We got tracked down by a Jehovah's Witness during studies one morning. That was awkward... Poor guy too, it was so windy that morning, that when he tried to open the screen door to give us his brochure, we think it smacked him in the face. He was really nice though!
Our adorable investigators, John and Linda, took us out to eat at Golden Corral last PDAY. They are progressing SOOO much!
And.. That's it for this week!
I love you all so much! I hope you have a great week this next week! Remember, this church is true!
Sister Morgan Family!
Where do I even start?! This week flew by! It was such a great week.
No one got baptized. We weren't able to get that many lessons. We lost
contact with one of favorite investigators who was on date for
baptism. I struggled with the typical questions of how I can be better
and if I am even progressing. It was super hard to find new
investigators. And I was even very sick for about a day and a half!
So I know that may not sound like a "great" week but it was. I have
learned so much this week about how life really is this week, and
especially yesterday. I am learning what the Atonement of Jesus Christ
really is and how it affects me on a daily basis. In short, my sabbath
was truly a delight.
I want to share an experience with you all that I am not proud of at
all but that I learned so much from in hopes that you will be able to
recognize slightly more how real repentance really is.
So to start off, some background on mission rules that we have to
follow in order to remain obedient and really to show the Lord we love
Him and we are willing to do this work how He would have us do it. As
missionaries, we have to be home by 9:00pm, unless teaching a lesson,
in which, we must return by 9:30pm. We also have to stay within our
area, unless we get permission from our leaders to leave it.
My companion and I had left our correlation meeting with our Ward
mission leader's house Saturday night at 8:25pm or so and were headed
back to our house (a 30 minute drive). Our Ward mission leader lives
on the very edge of our area and as we drive back, we drive on the
road that borders our zone and another zone. And guess what building
is on the other side of the road that isn't our area? Krispy Kreme. So
with about 3 minutes extra to spare to make it home on time, we
rationalized our decision to go through the drive thru and get a dozen
donuts for breakfast the next day. As we were in the drive thru, I
just felt a sinking feeling. Not a "you need to leave now to stay
safe" feeling but just a feeling of "really? This is what you are
choosing right now?" We got our donuts, headed home as fast as we
could and made it home by 9:00pm on our car clock, but 9:01 on our
phone clock. This isn't an experience where the Lord chastened us
quickly to teach us the importance of obedience by us getting in an
accident on the way home or an investigator not getting baptized the
next day, or one of us getting sick that night. Really, the main
consequence for that act of disobedience was the Spirit left me. No, I
wasn't depressed the next week of my life or crying all night. I just
wasn't as happy as I am when I am more obedient. Now, this may seem
like not a big deal at all. So what? We got home a minute late to get
donuts on our way home. We drove on the other side of the street out
of our boundary. So what? Well, we teach people every day about the
commandments of God and something I know for a surety is that when we
keep the commandments of God with exactness, we are blessed. I know
that.
Now to the lesson I learned. Guys, repentance is real. I know this
seems like such a childish way to learn these lessons but we are God's
children. He is always trying to teach us important valuable spiritual
lessons. We just need to be willing to learn and apply. As I went to
church on Sunday, I came with a sincere desire to be forgiven. I
pleaded with the Lord before Church and while the sacrament was being
passed to really feel if the sanctifying feeling of repentance. That
cleansing feeling. I wanted to strengthen my personal testimony of
repentance. I wanted to be able to teach others about the sacrament
and repentance with that personal conviction. When we are baptized, we
are cleansed of all our sins, but when we partake of the sacrament
with repentant hearts, we are cleansed again. And again. And again.
Each week. It is one of the most precious parts of this gospel to me.
During sacrament, I remembered what the Savior went through in order
to allow that forgiveness to take place and I had an increasingly
stronger desire to be better. To be more obedient. To try harder. To
be better. To serve Him more. To love Him more. To love others more.
To judge less. To pray more sincerely. I know that our Savior loves
us. I know that He cares about us and wants us to keep His
commandments so He can bless us. I was blessed greatly yesterday. In
the sacrament prayers, we are promised that if we will always remember
Jesus Christ, we will "have His Spirit to be with us". I know that is
true. The Spirit I received during those 6 hours of church was enough
to make me feel like I could do anything in the world. I was skipping
with joy inside. Those feelings were so real! We went to go visit a
less active member after church and after talking with him for a
while, he looked at me and gave me one of the best compliments I have
ever received. He said, "you for some reason have such a Spirit about
you, there is a special light in you". That is the difference
everyone. It's hard to describe, but long long long story short, I am
grateful for the sacrament. I am grateful for my Savior and I am
grateful for the loving plan that our Father in Heaven has for all of
us to return to Him. That plan is through faith in His Son and
repentance. It is so real. I know that repentance is real for small
sins and big sins. Sin is sin and we must be forgiven of and cleansed
from all of it in order to live in the presence of God after this
life.
You all are probably sick of reading this email by now, so I'll just
quickly wrap up the rest of my week previous to that experience.
We went on exchanges with the sisters in Sedalia, MO. It was super
fun! Cute little town. I forgot to get a picture with cute Sister
Rollins because that was the beginning of the before mentioned day and
a half of being sick. But I learned so much from her!
I made a deal with our bishop that I will take his dog home with me
when I finish my mission. #Abe
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