July 21, 2014

FAM BAM! 

Life is good. Life is so good! Missions are the best! It's hard stuff, but it is honestly the best decision I have ever made in my life.  I just hope that I can leave here with no regrets.  Next week is already August! Time is going by so fast and I want to make sure that I give this my all. 

This week was Zone Conference and Mission Leadership Training.  Sister Mecham texted me on Saturday and asked if I would be the pianist at Zone Conference.  Yeah, yeah no problem.  But then she said she would email me the arrangements....Arrangements?  Wha?  I get on my email and I had to learn 3 songs by Tuesday morning, and they were not easy sight reads.  One of them was a 9 page arrangement of Love At Home....I didn't even know it was possible to make a song drag out that long.  But I practiced and it went pretty good.  I faked my way through it and no one knew. Haha, but I am glad I got the opportunity to play.  I need to be put under pressure like that to get better.  But, needless to say I am glad that is over.  

Zone conference was fantastic as usual.  The focus they had was on Family History and using Family History as a finding tool.  It was really interesting and eye opening. I know nothing about our family history.  NOTHING. I know that I should know because mom has told me stuff, but I obviously didn't listen.  Hahaha We did a role play of a door approach using family history.  Hahahaha so of course President Mecham comes and watches my group as I word vomit all over the place about family history.  It was terrible.  Talk about motivation to know my family history better. Any suggestions?  I can get on familysearch.org but I don't think we have any stories listed with the people we have on there.  I just need to know more about where we came from.  Like anything else in missionary work, you need to know it before you can properly testify of it.  So lemme know! 

They talked a lot about having the eternal perspective in missionary work.  It was really neat to hear about that.  That this time in my life is not supposed to be a check list item but something that should spill over into my life after my mission.  The longer I have been out the more I have noticed that the things I am learning here are things that can help prepare me for my future.  I am very thankful for this time. I think I am now seeing why the Lord wanted me to come out on a mission.  I now, more than ever, have a better love and understanding for people and the decisions that they make.  And even beyond that a love for people despite the decisions that they make.  As a missionary you can only do so much to help people.  Our job is to help build their faith but it comes to a point where the decision and motivation comes from within themselves.  

We got up early on Wednesday and drove to Helena for our Mission Leadership Council.  Those meetings are crazy.  I learn a lot in those meetings about being a better leader, a better missionary, a better disciple of Christ. But I think what I love the most is being able to meet with President Mecham and Sister Mecham on a smaller scale.  You really get to know them and their personalities that way.  President Mecham has this overwhelming capacity to love.  It is really hard to explain.  The closest thing I can think of is Elder Holland, how he can just reprimand you and rebuke you but the whole time you know that there is a deep love that he has, a deep conviction and conversion to the Savior and  to the Lord.  President Mecham is no where near as intense as Elder Holland but he has this way of making you want to be your best. not for him, or Sister Mecham, but for the Lord, for the Savior.  As he was closing our meeting President Mecham fought hard to hold back tears as he said he would never give up on us.  He said it is a very tender moment for him when he gets to meet the brand new missionaries and meet with them one on one.  He says that it is in those meetings that he sees the birth of one of the Savior's most valiant.  He sees us for who we can be shaped into and become throughout our mission life.  I am not explaining it very well. But it was a tender mercy for me to see that side of President.  He is amazing.

GUESS WHATTT!!! We met with Wanda on Saturday and had a really good meeting with her. She has a million and a half questions every time we go over there, which I LOVE.  But they are questions that really don't matter in the grand scheme of things. So we decided to have her just focus on the Book of Mormon. It is once she receives that witness that everything else will fall into place.  So we read and had a really good discussion and invited her to the ward potluck up in the canyon that evening. And much to my surprise she said yes! WOOT WOOT! So she came and brought her little grandson! The ward members were phenomenal! They all introduced themselves and talked with her and took care of her little guy. I was really pleased to see the ward step in like that.  Next step, church! That always seems like the hardest thing for investigators to commit to.  Why oh why.  Wanda did say that she has been to many churches and is skeptical but willing to give it a shot.  She said that feels God with us and knows that there is something to be learned.  She often says that she just wants to learn more and more and more about God and she tells him she is greedy. Hahaha, I finally told her that God is giving her more to learn but it is up to her whether she recognizes that this is God's hand or not. Pray for Wanda! She is getting there! 

BEST DAY OF MY LIFE! Thursday was seriously the best.  I told you last week a little about Derek.  He was the one that we got as a referral who plays for the Osprey's.  So we met with him in the morning and he is just a gem! His girlfriend lives in Arizona and is a member.  They have been dating for awhile and things are starting to get a bit more serious. He has been to church with her a number of times and had many gospel discussions with them.  But he decided that if he wanted to marry her he needed to check out what the church was really all about.  He recognizes that he shouldn't learn just for her, but he wants to be sure that this is what he wants because it is a huge life decision that he will have to make. We talked with him about the Plan of Salvation and was reallly soaking it all in.  He said he has already been reading the Book of Mormon and willingly accepted the chapters we assigned him to read.  A lot of it makes  sense to him.  It was honestly one of the most solid lessons I have taught in awhile. It was cool to see the wheels turning and things clicking in his head.  He is going to be baptized. For sure. We had a good discussion on being saved and what that meant.  He expressed taht he never understood how at 15 you can accept Jesus Christ as your Savior but live a life that is completely against what Christ taught.  It was great.  We talked with him about Temples and that seemed to really make sense to him. I am just so exciteeeddd.  WOO! The gospel is great. 

Miracle! Sister Steck and I were walking around a neighborhood tracting and we were playing a game when I got this impression to knock on this one house.  The girl that answered the door was awesome.  AWESOME.  She didn't grow up religious but knows God is there.  She doesn't really have a relationship with him but sees how that could make her happier. Her biggest thing was that she was fearful for the after life. She said she had no idea if she was going to hell or not. She said she would like to think that heaven exists, it was a lot better than thinking nothing does.  So we taught her the Plan of Salvation right on her porch and you could just see her soaking it in.  It was awessssooommmmeee. She said she wanted to know more and how she could strengthen her relationship with God.  YES! There are so many people behind so many doors. I think that is why I love tracting, because that is really the only way you can know for sure.  If we hadn't knocked on her door then, there is no way we would have ever known about her and her potential desire.  

P.s. Sister Steck is a fearless animal. Anytime I dare her to talk to anyone about anything, she does it. Fearless wild child.

So at church yesterday they were passing the sacrament and Sister Steck held out the tray for me.  I went to grab a piece of bread but my hand knocked the tray and bread went flying EVERYWHERE! All over the dang place.  I was biting my cheek to stop myself from laughing.  Hahahahahahaha All over. And the sad thing is, this is the second time that has happened. I have no idea how that even happens.  But it does.  And it is humiliating. I had 3 members come up to me and ask if I was okay.....yes, my hand just has a mind of it's own. NBD. Don't mind me, crazy old Moline.

AHHH! SO before I close I have to tell you about two amazing things! I was praying the other night and decided to pull out my Bible and read the definition of Prayer in the Bible Dictionary. Maybe people already know this and I am just way behind the times, but it blew my mind. It talked about how so many of the difficulities that arise with prayer is when we forget our relationship withh God.  It says, " Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other."  So many times we pray to ask God for things. To make us happier, to bless us, to fix our problems. But prayer is nothing but aligning our will with the will of the Father. Not asking for things, but asking to better understand his will and  his plan for us, to help us understand the why's.  It went on to say taht we pray in Christ's name when our mind is the mid of Christ and our wishes the wishes of Christ when his words abide in us.  We then ask for things it is possible for God to grant.  Many prayers remain unanswered because they are not in Christ's name at all. They in no way represent his mind , but spring out selfishness of man's heart. IT ALL MAKES SENSE! Prayers are not here for us to make a laundry list out to God but for us to put on the mind of Christ and pray as Christ would pray.  Have you ever thought about what Christ's prayers would be like?  If he lived the life we lived? Who he would pray for and how?  It gave me a greater perspective of prayer and my relationship to God through Prayer.  Prayer can result in an amazing growing experience as we take upon the mind and thoughts of Christ.  

Sister Penrose, ( the love of my life) told me a story this week about a woman whose children got in a car accident in the car in front of her and all died.  Less than a year later her husband passed away from some sort of illness.  The woman was so calm and collected through all of these traumatic events and she was often asked how she could be reacting the way she was.  She always responded, "Because I know what I know".  It is because we know what we know about the Savior that we can get through ANYTHING.  This life is not the end! This trials we face are not our life! Because we know what we know we can make it! We can press forward and enjoy this life! It is not easy. No one said it would be. But with the Savior, and because of His gospel we can prevail. We can come off conquerer and we will. There is no doubt in my mind that we all will, because we know what we know.  I love my Savior Jesus Christ. I love the hope and the bright future that he offers me.  I often reflect on the verse in the hymn I Believe in Christ.  " I believe in Christ, so come what may." 

I love you all so much! Until next week! 

Sure Love ya! Moline's Rock! Missionaries Rule!

Sista Mufasa Moline (I am really stretchin)