Bonjour tout le monde! So, I don't have a lot of time, but I'm going to try to describe the millions of things I learned this week...because there were a LOT! And they all came from learning to listen to and recognize the Holy Ghost. First of all, we had zone conference this week. In my interview with President, I decided I needed to ask him how to better understand the promptings of the Holy Ghost. I feel like I have a hard time recognizing when it's the Holy Ghost or just my own thoughts. So, he told me to try a basic exercise. Pick a subject that I feel very sure is true about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then, pray to know if it's true. Pay close attention to my feelings after. If it is anything good, peaceful, or calm, then it is of the Spirit. Remember what that feels like, and then pay attention to when I feel those feelings again. So, I tried it the next morning during my personal study. I picked the Book of Mormon. That is a book that I have full conviction is a literal record of ancient prohpets translated by the power of God, with information in it that we need to be able to live with God again. So, I prayed about it. I told God, I am pretty positive this book is true. There's nothing about it to me that doesn't make sense. There's nothing in it I don't believe. So I followed Moroni's invitation, and asked if this book is not true. I said "God, are my feelings about this book wrong? Because I don't think they are." Well, afterwards, I just sat there for a few minutes. I felt the same as I had when I started my studies, but that was a good sign to me, because I knew I had already invited the spirit in that morning when I started my studies. So I knew the spirit was still there, since my feelings of goodness and peace and calm hadn't left. Then the thought clearly came into my head, "you already know. You've always known." And I said why yes I do! And that sealed it up for me. That Book is literally the word of God folks, written by his mouthpieces the prophets. And I wouldn't know that if it weren't for the Holy Ghost. Now my ability to testify of that book is a lot stronger, because I actually did the invitation that I give people every day. I invite you all to do the same. :) So, now we have an incredible ami named Sarah. She had all of the lessons when she lived for a summer with her relatives in Cali. But now she's back in France and says she just doesn't feel ready to get baptized, but doesn't know why. She doesn't really see why she needs to do it now and can't just do it a few years when she feels more ready. She said she's made all the efforts to try to figure out if now is the time and to help herself feel more ready. Well, we all sat there for a minute, and the word "fasting" just came to my head. Thanks, Holy Ghost! So, I asked if she had ever tried fasting. She said no. So we explained what it was, and she got really excited and wanted to try it. So, we told her to read Alma 5 as she fasted and to pray a lot to receive an answer if she should get baptized now or not. Well, we prayed a lot she'd actually do it. 2 days later we get a phone call from her around noon. She tells us she hadn't eaten breakfast and she wasn't going to eat lunch either and was going to do it! The full fast! That night she texted us and told us she did it, "not even with a little snack in between" she said. Haha. I was so proud of her and so grateful for the Spirit for putting that idea into my head! We will be seeing her on Wednesday to discuss how it went. Next, last week we got picked up by a sister in our ward to go do some service at their house. Well, right when she picked us up, she accidentally bumped the fender of another car in the parking lot and left a pretty good mark. We all 3 sat in the car for a minute and she was on the verge of tears, telling us she didn't know what to do, because she didn't have money to pay for that. Well, we all decided to pray. I said the prayer, and the words "please help us always be willing to be obedient and honest, even when it's hard" came out of my mouth. Thanks again, Holy Ghost! So, afterwards she asked what I thought she should do. I could only think of leaving a note on the car with her phone number. She did so, and when we were driving away she said she felt so much better after leaving the note, because she knew it was the right thing to do. She said it was hard to write it and put it there, but now she felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders because she knew God would bless her for being honest. Well, this week we saw her and that person never even ended up calling her. God really blesses us when we do what is right, especially when it's not what is easy! Ok, next example. We're out contacting and we meet this girl who is actually half-American. She is a devout Christian, which is so rare to find here! However, it got a little bit into a Bible-bashing session. She asked us tons of hard questions. The one I hate and dread the most that people ask, "are you telling me my baptism wasn't valid?" came out. Well, I just stopped. I needed to really listen to the Spirit, because I could tell I was talking too much from my own head. So I waited a minute and opened my mouth, not knowing what I was going to say. Then the words came out, "Sophie, I don't know you. But, I know that God knows you perfectly. I know that God knows the desires and intentions of your heart. I know that He knows you have faith in Him. I know that He has all the answers. I know that because He loves you so much, He wants to give you the answers. You've just go to ask Him. I'm not going to tell you if your baptism was valid or not. Because it's not my baptism. It's by God's power that we are baptised, therefore, you should ask Him. Pray sincerely to know if it was valid, and He'll answer you." She really switched after that moment, and became very soft and willing to listen. She said, "Ok, I can do that. Thank you. I've never thought to ask Him that before until now." Thank you, Holy Ghost. You know the scripture without the spirit you will not teach? Well, it's true. God knows what His children need to hear, not me. That's why I've got to use His spirit to talk to them. Last one. We have an ami named Sylvie. She has had all the lessons and been with the missionaries for quite some time. We had planned a lesson on the prohpets with her. When we started the lesson though, we could tell that something was bothering her. So, we ask to her about it instead of starting our lesson. She just pours out her heart. She said she wants to get baptized but she has one fear. And that is that she's afraid if she's at a birthday party or a holiday party and someone offers her a drink, she won't be able to say no. We talked about this with her and it got to the point where we were all getting a bit frustrated. It was hard to understand why something so small would keep her from such joy. So, we knew we needed to invite the spirit back. We all got on our knees and had her offer a prayer and ask to have the strength to say "no" when offered a drink. After she was done, the spirit was back and it was strong. The thought came to me that there are little hurdles for every single one of us that are hard to sacrifice. There are moments for all of us where we fear man more than God. I thought about it, and realized I could not judge her because I am no better. Every one of us has struggles, they're all just different. I was able to see her through God's eyes and was then able to effectively help her, because I could feel that Christ-like love for her. Hats off to the Spirit, once again. I love this work and I love all that I'm learning. It's the best. Love always, Soeur Shields
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