"Be Thou Humble and the Lord Thy God Shall Lead Thee"

Zone Conference was on Friday and it was so fun!  These are the girls in my zone.

Howdy everyone!

I had a fabulous week. So much happened!  We have had a heat wave this week.  It was about 20 degrees and it has been awesome.  So I had venison and waffles the other day.  It's like chicken and waffles only it's deer and waffles and even better!

This week has been full of miracles. In the beginning of the week we didn't have much to work with because Sister Springer and I pink-washed the area a few months ago and had lots to catch up on after the elders left.  Well we had made contact with all the less actives and are making great progress with many of them but not so much with finding new investigators so in the beginning of the week Sister Haycock and I decided we would spend our week tracting.  The heat wave made that really convenient.  And tracting is really kind of fun when you put your mind to it.  We started tracting on Tuesday with no success.  It was  cold and gloomy but we didn't give up. We still stayed out until nine and kept knocking on doors. But the good part about Tuesday was that we got to eat dinner with Kirsten and her family. The funny part is this: I guess I have a thing. I fold my hands and smile really big when I say thank you apparently. And Kirsten said I say thank you the exact same way every time. I love her.  She is my long lost sister I think.  She made a hard day good!

A Rock Star of an Investigator
Wednesday is when it starts to get real good. It was another full tracting day but it was so much fun. I have actually come to love going door to door. We started out with a prayer and asked Heavenly Father to lead us to someone that was ready to hear about the Gospel. Then we started driving and every time we got to a fork in the road we would think real hard about which way we should go. We ended up driving down a street that we felt we were supposed to be on so we parked the car, grabbed a few Book of Mormons, and started knocking on doors. About a half hour later a guy named "R" answered. He is from Chattanooga, Tennessee and has a wicked sweet southern accent! I don't know how Heavenly Father always leads me to the music type but he was in a band in Nashville.. so he kinda looks like a rock star. We taught him a little about the restoration while we stood in his doorway, and he said we could come back on Saturday and teach him more.  It was awesome!  So we gave him a Book of Mormon and set up a return appointment.

So fast forward to Saturday.... we went to R's house to teach him again. When we got there he said, "So after you girls left that night, I prayed for a long time.. I told God that if I should listen to what you are teaching me, then send me a sign... like make me have a REALLY good day the next day because I haven't had one of those in a long time.  Then he said, "Ladies... I had a flawless day. So I am all ears."  So we taught him some more about the restoration and he loved it! He said that it makes perfect sense that we have prophets today and then he said, "I have only one question right now... when does church start tomorrow?" We told him and he said he would be there.

On Sunday morning, R was there.  He stayed all three hours and he loved it.  He thought it was just the best meetings he had ever been to.  He especially loved that Sunday School and Priesthood meeting were more of a discussion and not a lecture. He said he felt so much peace and happiness there and the members did an awesome job welcoming him. They love him already!

A Humbling Experience
We also had a very humbling experience last week while tracting.  We knocked on an older lady's door one night and when she answered we automatically thought she wouldn't be interested and that she would slam the door in our faces.  But we went ahead and told her why we were there anyway to go through the motions and without hesitation she invited us in.  We learned very quickly that we needed to have more faith and that we never know who will accept the gospel but Heavenly Father does.  He sees everyone not as they are but as they are capable of becoming.  His love is perfect for each one of us and we just need to trust Him.  So we asked "E" if we could start off with a prayer and she said yes so we prayed and then taught her the first lesson.  When we shared the first vision and explained to her about how Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ, she was so amazed. She really felt the spirit during the lesson.  We are meeting with E again tonight.  I adore her.  She is a little native lady who is so sweet and humble.  From this experience, we learned that we need to develop more charity; that we need to be able to see everyone the way that Heavenly Father does- as His children who are capable of becoming just like Him.

Be Thou Humble
In Relief Society this week the lesson was on prayer. As part of the lesson, Sister Claypool told us she had an activity for us in the gym. We had to go through a maze with our eyes covered and if we needed help we were supposed to raise our hands.  That was all she told us and then said we could begin to go through the maze.  It didn't take long for some of to realize that we couldn't find our way through without help so a couple of us raised our hands and then someone would come to lead us out of the maze.  When I opened my eyes there were still several sisters walking around the maze blindly.  There was really no way out of the maze.  The only way out was for us to ask for help and then be guided out.  Later, Sister Haycock and I talked about it and decided that D&C 112:10 fit this scenario perfectly: "Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers".  It was the perfect way for us to wrap up the week.  We were really lead by Heavenly Father through the power of prayer.  Because of Him taking us by the hands we found two new golden investigators and had one potential want to learn even more. 

 

This week was possibly one of the biggest testimony builders of miracles and answers to prayers yet. I have been studying lots about miracles lately because as missionaries we rely on them.  We are responsible for sharing the gospel with an entire city; just the two of us.  We can't possibly find those people who are prepared without prayer and miracles.

Moroni 7:29 says: "And because he hath done this, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased? Behold I say unto you, Nay; Neither have angels ceased  to minister unto the children of men."

Ether 12:12 says: "For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore he showed not himself until after their faith."

It was a miracle that we were led to R's door at the very end of the night.  It was a miracle that we found E and that even though we doubted, Heavenly Father knew she needed us that night.  We were blessed because we didn't give up. We kept knocking on doors in freezing cold weather, and because of that miracles happened.

Shout-outs
Grams and Mac, thank you so much for the letter and money.  I really needed it.  I love you guys!

Grandpa Park, thank you for the letter.  It made my day and I love you so much!

Mom and Jeremy, the new winter boots are perfect.  They are so warm and I love them.  Thank you!
 

Have a great week everyone.  I love you!

Sister Park