Feeling & Recognizing the Spirit

First off, thanks for forgiving me for not writing about the people that we are teaching here! And if you didn't forgive me, shame on you because you should haha. I'm not sure why I feel this guilt about it! Guilt is a form of discouragement from the adversary but I cannot seem to get a hold on it! I guess I have in my mind this idea of what people want to hear. But really this is my mission and my blog and my email so I guess I should feel happy about whatever I write hahaha. (WOW I NEED TO LEARN HUMILITY)

This week we ate out 7 times in 5 days. Almost all by members. I FELT SO SICK. haha obviously the food was great and all that but seriously it was an interesting week. Sis. B and I planned to eat out today and this amazing deli but we have eaten out way too much that we are going to have to postpone that haha.

Also, after the day of Trunk or Treat, I realized I had had SOOOOOO many sweets. I made a comment that I wouldn't be able to have sweets for week. Sis B looked at me like that would never happen... haha I said, "Challenge accepted." So I am on day 5 with no sweets. No that doesn't mean no sugar... just no sweets as in candy or brownies or dessert. Obviously I can still have a granola bar even though that has sugar (I'm not that crazy haha). Anyway, it has been going well and I have found I have more temperance that I thought I did.

Fasting was also good yesterday. Fasting really helps me to get more spiritually in tune and I really have a testimony of the power it brings into our lives.

Ward Halloween Trunk or Treating

Talk of the week: "Fathers and Sons: A remarkable relationship" Ballard, 2009. READ IT! And apply it to your relationships with everyone! It was soo good. Dad!!! You're the best and I thought about you as I read the whole thing.

Also, I always write about how grateful I am for my parents and being raised in a gospel centered home, but I really, really am so grateful and I think about it almost every day. I just LOVE the gospel. And I love my family.

Now, the reason for the title (makes me think of the "reason for the season" I LOVE FALL):

I love feeling the Spirit. I love the guidance I receive from Him. And, I have been so blessed this past little while to be able to see how others feel it and heard it as well. It's incredible how the Spirit works differently for so many kinds of people.

1) Our amazing new ward missionary got up to bear her testimony. She was just called last week. She talked about how when she knows she is going to get up to share her testimony, she gets these terrible nerves, and then when she gets up there, she feels a calming release and the Spirit confirms to her that she did the right thing. She said the same is true when she wants to share the gospel with her friends, family members, and even strangers. 

She had an experience where she was all dressed up to go on exchange with us and she had to drop her kid off at school. The teacher noted on her dressy clothes and she just said that she was spending some time with some girls from church. The reaction of the lady was, "Oh, fun! Girls day out!" (Not exactly what you would call an exchange with the Sisters-- unless you're Sister Dibb ppr Sister Andersen from D4 [LOVE THEM haha]) Anyway, she felt the release of anxiety, but in a bad way. In a way she knew she missed an opportunity to share the gospel. She also relayed a good example of how she invited many people to the fish fry of people she kind of knew when she was at the laundromat. She said the difference when she actually follows the promptings of the Spirit are similar to when she bears her testimony on Fast Sunday. She ended her testimony with, "Yup, this is how my first week as a ward missionary went." IT WAS AMAZING! We are so blessed to have her. She has already started a volleyball night for members to invite their friends and family too. She is going to be such a force for good and I know that she will be helping us out so much. I was so grateful for her example in sharing the gospel.

2) Our investigator, C, is AMAZING! I love her so much. She is the girlfriend of a returning less active member. She and her 12 year old daughter, M, are investigating the church. They are reading the Book of Mormon, attending church, and asking really good questions. After we finished teaching the Restoration lesson with just C, we asked her to read and pray about the Book of Mormon, specifically its truthfulness. She obliged, but said that she already believed it was true. THAT IS MUSIC TO A MISSIONARY'S EARS!!! haha or to anyone's ears for that matter. We continued to talk about the end of the lesson and she reverted the conversation back to when she had made the previous statement of believing the Book of Mormon. She said that as she said those words aloud, she felt a rush of cold chills go down her entire body, confirming that what she had said was true. OH MY GOODNESS!!! It was the most perfect moment. I was giddy and I was just soooo happy that not only had she FELT the Spirit, but she had also RECOGNIZED the Spirit. Our testimony grows as we share it! Even when we are not exactly sure. We can "believe" something and it can be confirmed to us. 

I had a district leader once bear his testimony that he "believed in the Book of Mormon 100%." That week the Zone Leaders were there and they commended him on his belief. If you do not KNOW... that's okay. Just believe. Make place for a portion of the word to grow in your hearts! (Alma 32)

3) M, C's daughter, said the following statement after her first week at church: "That is the most comfortable I felt at any church." THAT IS THE SPIRIT! She is young and may not know the scriptures too well, but she knows what she feels. Luckily, a large part of that is due to the fact that the Shallotte ward

is awesome and the young women are fantastic. Another part is that M is shy but confident and is making friends pretty easily. It's so wonderful to see her interact with the other girls.

It makes me think of how I would have acted in Young Women's if there were girls that were investigating. And there often were. I hope that I did my part to make them feel welcome. I can't say I did perfectly, but I do distinctly remember sitting by one of the young men's girlfriend once and making sure she knew what was going on.

Sometimes we think of missionary work as inviting our friends to activities, girls camp, etc. That is true. But... don't forget to CONSIDER inviting these friends to meet the full-time missionaries. I know that it is hard and it might not seem natural at first. But... I promise you it will yield you blessings. I PROMISE!!! (If you don't believe me, refer to all the written and spoken opinions of the 12 Apostles and the Prophet of the full-time missionaries haha).

4) Another person's testimony from the ward really stuck out to me yesterday too, Bro. M. He has been really sick and fighting cancer. He is old. Not too old. He drove us to Highway 55 the other day, but still pretty old. Anyway, he said that he had a dream about spirit prison and that he asked Heavenly Father if he could write what he had seen down. NO... this was not a wacky man or anything like that. It was soooooooooo amazing. He said that he finished writing about 5 pages about his dream. It was so sincere and humble the way he talked about it. It made me think about if I would have thought to ask if I could write it down... It was so inspiring how much this man wanted to be directed by the Spirit. I really believe that because of his desire to be led by the Spirit, and his appreciation for sacred things, he was blessed with that dream.

My favorite chapter in the Book of Mormon is Alma 31. I felt the need to tell everyone that. haha

Love ya lots. I hope you are doing the things you are supposed to be doing! :)

Sister Ray