YAYYYYY~~~ This week went swell!

Dear blog readers,

kinda old pic, sorry...

First I would like to start with a much warranted shout out to my best friend Kaitlin Kelly. Why? Because she is amazing and I love her and not only does she have pretty red hair but she is talented in sports, extremely smart, and dedicated to living the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Okay... Now... what you all have been waiting for.

But first, a precursor explanation. I hope this post will be inspiring and invigorating to any and all who read. Sister Z and I made goals this week to be able to write our mission president first, then our families, then everyone else. Sometimes we feel so guilty for short-changing the people that matter most and we get caught up with other trivial things! So here goes our first week trial run.

Purple swing

This week was incredible. And I have the pictures to back it up (social media narcissism). Seriously though. It was such a fun week full of lessons and miracles. So the big goal around here is to have 20 lessons a week. It is actually the big goal for the whole missionary force, as far as I'm concerned. I guess in some areas it is easier to achieve than others, but we are working our hardest to reach it. To be honest, I have only reached it once with a companion on my mission. And it was a miracle. It was the first week it was announced, way back in Durham with Sister B, my trainer. This week Sister Z and I got our closest we have had to it yet... 18 LESSONS!!! Woo. Steady and sure improvement. We have been just seeing so many things fall into place with the help of our loving Heavenly Father.

Let me make a plug to feed the missionaries. FEED THEM! Not because they are hungry (and they are), or don't know how to cook well (at least I don't), not because they don't have enough money to cook for themselves (and they don't), not because they don't have the time to cook (because they don't), BUT BECAUSE.... drum roll...

PB & J quesadilla

We are starving for the interaction!!! We really are. We don't care as much about eating another bowl of cereal for dinner or another peanut butter and jelly quesadilla (more on that later), but we want to eat with your family because we truly care and love your family. We want to be able to help your family see the blessings and miracles of missionary work, and member missionary work at that. We want you and your family to see miracles! And we know you want that too. Everyone wants to see miracles. EVERYONE! (I hope)

So if you don't have the money to be able to feed the missionaries, invite them over for a lesson. We want to get to know how to show your family miracles. Just trust me on this one.

So... we had some amazing active member lessons this week that really yield fruits, as shown by referrals, friendships, the Spirit, and more super-trust! We called a family to "fill up our water bottles" (and we did) but we really wanted to get to know this family more on a personal and spiritual level. They said that the Sisters had never stopped by before and that they were so happy that we did. Not only did we yield the miracle of a potential invitation back someday soon, but we got to know their story. It was incredible to gather around their family room. We shared an excerpt from the talk "Your Four Minutes." They were family totally into sports and it was the perfect fit. We now love their family even more and were inspired by the Holy Ghost to visit them.

Sister Kriz & the kittens

The same was true of another family we stopped by to see that same day too. We knew the past Sisters had a great relationship with this family and we wanted it to continue. We got to meet their three baby kittens and their family! Such a fun part of our day. We, with faith, asked for referrals (sometimes it's hard to ask for referrals). YES YES YES!!! They said they want us to meet their neighbor and mow her lawn! TWO IN ONE! WOOOOOO!!! :) haha. We were so excited. Also, as a side note, they invited us back to join them for dinner next week for pizza night. YAY! haha

And I know, I know, it sounds like I am obsessed with food (and maybe I am...), but the real deal (@realdealkrizzle) fact of the matter is that we are CALLED TO TEACH AND PREACH AND WORK AS MISSIONARIES DO! And I'm sorry but I would wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy rather have to plan a lesson for an active member family (which takes spiritual and mental exertion) then to have to plan what to eat and all that jazz. SOOOOO... sign up for the missionaries. Because we are called to teach, not to sit in our apartment and eat ramen noodles. Okay. Enough on that.

We had some wonderful lessons with a few of our investigators. I will relay the "scariest" one first.
S is a very passionate woman. She believe in the Trinity and she knows her Bible. And yet she is open. Open to us, and open to more truth. But confused how the Book of Mormon fits in with the Bible. Obviously, that is why we are there. We did our best to be able to share what we know to be true, but eventually, we were backed up to a wall of our faith.

I boldly told her, "I'm going to be honest with you. If I didn't have the testimony that I do, I would NEVER come back." (That was directly after she went on and on and on about the Bible and all that jazz.) I said, "But I do have a testimony, which is why I am going to go back and study, and we are going to bring someone to help us teach more fully the way we believe." I promised her with all the courage and testimony I could muster, that she could gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon. She is seeking for truth so deeply and so intently, she said she would throw her Bible out of the picture if that's what she felt like the Holy Spirit was leading her to do. She was doctrinal support (I can admire that) and she wants pure doctrine. I promised her that if she did the things that we told her (read the Book of Mormon, attend church with us regularly, and sincerely pray) that she would get her answer and she would be able to be baptized on July 19th. We will see her again tomorrow and see how much more the Spirit can work with her. I have great faith in th converting power of the Book of Mormon.

Another investigator we saw again this week was J. She was the preacher at her church that I wrote about last week. She is lovely. We walked in and she told the kids (she has over 20 whether adopted, fostered, or her own) to turn off the TV, turn on the lights, and all gather around. What a miracle. That is usually our awkward job to get all of that done. She did it for us. She really loves the word of God. I love her so much. So, we met more of the kids before sitting down for our official lesson and it was amazing. Especially the interaction with her daughter. Her daughter said, "Haven't I met you before? You gave me a card while I was working at Food Lion? You all were talking about peanut butter." (loose quote) WHATTTTTTTT!!!? Full circle. We handed a card out a Food Lion (It probably was not even a great contact if I remember right haha) and she remembered us! And then... now here she is becoming our new investigator! The Lord is truly preparing the hearts of these people to receive the gospel. It is the most beautiful thing. Not only did it make me happy and strengthened my testimony of the saying, "No effort is wasted," but it made J, the preacher, gain more trust with us. She saw, in a small way, how committed we really are to preaching this gospel. It was a great lesson about the Book of Mormon and they committed to read the first chapter. We are so excited to go back.

Also, another note about that lesson... The member we went with enjoyed the lesson so much that she offered to buy J a large print copy of the Book of Mormon. Wow! That is one way that true fellowshipping looks like! It was incredible. Also, she was recently called into the Relief Society Presidency and is totally going to be a huge jumpstarter and advocate for more sisters to start going on exchanges. In our missionary moment, she shared that she was able to go on exchanges with us and how she felt a "strong surge of the Spirit" at the lesson. That is what it's all about! The Spirit! The Spirit is the true teacher. I blubber my lil lips and the Spirit is able to carry those words onto the hearts of the people. Then it is their choice to listen and accept, or that other option we don't like to talk about.

Another miracle with a member coming with us to a lesson: So she joined us for a lesson in a less-active members' home, with their friend who is our investigator (what an ideal situation). The lesson went well, it was led by the Spirit, but in my mind, there wasn't all that much that was standout-ish to me. We stepped foot out of that lesson and the member who was with us just starting crying. She was overwhelmed by the Spirit! She said that it was rare where she had ever felt the Spirit and deeply as she had during that lesson. Here we were focusing on the doctrine and their responses of course, enjoying the Spirit, obviously, but not at the profound level this member was! It was crazy. She just loved how much our investigator already "knew." That even though we were teaching him the Plan of Salvation, he already had a belief in a pre-earth life. It really showed her that these people are being led to the gospel and that they are truly being prepared. She also made mention of the powerful scriptures about the Plan of Salvation from the Book of Mormon that we shared. She said it realigned her priorities to be able to have more devoted scripture study. She commented on how all these truths are just right before her in the Book of Mormon and how she takes it for granted.

us & granny

YEAH! You could say it was a great week. Filled with adversary and trials as well, but when you have moments like we've had this week, it makes it all worth it. I love this gospel. I know it is real. It can bring so much power into our lives if we let it. I know it can.

I'm so grateful for my calling.

LOVE YA!
Sister Krizzle Ray

Sonic Oreo shakes :)

Waffle House with free coupon from Mom