Missionary Work
Hey everyone!
This week has been awesome! We had more lessons this week than we have ever had since I have been with Elder Johnson which is awesome! We were able to teach several members, less-actives as well as investigators. We have two new investigators this week, and almost 4.
A cool experience this week was that we were able to go to dinner saturday night with a member. She had invited a couple over because they were very interested what missionaries do and why we serve. We discussed why Elder Johnson and I came on a mission, what we believe, and we even taught the first few points in the first discussion. They were very impressed with my companion and I and the decision we made to serve a mission for two years and to help people come closer to Christ. It was a spectacular evening and I am very glad we were able to have that discussion. We are going to meet with them again sometime either this week or next. I love this gospel and how often it blesses families and the lives of those who accept it and make daily efforts to do better than the day before.
So two weeks ago we had an Elder come home from England on his mission and we were able to hear him speak in church on sunday and then yesterday there was a sister who came home from Paraguay and her talk was amazing! This week I would like to share a few points from her talk.
Regarding missionaries, she said "Many are called but few choose to be chosen"
I thought about that a lot. There are many youth in the church who are "called" to serve missions and many do, but percentage wise, few choose to serve - few choose to be chosen.
On your mission, catch every detail because you'll never get it back. Every minute matters!
I know that when I don't know what to say or the conversation isn't going anywhere, the best thing you can do is to bear your testimony. Your testimony is the one thing nobody can take from you. They can never take away your beliefs. I have seen people change and I have seen hearts be softened by a simple testimony that Christ lives.
She shared Helaman 6:3-5 which states:
3 Nevertheless, the people of the church did have great joy because of the conversion of the Lamanites, yea, because of the church of God, which had been established among them. And they did fellowship one with another,and did rejoice one with another, and did have great joy. 4 And it came to pass that many of the Lamanites did come down into the land of Zarahemla, and did declare unto the people of the Nephites the manner of their conversion, and did exhort them to faith and repentance. 5 Yea, and many did preach with exceedingly great power and authority, unto the bringing down many of them into the depths of humility, to be the humble followers of God and the Lamb.
These scriptures are amazing. Verse 3 talks about how great was their joy because of their conversion. They fellow-shipped with each other and brought each other up. Verse 4 talks about how after the Lamanites were converted, they went to the Nephites and shared their story of how they were converted and helped them become converted. They taught with great power and many of the Nephites became converted and became humble followers of Jesus Christ.
I love these verses because none of the Lamanites were missionaries at the time. These scriptures are discussing the importance of member missionary work. I love members who are not afraid to share their beliefs with their friends. This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Don't be scared.
A member called us this week and invited us to dinner last saturday. The family was super interested in missionaries and astounded at the sacrifice that we give to serve. We talked with them about more of the logistical side of missionary work and we taught them the beginning of the first discussion, but they invited us back and we will dive a little more into the discussions at our next visit. I am so grateful for members who are willing to open their mouths and talk about the gospel with their friends. They were interested in learning more about what we do, what a typical day is like, that kind of stuff. One very cool point is that they recognize that us as Latter Day Saints stand out and they stated that the gap between the world and members is getting wider and wider. It was an amazing lesson and I am excited to teach them again. It is amazing what a member of the church can do: either bringing someone to the missionaries to teach or fellow-shipping them once they are baptized. The gospel is all about becoming more like Christ. Christ taught all people and helped to rekindle faith. I love this gospel and enjoy sharing what I know to be true with those around me. :)
Oh yeah, on a side note, so we have time in the morning to work out and we are doing Insanity, however, we have just begun the second month and it is so much harder but I love it! Elder Johnson and I have one more week of this transfer and then we will have 7 more weeks together for sure. We could stay together after that, but I think that he will leave the area. :(
Let me know how you are doing or if you have any questions!
I love getting e-mails!
Stay Strong!
-Elder Soller
Blog: www.levisoller.wix.com/mission