Monday, October 29, 2012

Letter #43: October 29, 2012


Hey ya’ll!!

Ok so this week was super great!!  I love being a missionary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I love my companion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  She is soooo awesome.  :)  There were some downsides to this week, but all is well.  Let’s start with the good news!  Missionary work is incredible.  I have never felt such power from God present in my life so frequently and strongly.  By frequently and strongly, I mean pretty every thought I have is a prompting from the spirit.  It is so cool!  My entire mission and perspective has changed completely in the past week.  It changes a little bit everyday actually.... We are working as hard as we can and loving every minute of it!!  The most important thing that I’ve learned so far is the importance of submitting to and following God’s will in everything.  Every thought, every action, every spoken word.

Along with this lesson are two other things that play a major role in being able to seek God’s will, those things being humility and repentance.  Repentance is key to everything.  Using the power of the atonement is not just a luxury, it is a daily necessity.  When I truly started to repent daily (since about 4 or 5 weeks ago), is when I have been able to see the biggest changes in my life.  I no longer miss home or things (the funny thing about not missing home is that the less I miss home, the more my love for my family and friends grows.   Ha! Ha!  That doesn’t really make sense but that is simply how it is).   I feel grateful for everyday that I have to be here doing this work.  I am able to focus my abilities and talents on helping the people here. Repentance isn’t a one-time event; it is the divine process of becoming who God knows we can be. (I made that sentence up myself... pretty profound, eh?... :)  Ha! Ha!  Man, I’m still such a nerd...anyway...)

Now onto humility.  I’m pretty sure that the definition of humility is submitting to God’s will. Easier said than done.  But! It is essential.  There is a disease that all of us have to a degree and that is pride.  (Ha! Ha!.... That makes me remember the Mormon “Pride and Prejudice” movie and laugh….but it’s true).  Pride is what keeps us from repenting.  Pride is what makes us act out of accordance with God’s will.  Pride is what makes us think we are better or more deserving than others.  The only antidote to pride is humility. When we have these 3 things in mind (God’s will, repentance, and humility) we are blessed with the Holy Ghost to a stronger and more profound degree.

Right below these 3 things are diligence and obedience.  I say that diligence and obedience are below because if we are truly searching God’s will, we will seek to be obedient with diligence. “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (Nicely put Matthew)  Also, there is a scripture from the Book of Mormon that says, “If we are not humble, our faith and obedience are in vain”... ouch...but sooo true.  There is this line from the song “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” that I love, love, love!!  It says, “Here’s my heart, take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above”. In everything that I say and do, I am searching to say and do the things that the Lord would have me do.  NEVER have I felt such gratification in my entire life than when I am seeking God’s will!!!!

Story time:

We found the coolest lady!!  Her name is Patricia.  She passed us in the street when we were trying to find some lady from some random list.  In this moment, my companion and I were talking about the importance of saying “Hola” in a friendly and sincere way to the people in the street and so as she passed, we said “Hola”, super animated with huge smiles! She stopped and did kind of a double take and then started talking to us and telling us how cute we are and blah blah blah.  So, then we helped her carry her heavy grocery bags to her house and parted as happy friends.  The next day we went to invite her to the ward activity.  Long story short, we had a super spiritual lesson with her and her mom and shared the first vision and they both accepted baptismal dates for the 18th of November.

Then she came to the ward activity with us right after and met some members.  Last night we had one of the most powerful lessons I’ve ever taught in my entire mission. The spirit was overwhelming.  It was incredible.  The funny thing was that we had planned to teach them something else this night, but according to the promptings of the spirit, we changed what we had planned and taught what they needed.  The spirit guided us both in what to say and what to share. By the end they both told us that they know the Book of Mormon is true and are excited for their baptisms. :)  I can´t even begin to explain how incredible the work of the spirit is. 

Next:

My companion is soooo amazing. Because of her, I  have been able to discover so much about how the Holy Ghost works, what it truly means to be a disciple of Christ, and the joy that comes from living the gospel.  Plus she is HILARIOUS!!!  I have A LOT that I to tell you all about her, but I’m out of time... Sorry....

All is well my beloved family!!!  I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Until next week :)
-Hermana Hermansen

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