Week 68... He Hath Filled Me with His Love!!!

Wow! What a great week this has been. Elder Christensen and I have really seen the Lord’s tender mercies this week. It was a really great week for us. 

We have been really down lately. This sector here has been a huge challenge for us. It has been our Goliath. We have been battling and grinding but Satan has been winning. It has been a while since we have had some success.

 At the beginning of the week, we made it a goal that we were going to do everything in our power to find success... That is exactly what we did. No, it wasn’t easy. It called for a lot of dedication and a lot on concentration, but we were able to do it. As the week went on, we spent day after day knocking on doors. We called, looked up lists, and knocked some more doors. We turned over every rock in this sector looking for someone who would be interested in our message. As the week went on it seemed, even with all our hard work, we weren’t going to accomplish what we had set out for. Monday passed, and then Tuesday and even Wednesday. We still had nothing. We had no one who was really progressing. Thursday rolled around and we thought for sure this would be our day... again nothing. But finally after the trial of our faith came our relief. On Friday we went out with the same attitude to find these people. This time we finished the day with the success we were looking for. We stumbled across a part-member family. The grandma is a member but has not gone for a long time. The mom, Jessy, and her kid Sahid (10 yrs. old) are not members. As we talked to them, their eyes lit up with excitement. All they wanted to do was go to church on Sunday. When they went to Church, the little kid loved it. He had so many friends that were members. The teacher gave him a Book of Mormon and he instantly started reading it and marking it up. I wish you all could have seen his face. He was smiling ear to ear from excitement when he left church on Sunday. Such a blessing from God.

Also, that same day on Friday, we went over to a family that we had taught before. They seemed just like a normal family that didn’t really want much. We had left them a little thing to read. When we got there, they were filled with questions about Joseph Smith. They were so interested in what he did, why he did it and how he did it. We helped answer all their questions, and at the end of the spiritual lesson they accepted a baptismal date for the 6th of February. They also were able to come to church this Sunday and they loved it. 

This week in church we filled a whole row with investigators. I was seriously so happy to see these new faces in the church and to see them progressing. It really was a week full of miracles!

As for my spiritual thought this week, I wanted to share something that caught my attention today. I was reading in

20 My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep.

21 He hath filled me with his love , even unto the consuming of my flesh.

As I was reading these passages, I was thinking a lot about the hard times we face in everyday life. Why do we suffer sometimes? Nephi, in these scriptures, is telling us something so important. He had been through so much in his time. He had suffered many afflictions in the wilderness and had seen many trials. But, he still was rejoicing in his God. HE HAD BEEN FILLED WITH THE LOVE OF GOD.

I have seen in my life, and in my mission, that when I am down, or when I am struggling; I am just forgetting about God’s love. God loves each of us personally. He knows us. He does not want us to struggle and be miserable. He wants to show us His love and give us His hand.

I hope this week that each of you can find His hand.

He will lift you in the lowest of moments.

yummy Empanadas!