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| Sister Harris and I at CF Great Strides Walkathon |
Hey hey!
It's been another
great week. I feel like the experiences from this week are a little all
over the place so bear with me.
This week Sister
Harris and I had another lesson with Yuri. We began to teach the
Plan of Salvation as we discussed the Pre-earth life, the Creation and Fall,
and why we're here on earth. During our lesson, Yuri would break in and share
experiences he's had to follow the Savior's example by reaching out
and serving others, and loving them no matter what. We tied his experiences as
to how we can follow Jesus Christ while we're here on earth, because that's
exactly what he's doing. He has a pure heart and wants to keep learning. His
English continually improves and he's working to become a lawyer here in the
U.S. We are blown away with how well he is progressing.
We also had another
lesson with our investigator Mike at the Hovey's. I used to have a hard time
understanding what his learning method was or how he was understanding what we
taught. I've come to realize he shows his progression
differently, but oh now I love that kid! Heavenly Father sure opened
my eyes last night to see him for who he is. Since he is leaving for college
soon, he opened up in last night's lesson how he wants to stay on the
right path and make right decisions. He knows how many college students make
poor choices by turning to the wrong sources or substances, but he wants to
follow the Savior steadily. Our lesson last night was focused on the Atonement
as we are in the middle of "Earth Life" in the Plan of Salvation. At
the end of the lesson, I asked Mike how he would like to develop a more
personal relationship with Jesus Christ, or in other words, what more he would
like to do. I was going to ask if he would be willing to follow His
commandments as he learns about them, but then Sister Hovey asked without fear
"Mike, what about baptism?" We weren't going to bring it up before
since his mom said at one point she did not want him to become Mormon (we will
face that later--I know it will work out in the right timing), but holy
smokes this felt so right at this time!!
Mike continued on how
he was already baptized, since he was Catholic, so Sister Hovey taught about
how the restored priesthood is vital and how children under 8 are not held
accountable. He agreed that he didn't make the decision himself--that he's
grown since then and thought more about what he wants in his life. At this
point of the lesson, everyone in the room was still. The lesson was running
over and I had to get home for treatment, so I told how we will teach more
about baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost next time. I gave a brief
explanation on what the Holy Ghost does, as it's the second part of baptism and
would not be complete without it. Before I knew it, the words "As a
representative of Jesus Christ, I testify to you..." spilled out as
blessings were promised to him on how the Holy Ghost would fulfill his desires,
ambitions, and provide direction for his future. I could tell right then, as I
wasn't sure what was coming from my mouth, what he needed in his life and that
he was ready. I was able to understand how he needs the constant
companionship of the Holy Ghost in his life, and how he wants to follow
Christ's example. Before we left, he promised he would set a few minutes
aside to find a quiet spot, kneel down, and sincerely ask Heavenly Father if
this is the right decision for him.
This morning I came
across the scripture in Isaiah 55:8-9 that fit perfectly. "For my thoughts are
not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,
saith the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
There are times
where I may stubbornly assume or jump to conclusions on what will happen or how
things are, whether it is based on what I observe of how
situations seem to be going. However, I was reminded again of how the Lord
often has a much more marvelous plan than what we can imagine. We may find
ourselves setting boundaries based on what we see and observe in the
moment. There's only so much we can comprehend or picture as to what He has in
store. However, faith can step in as we can trust in how much more our Heavenly
Father may have planned, simply out of love as He wants to give the provide the
best He possibly can.
The rest of this week
was filled with organizing area information and becoming involved in
service opportunities to lift others up. It's been a little bit of an
emotionally-draining week regarding CF matters. Some heartbreaking news
that Sister McGill shared with us was that her family's close friend
with Cystic Fibrosis passed away this week. He was
also their son Tyler-- who is on a mission--'s best
friend. Sister Harris and I weren't sure how much we could do besides
praying for them, so we came up with the idea of making something for Sister
McGill involving her all-time-favorite...Reece's. That's when the
brilliant idea came--peanut butter cookies with chopped up Reece's inside.
Ohhh sweet sugar they were so good. You have got to make them! Sister
McGill said they were the best, so we were glad that we were able to help in a
small way.
Something else
happened this week I never thought would happen on the mission--Sister Harris
and I were able to attend Great Strides! There was a family who was in our branch
with a couple of teenagers with CF. They hadn't been to church in a while,
but we thought we could support them by joining their daughter's team for
the event. We got permission a while ago, so we headed to the Cape. I prayed
hard that morning as it was pouring rain with strong winds
that it would clear up in time. Surely enough, it did.
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| The Cape Cod Canal...Great Strides Walkathon route along this |
The walk was
beautiful--right along the Cape Cod canal. We didn't think there would be much sunlight
at all, but we were wrong, and there was an overcast...it wasn't until we got
home that we realized we were lobsters. Whoops. We tried to keep a safe
distance from the two kids with CF, but I'll admit it was still very very
nerve-racking. Sister Harris made a very good body guard and kept a good eye
out. :) Overall, though, it was a good event and the family was glad that we
were there to support them.
Well I better get
going but I hope you all have a wonderful week. Did I mention that I CANNOT
wait for Friday????? :D
Love you all so much,
Sister Roy
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