1 Peter 1:7

Last week I believe I shared in my big email home about my studies about Sacrifice, and how I was going to start making some changes in my life and start sacrificing lots of different things. Well, I had forgotten that just because you have decided to follow God's will doesn't mean things are going to get easier. In my case they turned out to be exactly opposite. I have now come to truly understand the stance of all the recent converts in the church and how people feel when we are asking them to change there life styles. IT'S HARD!! But I found the scripture 1 Peter 1:7 the other day.. along with 1-6 of that chapter, that really helped me to have a better understanding of why things got harder. God is looking for His elect and in order to find them he puts in a refinery and allows Satan to try us and to put things in our path. And when we use our agency correctly and push forward even in the heat of things we will come out the out  the clean of clean. Another scripture that has helped me this week is found in Helaman 3:35 I want that true purification and sanctification. And by yielding up our hearts, even during the trials and hardships, we will be ready to be in the presence of our Heavenly Father.

 

The work has been a lot different in this area. A lot of people are willing to have you come over and teach, but a lot of them aren't really interested and don't tell you till the 3rd or 4th lesson. So it's been kind of hard realizing who the true elect are, but it's helping me rely more on the spirit of discernment to know. My companion and I have been fasting and praying for our area, and we've been emailing back in forth with our mission president and others to receive the counsel that we need. We have felt very strongly about really getting the members interested in helping, and doing missionary work.... but with some of the things that happened in the past in this area has made it a lot harder to earn the trust of the members again.

This is how people remember her name

 

We were very blessed to have a lot of member lessons this week. And hopefully soon they will turn into Member Present lessons and we will have some more investigators to teach. Yesterday we were over at a members home waiting for their friend Abdula to come over. He wasn't able to come so we talk to the members and it was very spiritual. The spirit impressed upon all of our hearts the power and importance of having the members and missionaries working together. I wish I could better explain the spirit that was there, but words cannot describe. After the lesson we all just sat and looked at each other with amazement of how wonderful we all felt. I know that it is God's plan that the members and missionaries work together. John 4:36 talks all about members who are the sowers and missionaries who are the reapers. And if we remember 1 Nephi 3:7 when God gives us a commandment he also provides a way for us to reach it. :)

 

Nothing to crazy happened this week in the ghetto's. We have this awesome family of 6 and they all have a baptismal date for the 28th of June. We pointed out to them this week the change that has happened in their home since they started listening to the messages and reading and praying together as a family. They said they have noticed a big change too. Now we are just working on getting both the parents new jobs so they can come to church. Please pray for them.

 

Texas Sunset

I told you we were having a lot of member lessons, and that is because on Thursday we finally were able to finish going through our Branch directory, and we have 36 less active people/ families in our area.... I am really excited to meet them. We met one on Saturday and she is a mother of 3 boys who are not members, but she really wants them to be baptized and go to church. The only problem is that she works 7 days a week 12 hour shifts at a refinery.... The only days we can teach them is when it rains.. so we're praying for that rain. :)

 

I love you all soooooooo much! I know the things that I have shared are true and will change our lives if we are willing to just yield up our hearts and give our all.

 

Love,

Hermana Watkins