In the letter we got from Elder Eastin today, he asked us to, "Please share these stories with Mom and Dad and the family. I don't have the time to tell them again.":
Story 1:
"Today, we had planned tracting at 6 and had a lesson planned at 7 with Steve and Coleen. But I had a feeling that we needed to take the time to plan out a lesson for them. This morning we said we would just talk about the Word of Wisdom with them, but I felt like we needed to talk about faith and get them to commit to a baptism date of November 3rd. So we skipped tracting and studied for our lesson. I had a scripture in mind to share with them: Alma 32:21, 26-27. Elder Crook also wanted to read 3 Nephi 27: 19-21, so the two scriptures would work great together to help them commit to a baptism date. So we went to Steve and Coleen's house and it started out the same: chit-chat, prayer and asking them how they are doing. Steve told us that he had had a dream that Christ told him to accept our message. And he also shared how when he was baptized in his church, he just felt empty. This is what all missionaries want to hear!!! This led us perfectly into our lesson and scriptures. We told them that faith isn't having a perfect knowledge (found in our scripture) and that they need to have a date set for baptism so they can work towards it. Sooooo.. they said YES!!! Both committed to November 3rd. Tonight, I've truly felt like a tool in the hands of the Lord."
Story 2:
"During dinner I was reading scriptures and I received an answer to a prayer. I've been praying to FEEL the Lord's love and peace. I know He loves me but I wanted to feel it. As I was reading, I got this overwhelming feeling of peace and comfort and love. It was such a strong feeling of the spirit that I just sat there and cried. I haven't felt that in a long time. It literally felt like the Lord was hugging me. It was honestly THE biggest thing I needed right now. This mission is the hardest thing I've ever done in my whole life. But, when the Lord shows us His love for us and gives us the strength we need, all of this is possible. It's not easy, but it's possible."
Today, during General Conference, we were told several times by several different authorities, including our prophet, that we need to be member missionaries and that we need to pray for missionaries and their investigators as well as for our own personal missionary experiences. Elder Nielsen of the 70 specifically said, "Pray for missionaries and investigators by name. If you do not know the names of others, the Lord cannot help you know their heart." So we have our missionary and we know the names of those that he is working with. I hope that we can all keep them in our prayers, and I hope that we can also go out of our comfort zones and talk to the missionaries in our wards and know their names and ask them the names of those that they are teaching. Elder Ballard promised that if we ask for missionary opportunities that they will come about naturally and we will feel a natural love for our brothers and sisters and they will feel of our love for them and THEY WILL NEVER FORGET THAT FEELING. Even if the timing isn't right for them to accept the gospel, they will remember the feeling that they had with you, and in the future, when the time is right, it will aid in their conversion. Elder Ballard also said, "It's impossible to fail when we do our best." When we are on the Lord's errand, we need to trust Him and we will receive the courage and words we need at that moment.
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