Monday 14 July 2014

Family mission plan is working

What a growing week it has been. Just like every week... Here are a few miracles we saw: 

Elder Harper, our District Leader, committed us to getting 2 member referrals. We hadn't originally planned on visiting any members in particular but we knew that now we needed to. We prayed and felt inspired to go and see a particular family. We did and followed up with their family mission plan that they have been working to create. They mother was so excited to see us and said she had great news for us. They had 2 families that they had prayed about and felt they were ready for the Gospel! After church on Sunday we went with one of there youth sons to meet and harvest bless them. The father loved the blessing and accepted to learn more. We are having FHE with them tonight at the members home. The father said that he has been thinking about having a more spiritual life for quite sometime. He is so prepared. The Member family is so excited as well. They are catching the wave. I am so grateful for an inspired commitment from an inspired district leader. I am also grateful for inspired members who actively pray for missionary opportunities and then act accordingly. I am so grateful that the members are catching on to the family mission plan. It is working miracles. 

A few months ago we received a media referral that we attempted to see but could never make contact. We finally just left a chapel card with our number on it praying she would come to church. On Sunday we walked into church after a not successful roundup with a prayer in our hearts that someone would be there. A lady came up to me looked at my tag and smiling said , "O your the one that put this card on my door!" It was a miracle. She came to church and wants to be baptized. It was a huge miracle because of our hard work, diligence, and continued obedience. 

As you can see, the Lord is pouring out his spirit over our area and we are so grateful. In the Book of Mormon this past week I was studying Jacob 5 and Mosiah 2 and paying particular attention to the different qualities that a servant of the Lord possesses. The main ones that stood out were being anxiously engaged in a good cause, always accounting with the Lord, and ultimately completely submitting our will to him. A better servant I am striving to be. 

We have a particular part member family that we are working closely with. The husband is a member but the wife is not. I love them so much and just want so badly to see them completed. We talk to the husband regularly about what to do to help soften his Wife's heart. We explained to him the power of the Book of Mormon and committed him to physically read it where she can see rather then reading it on his phone. We also committed him to leave it out and open in a visual place where she can see it opened and marked. There is power in this. In just leaving the Book of Mormon open on the table. It brings the spirit so much stronger into the home and it also helps her to be curious. This past week we arranged to go and do service for them. The Elders helped him take down a shed in his backyard (pour things probably died in the heat) and we helped her vaccum and mop.. We all then had lunch together. It went so well!! We all had fun and got to connect with them on a whole new level. We even spotted the husbands scriptures open and on the table just like we told him to. Haha on our way out he smiled and said, "Sisters did you see the scriptures?!" haha it was pretty funny. He just wants his wife to be baptized and sealed in the Temple so bad. Every week it breaks my heart to see him sitting at church all by himself. I can see the longing on his face. Please pray for them. I know she will be baptized soon. 

I love this area and I love this ward. It is full of amazing people. I think the biggest thing I have been learning lately is literally the only thing we can give God is our will. The only thing we have that is ours is our agency. All God requires is that we literally give our will to him. We must completely surrender ourselves to him withholding nothing. I once heard a quote that the greatest battles we will ever fight will be within the chambers of our own heart. How true that is. This is the great test of mortality. There is a great talk by Elder Maxwell called "Willing to Submit" It is definitely worth some study. It is so hard to literally give your will to the Lord. But it is the only way. 

I hope that you all have a great week! 

Love,

Sister Hartley 
This is what we look like in 94 weather.  It was hot and humid on Saturday.  Almost every door we knocked on offered us a bottle of water.  Last Monday I bought a water jug like the one the boys always take on the tactorto keep in the car of cold water.  So we can constantly fill up our water bottles with cold water.  Best idea ever.

Yesterday we all matched and didn't even plan it.  Unity never fails.  We then went to a member house for dinner and she even matched as well. Too funny!!


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