Hello all you beautiful people!!!
So sorry for not writing last week, all the libraries were closed because of the holiday, so I couldn't send out a big email. We're back this week though!
This mission experience continues to be bizarre, wonderful, beautiful, crazy, stressful, difficult, glorious, and every other adjective you can think to include. I'm not sure why the following is true, but it is: the closer you get to the beach, the crazier the people get. I think homelessness is a growing problem here, but it is especially common near the beaches. We had a conversation with a sweet old homeless woman named Marjorie. She is a strong believer in God and has had many experiences to prove it. She had met missionaries before and would always say hi to them, she even has a Book of Mormon! One thing that surprised me was that she seemed perfectly content to be where she was and be who she was. She knows that God watches out for her and sends people to her like us, to help. All we did was listen to her, but I guess even something as small as that helps people sometimes. We invited her to church the next time she was in the area and she said she would come :)
In church yesterday we talked about the law of sacrifice, which is devoting all of your time, talents and energy to God and his work, and how it really is a law of love. Sometimes we tend to fixate on how much we think we give up at certain points in our lives, and we don't think about the blessings that will come after the trial is over. In Romans 8:18 it says:
18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
If we could see the blessings that are coming to us, we would have no fear or doubt. But I guess that's where faith comes in, right? We have to show God that we still believe he's there, even when we don't feel like he is. There will always be things that we have to sacrifice in order to be closer to God, but He always gives us ten times the blessings in return. Making those sacrifices, whatever they might be, show God that we love Him and are willing to give things up to know Him better. This life was never made for us to go through alone. It's made for us to learn how to turn to the only beings that can truly help us, our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
Sister Moosman and I have been working hard and we've seen that hard work paying off. We've been able to meet so many members who haven't been to church in a while, but who want to start making changes to come back. It takes a lot of work to be a part of the Lord's kingdom and some are not prepared to give what He asks, but He never leaves us to do it alone. That is something we will try and help them understand though. With the Lord, there's never "something for nothing". In the pictures below, you'll see a young man named Chris- in the middle of a group of missionaries- who just made the decision to be baptized and who we had the privilege of teaching. His father is a member, but he didn't grow up learning about the church very much and he took lessons from missionaries when he was a teenager, but they never really stuck with him. It wasn't until recently that he decided he wanted to really commit himself to God, so he made the decision to be baptised. He has been without work for a while, but found a job right when he made the decision to be baptised. It has been amazing to see how Chris has been blessed for that choice and for how much he has served his fellow men. A few days after our first lesson with him, he volunteered to help at a women's activity at the church and then a few days after that he helped someone in our ward move. Chris's greatest desire is to help people and for that I know God will bless him beyond measure.
I am so thankful to be a part of God's work here in southern California! I know that this church is the true and living church of Jesus Christ on this earth today. He is at the head of it, and gives direction to a living prophet Russell M Nelson, who has been called of God. The Savior's Atonement works for all who will believe and come to him. I Am thankful for all of you and for your faith, prayers, love, and support! Have a wonderful week!
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