September 8, 2011

We Are Children of God


Hola! Hola!
 
Como estan? Thank you everyone for your letters this week. Because of the holiday on Monday I didn't get any mail for a few days, but then I got a JACKPOT on Tuesday so that was sweet! Me gusta! The MTC is still great, I love it. Each week I see more and more missionaries I know from home. It's great to see the sacrifices people are making to serve the Lord.
 
This week has been really busy. We now teach at least one investigator every day. As a trio we're still trying to figure out the best teaching style to use to make sure that each of us have the chance to say everything we want to. I'm understanding more and more everyday why the Lord put us together as a trio. Hermana Griffin and Hermana Baker both have strengths & weaknesses that I don't have, and I have some strengths and weaknesses that they don't have--so it's neat to see how everything evens out when we work together. :)
 
One of our investigators, Sergio is seriously kicking our trash!! He's soo ready to receive the gospel, I love it! He's the one I was telling you about last week, who committed to baptism the first visit. :) Well good news, he still wants to be baptized! We invited him to read the first chapter of el Libro de Mormon, and by the next visit he had read through Mosiah! YEAAAAH! Then two days later he had finished the whole thing! What a stud. We were so excited. He's really pushing us to study harder so that we can meet his needs and answer his questions. One of our weaknesses is that we talk a lot. haha Imagine that! Our appointments almost always go over time, so yesterday he told us he only had five minutes. (We think he did that as a test to see if we really can talk for only five minutes... haha) So I had the idea to bring my alarm clock with me and set a timer so that we would know when we had one minute left. He laughed at us, but we did a lot better at finishing on time.
 
Being on time is definitely a skill a missionary needs. We are learning this more and more each day. If we're late, that means we're missing out on personal study, or it may put us late for our next appointment. This is the Lord's time, and like it says in every missionary's mission call letter, we are "to devote" ourselves, our time, and everything really to the Lord so that we can achieve everything the Lord wants of us. My companion reads us this quote each day as a pep-talk before we go teach our investigators:
"I am a child of God. My authortiy is above that of the kings of the Earth. By revelation I have been selected as a personal representative of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is my master and he has chosen me to represent him. To stand in his place, to say and do what he himself would say and do if he personally were ministering to the very people to whom he has sent me. My voice is his voice, and my acts are his acts; my words are his words and my doctrine is his doctrine. My commission is to do what he wants done. To say what he wants said. To be a living modern witness in word and deed of the divinity of his great and marvelous latter-day work. -Elder Bruce R. McConkie
Don't you love that! I think it's so inspiring. Not only that, but look at the first part: "I am a child of God..." It doesn't say "I am a missionary," it says I am a child of God! We don't have to be missionaries to be an example of Christ. As grateful as I am to put my best friend's name on my chest everyday, it's not necessary to be a representative of Jesus Christ.
 
Elder Vawdrey! Remember how you said it was your goal to bear your testimony in church one time while you were in the MTC? Well this past Sunday was fast sunday, and I thought about you often and the courage you had to bear your testimony, and how I should do that too! It was crazy because the second I walked into the room for Sacrament Meeting, I knew that for some reason the Lord wanted me to bear my testimony. Most of the missionaries that bore their testimonies spoke great Espanol, (which is intimidating) but somehow I worked up the courage to get up there and bear my testimony. It was short and sweet, but I said the whole thing in Espanol except for one sentence! :) I know for a surety that when you put in the effort, the Lord will too. The Lord wants to reward us, and the Lord wants to bless us, but we need to ask him for the help and the blessings. That is the whole objective of prayer!
 
Oh! I've been called as the next Coordinating Sister! It's kind of like a zone leader I think, except that I am just over the sisters. I'm still getting the hang of the responsibilities, but  I am humbled and grateful for the opportunity to serve my zone and the Lord.
 
I love you all!
 
-Hermana Vawdrey

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