Becoming a Southern Bell: The Army of Helaman!

Hey Y'all!

"We have been born, as Nephi of old,

To goodly parents who love the Lord.

We have been taught, and we understand,

That we must do as the Lord commands."

This week has been pretty amazing. First off, Paula went to church! We didn't think she would since we told her it was stake conference, but she came with her three daughters. They all loved it even though the girls found it hard to sit through the whole 2 hours. They will be coming to church next week too, and I'm excited. :)

"We have been saved for these latter days

To build the kingdom in righteous ways.

We hear the words our prophet declares:

"Let each who's worthy go forth and share."

This is the Beaver's home. We had dinner with them yesterday.

Sister Beaver is from Taiwan, and she made us an authentic Chinese meal.

It was way fun! :D

We had an amazing lesson with this man named Kafe this week. He is from Ethiopia and was referred to us by the Spanish sisters we live with. We went to the appointment with an amazing team-up and had a super powerful lesson on the restoration. We gave him a Book of Mormon and testified that he can receive answers the same way Joseph did, through prayer. We had a little big of a language barrier at first, but after a while and a lot of help from our team-up we were able to get the message across. :) He promised he would read the Book of Mormon. We are hoping to see him again this week. :D

On Thursday we had our first exchange with a set of our sisters. I was with a new missionary named Sister Hall. We had lots of fun, and I learned a ton from her. We were able to see two less-actives at dinner. They took us out to Chinese and we got to know them. It was really good for me especially since I don't really know anyone. Haha! :D

"We know his plan, and we will prepare,

Increase our knowledge through study and prayer.

Daily we'll learn until we are called

To take the gospel to all the world."

This week has been pretty amazing, and I'm glad to be here, on my mission. There was one more tender mercy that I'd like to share. On Saturday night we got a text from a man we've been trying to meet with for a while. His name is Robert. Without any prompting from us, he asked "Does Heavenly Father really know I'm here?" We were surprised and I was super excited. This like never happens! We replied and testified that not only does God know he's there, but he loves him too. He replied "this is so amazing." We were shocked! I don't know what it was that he read or was going through at that time, but I was glad he texted us. He didn't want to set up an appointment with us right now, but I'm sure he will soon. :)

"We are as the army of Helaman.

We have been taught in our youth.

And we will be the Lord's missionaries

To bring the world his truth."

The past couple of weeks, I've had a quote stuck in my head that I stumbled across a little bit ago. it's by Thomas S. Monson and goes like this: "There are feet to steady, hands to grasp, minds to encourage, hearts to inspire, and souls to save. The blessings of eternity await you. Yours is the privilege to be not spectators but participants on the stage of..service." I loved this quote. Especially at the end, where it says that we aren't the spectators, standing on the side-lines, watching it all unfold. But we are the participants. We are the ones making it happen. I as a missionary am one seeking those souls, grasping those hands, and inspiring those hearts to learn more of the truth Heavenly Father has placed before them. And we as members of the church are here to steady others feet, help those who are in need of help. And help in the glorious work of bringing others to the fold of Christ. We cannot stand idly by and watch as the world falls to satan, but we are to be pillars of light. Serving and inspiring those who need help. This is a noble calling we have, but it is also a big calling. Compared to the 7 billion people on this planet, our millions of members seems like such a small thing. But we need to remember the promise of God that he will be on our right hand, and on our left, and his angels round about us as we go to His work. He will not leave his little band of warriors. We can go out and and receive the blessing of eternity and give it to others knowing that we have the host of heaven behind us. This is our calling back up by the most powerful being in the universe, God. I challenge y'all to never forget that. :)