My new companion is going to be Sister Archer- I'm really excited to meet her! Transferring is a little stressful because I've only ever transferred once, and that was to "whitewash" into an area, so this is a new experience for me! Bring it on.
We had another MLC meeting this week, and they addressed some things I'd been wondering about faith. In the last MLC, they told us that we had a goal as a mission to baptize 103 people in the month of December, and even if the baptism dates we set then for that month didn't go through, if we had the faith, God could work miracles and help us do this.
Well... we didn't make it.
I was feeling kind of down on myself because throughout the whole month I would say "Ok, yeah Sister Jarvis and I can get 2 baptisms this month...! I think! No no no no, we totally can do this.... yeah......" So I believed, but I wasn't full of "faith". When we didn't reach our goal, I was wondering what I wasn't quite getting right with faith, and how I could get more of it. I felt a little guilty too, because I didn't always get to studies on time or out of the house on time, and I wasn't exactly working with all my heart some days...
Then in this MLC, they answered my questions! They told us that we didn't reach our goal because I wasn't the only one who wasn't sure if their faith was enough to see that miracle. They taught us that Faith=Obedience, and that leads to Joy. Faith and Obedience are basically the same word!! It HIT me like nothing else. Do I really do everything my Father asks me to do with all my heart? NOPE, not yet I don't. Am I even fully obedient now? Ha! Working on it, but I'm a pretty lazy person! I let things go when I probably could've tried harder, or not done things I felt a little guilty about later. How many times do I have to hear this lesson before it clicks? Someday when I practice what I preach, I think it'll hit harder and stick :) I'm working on it! I hope that makes sense, what I'm trying to get across. Faith is increased by righteousness, aka obedience. But it helped me understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ better- faith unto repentance just means belief+obedience. And the first fruits of repentance is baptism, and then you're cleansed so you're worthy of the gift of the Holy Ghost, and then you continue on always trying to be better for the rest of your life....... Faith=Obedience.
I came to realize too, that when we understand who God is, it's easier to have faith in Him. The times I talked with God the most have been when I'm face-down on the bathroom mat, or mid-toss in a sleepless night. Those sleepless nights have given me chances to pray and hear Him speak back to me, and anyone who's ever served a mission knows you're only truly alone when you're in the bathroom, and sometimes I make that my "closet" to pray in. I'm excited to come to know Him a lot more.
K____ is doing awesome- I attached a picture of us with him below. He told us he's at peace with the concept of prophets, which was a difficult thing for his strict Christian background, and he feels like he's ready to be baptized in January. IT'S SO EXCITING!!! I hope I'll get to come back for his baptism!
Remember M____, the lady scared away because we offered a baptism date for a goal? WELL SHE'S BACK!!!!!!! She still wants the Gospel in her life, and we caught her JUST as she was getting home from work finally- God placed us in the right place at the right time through our plans to be there. It's so cool how this works! Megan wants to do this slowly, and she had a lot of unrealistic expectations of perfection on herself that stressed her out the first time, and we could help with that.
Man..... I'll really miss C_____. But I'll be back soon! Till then, keep on keeping on!
Happy New Year!!
PS, we had a New Year's Eve party at President's! We played games and ate waffles. I love that man, and Sister Hancock. And I got to hang out with Sister Bueno!! <3 Looking forward to 2017!
Love,
Sister Clark
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