#Miracles

Isle of Sheppey

Wow, I know in the past I have said that I love being a missionary..... but I just have to say it again. I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!!!!! Seriously it is amazing and this week we saw sooo many miracles!!!!!! The Lord is in this work and he know his people!!! It is amazing to feel the Spirit leading you every day in this work. AHHH I JUST LOVE IT SO MUCH!!

I love my new area!!!!! It is a big area and we take the train/bus a lot to get around! But the members are super helpful and I love being able to serve in this ward:) It is a smaller ward with like 70 active members, 80 on a good day. But there are over 200 people on the records.... crazy how that happens. So many less active members in this area! It is a slightly older ward as well with only like 6 active youth and 10 primary children. But I love it a lot and the members are all really great!

Soooooo... You remember last week the story about Jean? The girl who came to church?? WELL. We went to see her on Tuesday morning and holy cow that was one of the best lessons I have ever had!!!! We taught the Plan of Salvation and oh my SHE IS AMAZING. She is GOLDEN and every missionaries dream. Whoever the missionaries are where she lives are sooo lucky..... She said that she has already been reading most of the Book of Mormon and loves it! As we were teaching her about the Atonement and testifying of its power, she just started crying and saying how she is so happy that she finally found what she was looking for! And she has already looked up where the church is in her town and is going to contact the missionaries there as soon as she gets there!

Adam, I gave her your Book of Mormon that you wrote your testimony in. And of course, there went a little piece of my heart as I handed that book over to her. I told her that I have been saving it for someone who would take care of it and treasure it, and I knew she would do that. As I handed it over to her, she said to not worry because she will not just leave it on the shelf, she will read it and reread it and study it and put it to great use. That made my heart oh so happy!!! AHH I LOVE THIS GOSPEL.

The ward is great! I love it so much already! They are a huge help in missionary work and they LOVE having sisters here. haha we have dinner appointments almost every night..... which is great but at the same time not so much... haha. They always cook us a feast with dessert and then they always make sure that we have seconds.... No worries we have been running in the mornings.... And walking EVERYWHERE. Poor Sister Haynie has blisters on her feet and her shoes are terrible walking shoes so today we are going to Cantebury to go shopping!

Speaking of Cantebury... We had zone meeting this week as well in Cantebury and that was fun! I love being with other missionaries! The Spirit is always so powerful as we gather together to discuss the work and how we can improve. We talked a lot about Christlike leadership and developing the attributes of Christ. It has been making me think about the Saviour call......

"Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect." (3 Nephi 12:48)

Cantebury zone conference

What perfect means in this context is...... Complete, finished, fully developed. (see footnote a)

Well, how can we become more like the Saviour and be patient, meek, humle, subm,issive, full of love, etc etc etc if we never had opportunities to develop our patience? How can we learn to love those who do us wrong if no one ever does anything wrong to us? How can we develop self mastery if we are never tempted?

I don't know about you, but I take that commandment very seriously. Sometimes this admonition can seem a little overwhelming, but the best part about this is that this is an eternal goal... A life long quest. He doesn't say.... "Ye are therefore commanded to be perfect NOW." And what a relief that is.......

So my challenge to you this week is to look inside your heart. What one thing can you work on this week to become more like your Saviour?? Wether it be to be a little more patient with a sibling..... (you know who you are ;) ) or a little more diligent in your calling...... A little more forgiving of someone who has done wrong to you or hurt you....... Maybe it's to let go of some pride.

Dallin H. Oaks has taught us how we reach this goal of perfection......

"The Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts--what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts--what we have become. It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions. The commandments, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel are not a list of deposits required to be made in some heavenly account. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires us to become."

Isle of Sheppey. The wind was crazy!!!

I know that God has truly given us everything we need to be successful in this life..... to ultimately become like the Saviour. And I know that it is through Christ that we can do that!

AH I LOVE THE GOSPEL SO MUCH.

Now to finish, let me tell you about yesterday... a day of miracles. First of all, it was a nice and sunny Sunday after of week of cold and wind and rain. We had a few investigators who had commited to come to church, but we got to church and no one was there. Well... so sad. BUT when we walked into the chapel there was someone sitting on the bench and we didn't know who they were... well this is only our 2nd Sunday in the ward so I just figured it was a member, so we went and talked to them and introduced ourselves and quickly found out that they weren't members! It was a father and her daughter and they are from Jamaica and she is interested in getting involved in the youth programs in the church!!! #miracle!! They enjoyed sacrament meeting and she stayed for Sunday School and went with the young woman, and we will be seeing both of them later this week!!!! SO SWEET.

Then, the greatest miracle of the week..... the evidence that God knows his lost sheep.

Yesterday we were out trying to contact some potential investigators, former investigators, and less actives like an hour walk from our flat. And none of the people we had planned to see were home, so as we were making our way back to our flat, I had the thought to tract a few doors that we were walking by... well okay yes we can do that. So we said a prayer, and then after the prayer said, "Alright, let's find the reason why we are all the way out there." So we started knocking doors, and of course, nothing. We got to like the 5th door and knocked, and after we knocked I turned around and saw a young family walking by us with 2 small children. Well, nobody answered, so we walked back out to the street and the family was a ways away by this point, and we kind of just stared at them as they walked away for like 10 seconds, and then said, "Alright lets go."

Gillingham Chapel at the corner of Twydall Lane and London Road

We caught up to them and just started casually chatting as we walked, and I asked her what her sons name was and she said it was Christian! And how he was born on easter so they named him Christian! So naturally, I asked her, "Oh are you Christian??" Then she said, "Well actually, I'm a Mormon!!!"

............................................... SAY WHAAA?.............................

We stopped dead in our tracks and just stared at her. haha. She said that she was baptized when she was 13 and stopped going with her family when she was 15 because the ward split or something. YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME. We are going to be seeing her again on Wednesday and I am so excited!!!! They are the nicest family!!!!!

#miracles

I love this work so much and I love feeling the guidance of God every single day. It truly is amazing and I KNOW that God knows each of us. He really does. AHH I LOVE THIS WORK!!!!

ONWARD AND UPWARD.

Sister Ranck