Monday, November 25, 2013

Twenty-third Week in the Field



Hola Everyone!!

This week was probably one of the most productive weeks that I've had on my mission thus far.  

So many miracles are happening everyday.  

First of all, Guillermo hasn't made any more contact with us so that's good!  Brother Wutkee (our Branch Mission Leader) still hasn't been able to get a hold of him.  

On Friday, Hermana Faletau and I were trying to contact a former investigator, but he wasn't home.  Instead, we got to talk to another girl that lives there.  Her name's Yesenia and she's 14.  We taught a simple Restoration lesson and then she committed to be baptized!!  She committed to January 18th.  We're really excited to keep working with her.  She seems like she is really looking for something more in her life.  It's amazing how young she still is and wants this, but then I think of Joseph Smith and how he was only 14 too... :)

We had Zone Conference this week!!!  Zone Conference was, like always, amazing. I went with some pretty specific questions in mind; including: How can I help Linda want to progress more and keep her commitments? How can I feel like I'm being a successful missionary even though I haven't had any baptisms yet? What can I do to set a better example for Hermana Faletau? Every single one of these questions was answered in one way or another. My biggest concern was the baptisms and whether or not I was being effective. President Castro addressed it right away in his  opening remarks, even though he went into more detail later, I teared up. I know without a doubt that he's called of God and knows exactly what he needs to say to help us. For the longest time, I've been struggling with feeling accepted even though I know what Preach My Gospel says and what people have been telling me. Looking at it in the way that the investigators will always remember who first taught them the gospel or who first showed up on their doorstep helped me a lot this week. I also really appreciated the background behind his conversion story. He talked about how Elder Redd will always be his missionary even though he wasn't even there when President got baptized. Everything at Zone Conference is helping me see everything in the greater picture. 

I also got to see Elder James at Zone Conference!  It was good to see him and talk about our investigators :)

This week I've had the opportunity to go out with Sister Heslop a lot to help them out with their work. Although it took away some time from the Branch, so many miracles happened when I was with Hermana Faletau. Every time we went to an appointment or to a visit, the person was always there and we were able to teach them. I remember talking to the Sister Training Leaders about how they still manage to get work done in their area even though they go out and help others a lot. I'm starting to understand. The Lord loves all of His children and wants them to be able to hear the gospel no matter what. On top of that, I feel like I was able to be a lot more productive overall because of those miracles.  It's also a bonus that I get to go see investigators and members from 1st ward!

Thanksgiving is this week!!  I'm really excited, but at the same time not.  We don't have a member's home to eat at, BUT we're going to Denny's and we're going to baptized the whole staff!  It'll be great!  I'll tell you all about it next week (along with news for transfers...already!)

I was reading in my General Conference issue of the Ensign in May and found this really cool quote which helped a lot this week: 

"Whether or not the invitation is accepted as you invite others to 'come and see,' you will feel the approval of the Lord and, with that approval, an added measure of faith to share your beliefs again and again."  Elder Neil L. Andersen

Thank you so much for all the love and prayers!  I'm grateful for the opportunity to be serving here and wouldn't want to be serving any where else.  I can't believe that transfers are next week again, but I'm excited to see what the Lord has in store for me.  

Con amor, 

Hermana Halliday

I'm Gansta!  :-)

We're having too much fun!  :-)

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