The weeks are just flying by! We saw a lot of miracles this week as we were diligent, showed our faith and were obedient. We met with Yali and taught her the message of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We were really lucky to have the Chinese sisters with Sister Luo who is from China facetime us to add or explain things and concepts that Yali had a hard time with! Yali has done so much searching on her own. In China they don't have YouTube and she has had a huge access here in America to so many things that she hadn't before! She had awful experiences in China that made her feel like she didn't belong. For example, she went to her pastor in China and told him that she wanted more children and that the Bible says "be fruitful" and "multiply and replenish the earth" and her pastor's response was shocking he said that her wanting more than 1 or 2 children is selfish and greedy and that those desires come from Satan. He also said that those commandments are "out of date." We sat there baffled when we heard this. She said she watched a talk by Elder Bednar that talked about this and that she felt peace and comfort in knowing she is not the only one who had those beliefs! In church, she sits there in complete joy as she hears all the children make noise and cry because everyone has big families and that is something that is so foreign to her. She told us after class (that was all about families, literally all the lessons we have had have been perfect for her) that she could only understand 30% of what everyone was saying because of the language barrier, but that she knows it is true and that it is from God. Yali feels the Spirit so strongly in the meetings because her heart is so open. She knows the Book of Mormon is true and she wants to be baptized as well as with her family. She considers it a gift to be able to come to America so that she could learn more about Jesus Christ's church and be baptized into it. What an inspiration.
We had a day this past week where we just weren't feeling very good and were kinda miserable and honestly, it would have been so easy to go and do something less productive than finding, but we pressed forward and tried contacting a man named Tyler. He wasn't home and his family was moving to Colorado so we decided to knock on a couple of houses next to him. The second door we knocked on a was a lady named Yilena. She was a little surprised and awkward, but after we told her that we desire to bring people closer to Christ, she allowed us to come back!!! Just goes to show that it is when we don't want to work (or pray, or read the scriptures, or go to church) that we need to the most and that we will receive the most blessings. We taught her the next day and she explained a little of the conflict she is facing in her life and we were able to show her that the Gospel is what will help her through all this conflict she is facing. I know I probably sound like a broken record, but I can't even describe how true it is that the Gospel has all the answers to life's trials and challenges!
Last week, we received a referral for a lady named Jackie. We visited her this week and taught her about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When we told her about Joseph Smith's first vision, she was astounded and couldn't believe that God actually heard his prayer and answered it! We assured her that not only did He do it for Joseph Smith, but that He answers all our prayers as well. As we approached the end of the lesson, we asked Jackie about her thoughts and feelings. She started to cry and told us that she hadn't felt loved by anyone in a long time, and we testified to her that she was feeling God's love right now, and told her how important she was to Him and to us.
Bouncing off of that thought, we taught Jessica and Josh (the family we met last week) and to be honest, it was super super awkward in the beginning. They both don't have a super strong Christian background, but the believe in Jesus Christ. We talked about the nature of God and Jesus Christ and their different roles that they play and the perfect plan that was given to us to allow us the chance to return to live with Them. They were pretty quiet and answered the questions we asked with very short statements, but then towards the end, Josh really surprised us. He said, "I have one question for you." And then we were 35 mins late to dinner....hahaha we repented, don't worry. Anyway, Josh started asking all these super deep questions about so many different doctrines. We thought to ourselves "Aha! You were paying attention!" One of his biggest concerns was that if God wants us to be happy, then why would he ask us not to do things that make us happy (like drink alcohol in his case). We realized the distinct difference there is between having happiness and having joy. Happiness is often associated with temporary things, like being comfortable and indulging in things of pleasure. However, real joy comes from tasting of the love of God. Lehi clearly states this in the Book of Mormon in when he says,
"And as I partook of the fruit thereof (that represents the love of God) it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy...for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit." (1 Nephi 8:12)
Do "other fruit[s]" get in the way of the fruit that will fill us the most? Other fruits may temporarily make us happy and fill us for a short time, but none will last like that of the fruit Lehi spoke of. I promise that as you seek the Love of God, your soul will find peace, and all the other trials that you face in life will become much easier because of the support you know you have from the Almighty God.
Serving with a Smile,
Sister Bradley
We went on exchanges with the Warsaw Sisters this week :) Me, Murray, Boren, Hardy
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