Bonjour! Ça va? So this week was pretty full of all sorts of experiences. I've been asked a lot now to share more details of the daily here and our amis...so...It started out with an awesome family home evening with a family that was just like "tell us what problems you're having with getting members to help you, and just with the work in general, and we'll fix it." They literally do all they can to help us find new amis, befriend our current amis, help us teach, and visit less-actives. This should be the attitude of everyone! We're all on the Lord's team. I'm really grateful for this family and I know how much the Lord will bless them. This whole ward really is incredible at helping us with His work. We also went on an exchange with our sisters in Lausanne. I sure love Switzerland! It was a really helpful exchange because the examples of these extremely hard-working sisters just inspired me to want to be more diligent. I have become very aware that I was called to be a sister training leader because I was in need of many lessons that these soeurs were meant to teach me. They help me and set more of an example to me than I ever could for them. Our new amie Saipo is also progressing really well. She was just so prepared. I'm telling ya, this work is done by God, through God, and for God. We are just the mouthpiece for teaching and giving out the invitation. He prepares the hearts of these people and helps them accept His gospel. She's been coming to church, all the activities, actually keeps her commitments--like reading the BOM and praying. She even accepted to be baptized when she knows these things are true! She has been humbled and has been searching for God's light for some time now. She knows she's found it! We're also teaching two kids, Mathis and Rebecca, whose grandparents want them to be baptized, but their parents aren't active, so we're teaching them. I love teaching kids! Definitely my favorite amis. Why? Because just like Christ has said, they are the most humble and teachable. They're progressing well because their sweet spirits are so accepting of the truth! We all need to be a bit more kid-like. We have two couples that we're working with. It's two less-active sisters who have a husband/fiancé that aren't members. So one of the couples is progressing really well. They've been coming to church and stake conference and meet with us regularly. The other couple really isn't going anywhere right now. You want to know why the two are having such different results, even though we're giving them the same lessons? The couple who is progressing is actually making efforts by action--they keep their engagements! They read their scriptures together and they pray and come to church. Her fiancé even told us that as they were saying a dinner prayer he felt goosebumps because he loved the spirit that came in while they were praying. Bless his heart. It's true though, it's the little daily things that make all the difference! It may seem simple, but that's how our testimony grows, little by little. By small and simple things are great things brought to pass! If you're not praying and reading your scriptures daily and going to church weekly, I invite you to do so. It works. We've also got an awesome sister in our ward who does all she can to bring every one of her friends to the gospel. She had us over to teach two of her friends. It went pretty well, but it's going to take some heart-softening by the Lord for these two. I don't doubt Him though! While we were at this sisters's house she told us about a friend from high school that had started talking to her on Facebook and how she wanted to bring up the gospel to her. So she called her up right then and there and asked if she could see her some time! And even better, she showed us a post she made on Facebook about her testimony of the BOM and she showed us all of her friends who "liked" it who aren't members. She told us she'll try to get into contact with each one of them! That's how technology should be used! I'm so proud of this fearless sister. Lastly we're teaching a young guy who has been taught by the missionaries for years now named Gwenael. (I even taught him a couple times on exchange months ago when I was in this zone the first time.) For our lessons we actually have given him a PMG and he teaches us the lessons and we pretend to be the investigator. He knows it all so well! Yet he won't get baptized because he says he's waiting for a real big conviction that it's right. You can bet your bottom dollar that we've pulled out every "answers require action", "true faith doesn't require signs", "you receive witnesses after the trial of your faith", "you feel the spirit in small and simple ways", type of stuff. So what it's a matter of now is the Lord acting according to His will and to His timing. We must be patient and trust His will and timing! I want so badly for this guy to take the step towards true happiness, and it's hard to watch him keep putting it off. But I know God is in control and we're doing what He's asked us to do by teaching and inviting; we leave the rest in His hands. We had a great family who invited us over with him, and the father shared his conversion story, which was almost identical to the situation Gwenael is in right now. Same stubbornness and same reasons for not wanting to take the next step, but then finally he did, after a long process of searching. He said it wasn't until the moment he was submersed in the waters of baptism that it was confirmed to him that what he was doing was right. He said he walked into the water having every doubt in the world and came out of the water filled with more joy than he'd ever felt before. Very grateful to this family! I think they had a hunch they could relate. Gwenael seemed pretty intrigued by it. The week was filled with lots of other stuff too as usual--walking and talking to people on the street, lots of people telling us we're crazy and God doesn't exist, lots of visits with less-actives, zone training, a beautiful hike with a recent convert and his non-member family/friends (he's such a good missionary), relief society activities and ami game nights...yes yes yes the church is true and the same wherever you go. It's a wonderful work that I get to be a part of! I hope that you're catching the drift that this work is SO much more effective when it's done the way it's supposed to be done...members and missionaries working together!! I love you all! Have a great week. Love, Soeur Shields
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November 2015
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