Hey Everyone :)
This week has been an adventure. we've had the usually meetings, lessons, crazy encounters and testimony strengthening experiences which are my favorite. We have been tracting a ton in our area, teaching people about the book of mormon and inviting people to come to church. I have learned so much through the spirit this week, missionaries would be completely lost without it. I have reflected on how often we pray for experiences, to be led to those that are prepared, then we act we go tract we put ourselves in the best opportunity to meet people who the lord would have us too. As we work with the spirit and it leads us we find so much more success in our day. I have come to realize that if i feel the waves of inspiration going and the spirit its telling me something I need to do one of two things either write it down or act immediately. This has happened all week and i'm glad that heavenly father trusts me to receive prompting because he knows I will act and also knows that I ponder the counsel he gives me through the spirit. This happen while we were on exchanges this week. Sister Beauchamp and I were out tracting and she had only tracted one other time on her mission, so we went to a street and started teaching. The impression came you need to go to 2108 after this one. After we knocked the house we were at we started talking and walking back to the car when I stopped and said to Sister Beauchamp we need to go knock that house. The door was open of the house we rang the doorbell and heard "Come In" definitely usually for a missionary. We didn't go in but inside were five girls ages 17-9 we told them we were teaching about the BOM and asked if they wanted to hear more they said yes and we preceded to teach them at their door. The spirit had their attention and you could see the faces of those girls who took a book of Mormon and accepted an invitation for us to come back. It was a cool experience for us.
There has been some things on my mind after an experience with a less active man we had been teaching and working with. We hadn't seen him at church for a couple weeks and last week he told us he'd be there and didn't come. So we stopped by this week and as we were talking he seemed to be in good spirits we shared a quote with him from Elder Holland on hope. We told him we'd get him the talk, he replied "you don't need to, i don't believe in god anymore and nothing anyone says is going to change that." My companion and I were silent for a while. Neither of us knowing what to say the words that came to my mind were "there is light at the end of the tunnel" He is right there is nothing we could have said or will say that is going to change his mind. His journey to truly acknowledge god and come to understand his plan for him is his choice, and his alone. It made me think of this talk people have been raving about entitled "Will you engage in the wrestle?" and that is exactly what this man is going through. Sheri Dew gave this devotional and in it she asks a young woman "Do you want a testimony?" she replies "Yes" to which Sister Dew replies "Are you willing to work for it?" the woman replies "Yes".
AS much as our heavenly father loves us and wants to give us things we desires. We need to work for our testimony, you have questions things that you just can't understand you can sit and give up or you can fight to learn, go to the lord for understanding and plead with heaven to be strengthened. I know that god needs me to choose everyday, he needs all of us too. We can chose him. I am committed to him and he is to me in my weaknesses, my shortcomings, and victories. He is committed to who he knows I can become and to help me get there. We have to stop putting a due date on perfection or feel that we must have a testimony of some gospel principal tomorrow. If you haven't experience it where can you gain testimony. I have learned through personal experience and the lives of those that I meet that life is work.. hard work but as I have chosen to live the gospel each day it is the best way for me to improve and become better. I began to understand my purpose as a daughter of god as I came to understand whose I am "[he] loves us, and we love him" instilled in me were values to become a woman of god. But I am willing to put in the work, to not give up when questions arise I am ready to engage in the wrestle because I know that god is on my side and we will figure it out. I hope all of us are willing to engage in the wrestle and truly come to be a witness is this day that god lives and so does his son Jesus Christ and they love us. God hears and answers prayers everyone. Have a good week!
Sister Cleveland
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