On Saturday we were out knocking on doors and passing out flyers for a family history workshop at the church. We picked a couple of streets that were close to the church and just started knocking away! Some people weren't home, some were politely disinterested, and others were not so politely disinterested... It was really cold, and the wind was blowing like crazy. Prime conditions for a discouraged heart? Perhaps. I tried to focus my mind on the importance of the work and the truthfulness of the gospel, which helped. Then, as we were walking up this one driveway, a scripture from the Doctrine and Covenants came to my mind. The Lord says to the early missionaries of the church: "I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up (D&C 84:88)." Right as the verse filled my thoughts, a strong gust of wind came from behind and blew towards the house we were approaching, almost as if it were urging us onward. I felt the wind surrounding me and moving forward with me, and I felt such a sense of peace and confidence, because I knew my Savior was right there with me. From that moment on the roar of the wind as it flustered the trees was a reminder to me of the power of God, and that this work is truly a marvelous work and a wonder--a stone cut out of the mountains without hands, that will roll forth until it covers the earth (Daniel 2:45). We didn't find anyone that was interested that day, but I know that the Lord was with us, and that we were where we needed to be. The restored gospel of Jesus Christ is true, and we are so privileged to labor alongside the Master in sharing it with the world.
Sunday was a day of changed plans. Sister Scarff and I arrived at the church building a few minutes before 8am for a meeting with the Ward Council, and the Elders were there...but no one else was. Okay, maybe they're just running a bit late. 20 minutes later...okay, probably not. The Elders called the Bishop only to find out that Ward Council AND all the other Church meetings had been canceled due to icy roads on the outskirts of town. NOOO!!!!!!! I was so looking forward to Sacrament Meeting and feeling the Spirit of church. Also, we didn't have a backup for three hours of church. Now what do we do? Never fear, my friends! We happen to be in one of the very few areas in the West Virginia Charleston Mission where there are two meeting houses within 10 miles of each other. We texted our District Leader, and he told us the wards in Buena Vista would still be meeting and we were more than welcome to attend there. YES! So we went to church, and it was so wonderful. Best three hours of the week.
The Rockbridge Ward started later than the Lexington Ward starts, so after church we were a bit behind schedule. Thankfully, our plans for the day happened to be very flexible. We were going to try to contact a couple of referrals out in Natural Bridge and try some investigators in Glasgow (Glasgow is about 20 minutes away, and Natural Bridge is 5 minutes past Glasgow). As we looked at our plans to see what needed adjustments, Sister Scarff felt that we should try the referrals first. We needed a bit more information about the referrals, so we stopped by the B--'s house to learn more about their neighbors that they wanted us to go see. As we talked, Brother B-- mentioned T-- B--, a woman we had recently been teaching, but decided she needed some time to figure things out on her own. He said that she had been feeling down and could really use a visit. We had just stopped teaching T-- about three weeks ago, but we thought, why not!
So we tried the referrals first, met this awesome girl named M--, which is a whole other awesome miracle story I don't have time to tell, and then we went to see T--. She was excited to see us and invited us right in. We ended up talking to her for quite a while, and long story short, she told us she has been thinking about the church a lot. She feels the spirit in our church more than in any other church, and she has noticed that members of the church live the gospel of Jesus Christ more than anyone else she knows. She has been investigating the church for years, and has just never been sure if she needs to be a part of any one specific church. She's been having this spiritual struggle with God for a long time, and she told us that she came to the realization that she needs to just let some things go and do what God wants her to do. Then I asked, "So T--, what do you think God wants you to do?" She paused, looked me straight in the eye, and said, "God wants me to become a member of your church." ____ (Insert emoticon that portrays complete and total dumbfoundedness).....What do you even say to that? The spirit was so strong as she bore testimony of what she has come to know about the truthfulness of the church.
If our plans had not been changed, we probably would not have gone to the B--'s, which means we would not have gone to see T--. God knows His children, and He is in charge of this work.
I know that this church is true. Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the world, and the work of Salvation is His. The work is hastening, and no power can stop it. The only thing we can ask ourselves is will we keep the pace?
Love,
Sister Myers
No comments:
Post a Comment