of the Less active members. We had called her not only 5 min ago and she didn't answer. But I thought we should stop by. I expressed this to my companion and he hesitated and a little and so did I. So we took another 5 min to think of who we could go by. Finally I decided that we were just going to stop by. So We drove over to her apartment. And as we pulled into the parking lot a van was leaving. And guess who it was... the less active member. So to summarize the story, the five minutes we spend doubting and rejecting the spiritual prompting caused us to miss a possible appointment that only the Lord knows why we needed to have. The rest of the day I felt terrible and could not believe that i allowed myself to pay no heed to the prompting. In fact i still feel really lame about it. So lesson learned! Always follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost! I found that to be a central message for me in General Conference this weekend which only added to my guilt. HAHA but I can only do better next time! And You can count on me to ACTUALLY follow it!
Alright so time is running short, but I just want to share with you all what I know to be true. I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the true church and contains the fullness of the gospel on the earth. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet called of God and that through him we have the BOM which he translated. I know that the BOM testifies of Christ. I have a testimony of the basic truths of the gospel. that is all I need right now to begin my journey. I know that Jesus Christ suffered for not only our sins, but pains and temptations of every kind. I know that he knows how we feel at all times. He suffered it. And I know that through him we can find the peace and comfort from this world of pain and discouragement. I love my savior. I know he loves me. I Know that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet called of god to guide us and lead us. He couldn't have given such a simpler talk. Keep gods commandments. I know these things to be true and the way we can all feel happy.
I hope you all can find peace and joy throughout your journeys and experiences back home. remember to not only listen to conference, but to read and reread the talks and continue to "Ponderize" the messages. I love you all and can feel the love that Christ has for all of you.
From the Heart of Foley,
Elder Stonely
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