This week...

Downtown Raleigh

 Here I am replying to all my lil emails and my companion is writing this huge email about all the things we did this week. I know that I don't need to compare, but I admit, I have been slacking in writing substantial things home for my blog. I will try to be better!

"Funny" things that happened this week:

1) Yesterday I had a traumatic experience in the morning before church. I was sitting eating my cereal and it was soooo gross. Then I realized I was eating expired milk and it was TERRIBLE!!! It made me so sad and disgusted. Anyway, it was funny and all that jazz too though (I was trying to write like my brother Kevin).

Our place

2) I almost drove into a ditch doing a U-Turn because I was trying to avoid my companion getting out to back me out. At least love was my motive (more on that later).

3) I pulled two important muscles this week. While sleeping. Do not ask me how. It is sooo painful though. One is near my right shoulder blade, and one is on my left thigh. It makes me sad but I'm getting through it. It's kinda humorous though that I literally have no clue what happened.

Other things about this week:

I loved this quote from our Relief Society lesson yesterday. "Your service does not go unnoticed by that God whom you serve and in whose work you are engaged." IT IS SO TRUE! Obviously this applies to my service as missionary, but I was thinking about this quote more in relation to the ones I love who are doing other types of service. Whether it be family history work, being a church teacher, raising a family, it is all about SERVICE! We serve because we love others and we love the Lord. 

And love needs to be our motive. Lately, I have felt that other motivators have succeeded my love for this area and the people. Yes we are having a lot of success this week numerically, but at the end of the lesson am I happy that they accepted a baptismal date so they can prepare to make eternal covenants or am I excited so that we can mark it in our key indicators? That is something I have been questioning about myself lately. We know setting goals is essential in all aspects of life but I've been working to make sure LOVE is still my motive. I have seen improvements in myself since I have started to question my own motives. I hope you will too in whatever way this paragraph can apply to you. Are you doing what you do in order for the praise of the world, or for the praise of God? Just something to ponder.

LOVE IS THE MOTIVE. Or at least it needs to be.

We had a wonderful talk given by someone in sacrament meeting about hastening the work. I loved his approach to it. I realized when talking with a member from Durham that maybe the members don't exactly get as excited as we do as missionaries when "Hastening the Work" is discussed. That was a shocker to me! haha ;) But seriously. Anyway, this talk addressed how we can be better about it without having to feel guilty that we aren't presently perfect at sharing our beliefs with our friends, family, and neighbors. He said that a member of the church was also a golfer in this fancy PGA tournament and a fellow golfer asked him about his beliefs. He said, paraphrasing, "You mean to tell me that you believe that Jesus Christ is at the head of your church? And that a young boy prayed and beheld a vision where he saw God and Jesus Christ? And that then he was ordained to be a prophet and restore Christ's original church on the earth?" And the member golfer replied, "Yes, all those things you asked are true. Yes I truly believe them." And the non-member golfer said back to him, "If I believed that, you couldn't stop me from telling everyone that story."

WOW! The speaker said that hearing that made him feel an inch tall. And then it led him to want to more actively share the gospel and the message of the Restoration. If we truly believe these things, let us be more bold and loving about sharing our beliefs. The story is incredible. It is miraculous. It is one filled with love and with inspiration from on high. I'm so grateful for the opportunity I get to share it with these people here in North Carolina.

We got to teach A LOT this week. Which is ideal. And wanna know why? It is because the members here are inviting their friends to take the lessons! To meet with the missionaries! What a concept! (I admit to my lack of commitment and desire to do this for myself before I came on my mission.)

We shared the message of the Restoration with a woman, T. She is a Christian and attends faithfully to that church. Her neighbors are members of the ward and invited her to the Gladys Knight fireside with the choir. She truly had her heart softened and her mind opened to the Book of Mormon through the testimonies shared there. What a miracle. She had some questions about what it was and how it relates to the Bible. It was Sister Zoolakis and I's first time teaching the full first lesson without having to come back to finish it. It was incredible. The Spirit was there and the member encouraged her to read the Book of Mormon starting at the front and imagine it as a story. When we came back to have a second lesson and lunch on Saturday, she had not only read the chapters we had assigned, but 3 extra ones! It was the most exciting thing! Her neighbor told us to not be too pushy with her (missionaries...pushy... what!?! haha... jk) and to take it slow. So we did. We were able to share the cup demo with her and her daughter and a few of the neighborhood kids as well.

Also. Children are incredible! T's daughter, who will soon become our investigator, said that she would love to attend church with us the next day and it was soooo refreshing to see how humble and eager children are. Although T didn't come to church the next day, we trust that her wonderful daughter was able to share the fun experiences she had, which will lead to her coming later on this month.

We have also been teaching a less-active member, Sister P, and her neighbor, Brother M. I love calling investigators "Brother" so and so. Even though it feels kinda awkward sometimes haha. Anyway... More incredible than her friend learning about the gospel, or at least equally exciting, is the testimony builder it is for the less active member. She is truly understanding what we say! She is having her testimony strengthened! We explained real intent to her and she GOT it! It was a miracle to see. (They live in a group home-ish, for people with slight handicaps.)

We haven't been able to have as many less-active and active member lessons this past week because all of these members have been inviting their friends over! What a miracle!

Sister Kriz has to get her own lil cups of water now :)

UMMM... My companion had her first Bo-Berry biscuit! That was exciting! I'm super hungry right now. haha... what else?!

I'm so excited to go on exchange with my sister leader this week! LIKE SOOOO EXCITED! Not to mention that she knows Amelia Knuth and so we bond over our love for her all day. haha

ANYWAY!!! I better end this! I love you all!