This week, we had a lot of really amazing experiences!
First off, a little background. Indiana gets dark at 6pm in the Winter, which makes knocking on doors at 6 super weird because by 6:30 it feels like it is 9pm, and we have to squint and use street light to see in our planners (no tablets just yet...the running joke of getting them in 3 months is still going and has been for years haha) anyway, after a dinner we planned to find in the neighborhood. So, I drove until I saw a street stick out to me and we started knocking on doors. We found some good potentials and then knocked on the door of this lady who was on the phone. She was very animated. We knocked twice and then she started coming towards the door, but instead of opening it she locked the door and turned on the lights on her porch....that we were standing on....we were really confused, so we stood there for another good minute and she walked by again and you could see the surprise on her face when she saw us at her door. She quickly said "It's the missionaries!!! I have to go!!!" She opened the door and said "Sisters! Come in!!!" Okay, so by this point I know she's gotta be a member, but I have NO CLUE who she is.... I ask her for her name and she tells us and my companion THANK GOODNESS knew her last name. We had a lovely discussion and she told her amazing story of how her husband came to be a member and all the adversity she had been facing and we shared a scripture with her that came to mind and this sister was in tears, thanking us profusely for coming and sharing that, she said that she really needed it. We then told her that we didn't actually know who she was at first and had no idea she lived on that street. She was FLOORED! We told her we were inspired to knock her street and she was blown away that God would send her the missionaries when she needed them. God is in the details of our lives.
We got a text from a random number asking if we were the Fishers 1 sisters. We told them yes and asked what we could do for them. They told us they were a member in the ward and that their mom who was baptized 16 years ago but hadn't been active since due to the circumstances of where she lived. She now lives in Fishers and that he told us he would like us to teach her all of the lessons again because she knew next to nothing about the church or gospel. She has a super unique background because she has lived as a mountaineer her whole life where the culture hasn't really changed in over 200 years. She lived in a hollow (pronounced holler) and has to get use to the "real world." She hadn't watched tv in years and says that everything is so interesting to her!
We stopped by Brad this week and found out he got a new CEO and had been on call all week, so he wasn't able to meet with us, but we are praying that this week we can meet with him!
One day at the end of studies, we received a call from an unknown number. I answered and it was a lady named Amelia. Flashback to a couple days before, we were trying to contact a recent convert (RC) and a 13 year old girl named Chantise opened the door, she told us the the RC wasn't there and that they were only temporarily living there and were moving soon. We offered our help to moved and gave her our card. So Amelia, her mom, was calling us and asking us if we helped people move and how much we charge! We told her nothing, and that we were happy to help! She was so excited! (and even more amazed that missionaries could help her unpack too!) She then asked if she could bring her kids to church! We told her of course and that we would love to teach them in her home too!!! So we are now teaching Chantise and her little brother Jordan! We will have to hand them off when they move, but we are so happy they get to learn about the Gospel now!
Lately I have been reading Alma, and these verses stood out to me in a very different way this time. They are in Alma 34:
"31 Yea, I would that ye would come forth and harden not your hearts any longer; for behold, now is the time and the day of your salvation; and therefore, if ye will repent and harden not your hearts, immediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought about unto you.
32 For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors."
So, I got to thinking about how life is a test, with everything we do leading up to the moment we stand before God to be judged according to our works and the desires of our hearts. To make this a little bit understandable I related this to tests we take in school that are REALLY important like final exams. We typically:
-go to class every day
-study every day (not procrastinating)
-talk about or teach it to others
-memorize flashcards
-ask the teacher questions
-THINK about it A LOT!
Now, if standing before God to be judged is the ultimate final exam and literally our entire eternity is based off of it, you would think that we would put a little more effort to preparing for it right? Every one of the things we do to prepare for school exams can be related to the Gospel.
-->instead of going to a class, we go to church to learn every week and partake of the Sacrament.
-->instead of studying a science or history textbook we study God's handbook: the scriptures and words of prophets and apostles, every day.
-->we share the Gospel with others and talk about it in our homes and with our friends (be a missionary!)
-->we memorize scriptures that we can call upon in times of temptation or need
-->we can talk to the ultimate teacher: God, and He can help us find answers to our questions every day in prayer.
-->Think and ponder about the Gospel and our Savior, Jesus Christ A LOT. The scriptures say, "Look unto me in EVERY thought" (D&C 6:36)
As I put these thoughts together in my studies, I gained a stronger appreciation for the mercy and love of God and the perfectness of His plan. He asks a lot of us as any good parent would of their child, but we know it isn't to make us miserable or to overburden us with things to do, but it is to enable us to have the most fulfilling and happy present life and the BEST future possible. Not just a good future or a better future, but the greatest future we could possibly imagine and then some. God loves us friends. Take some time to examine what you are doing with your time. How are you preparing to meet God?
Serving with a Smile,
Sister Bradley
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