Inspired Growth

Hello everyone!!

It's a really good day to be a missionary here in the WKM!! I couldn't narrow it down to why it is, but holy cow!! SOO GOOD!! 

MONDAY

This week really started in the right way. Right after P-day last week, we went on another exchange, but with the Zone Leaders. I was with one of my favorite, Elder Shulze! We had a blast!! 

One of the coolest parts of exchanges and especially this exchange was how many miracles were able to be packed into such a small amount of time...seriously way too many to count up. Through the rest of the week, it was really hitting me hard why many of the things that happened during that small amount of time during the exchange, wasnt happening very often during the coarse of the whole week. Granted, we have miracles happening everywhere, but the exchange was unreal to what happened every hour of the whole day. 

I took that thought with us to our Zone Training Meeting, where we were thoroughly edified by the Spirit. It really started clicking where all the changes in everything have been coming from. I really love the message from the First Presidency that says how the Lord is guiding His hastening of the work, NOT us, and we are doing all we can to just keep up with Him. 

--The Gospel is here to comfort the afflicted...and afflict the comfortable!!-- 

There are some really amazing things that are happening that are hastening the Lord's work. All of us have an amazing part in helping where we can, acting in faith as instruments in the Lord's hands. But especially in the hastening of the work, we need to do it in the Lord's way. The question that really remains is if we desire to keep up with Him. Are we caught up in customs, or old ways of doing things that we may be happy/comfortable doing? I personally liked how we could weekly plan for only three hours, then get back out and working hard...that or knowing exactly what to say while talking to people. It's hard to get out of our comfort bubble...especially for me, it's really talking to people, feeling for the Spirit to know their needs, and testifying of truths that the Spirit can then testify on. I can defiantly promise that as we increase our faith to reach out and catch hold of the amazing work that the Lord is working, we will be able to be a part of a miracle, we will be instruments in the Lord's hands. 

TUESDAY

District meeting was really fun as well...not to mention that the Zone Leaders forgot to tell me that it was going to happen...so I had only a little time to work things out and get trainings ready to teach the district. The subject was on OYMs (open your mouth). And I probably learned the most out of the whole district, just having me in the front rambling!! We went to many different places in the scriptures, and the discussions that we had, I had no thought of any of it just seconds before...overall, a really cool experience thinking on it after the meeting was over!! 

WEDNESDAY

On more exciting news, we actually got to start Elder Walimaa's training!! It's been funny to see how busy we've been the past little while...kinda reminds me of my training back in Kennewick!! 

Elder Walimma is doing really well. It's been a blast to be working with him!! It's just like a mini-me!!! It has really been such an amazing way to help me grow as a missionary. It is so essential to go back and focus on the basics. 

THURSDAY

A few days after the exchanges and meetings through the week brought a really cool encounter with Lalo. We were prompted to go and see a potential that we hadent seen for a few weeks. Her husband came to the door and said that she was over in the neighbor's house, but he started putting on a jacket and came outside with us. Lalo has had a really hard life, but it's been really amazing to see the hand of the Lord in his life, as it guided him back from the streets, to being 100% family orientated. He really stressed that as we act in faith on the part we're given, we receive more. And that's able to grow and grow. We know that this IS more. Something that God has placed in his path, to continue helping him as he moves forward in faith, now walking with and helping his family along as well. 

FRIDAY

WOOO!!! Weekly planning!! I've been really impressed how fast Elder Walimaa has taken things and really has fought to start getting them down! We had a really good and effective time working through our upcoming week, and we really feel that it's going to be another good one!! 

We also had a REALLY good lesson with the Fuente family! We started talking to Noe, where we focused a lot on applying daily prayer and scripture. And then brought it to doing it as a family, and the specific things and goals that he can set to help the family get to that point. He's really excited to start doing this!! 

Just when we got done taking with him, his older brother came into the room and said that he wanted to come back to church (he used to be the most interested in talking to the missionaries, but fell off in all interests). We talked about how he could do the same, start praying and studying the scriptures every night. It really was an amazing lesson. We set up the idea of us coming daily and talking to who might be home (the biggest problem of the family being is they are never home at the same time...so we have to work with that). But we are super excited to be getting them started up again!!

And to top off the night, we had correlation with Jakie Chan!! jaja!! Super fun!! 

So that night at correlation with our Branch Mission Leader, I was just sitting there, and the thought came to mind..."Man, he looks JUST like Jakie Chan!!" So I wrote that on a sticky note, with a 1-10 scale as well, and started that around the other missionaries. Then I texted it all out, including the scale (texting skills right there), and everyone in the room was in on it. We sent it to him when we were all leaving for the night...he had the biggest grin!! "El es mi primo!" 

SATURDAY

Super cool miracle as we were contacting a referral!! 

So we got Mario as a referral from the English elders in the area, we passed by and his wife, Edith answered and said that he was sleeping. When we introduced ourselves, she let us right in, sitting us down at the kitchen table. She has one of the most amazing stories that I have found on my mission. She was an orphan raised by her grandparents in the Catholic church, but she didnt understand many of the things that they did. So on her own, she started studying the Bible for herself, and everything that she believed and knew, came from what she got from the Bible. It was really amazing to clearly see that the Lord has helped her get to this point in her life.
At one point of the lesson, she started to really get into asking questions on one of the topics that's confused her, Exodus 20, speaking of the Sabbath day. Her Spanish new age language bible was different than ours, saying Saturday as the day of the Sabbath.
Our topic brought it to the significance of the Restoration of the gospel, as well as many truths that had been lost or warped through the age of time. It's hard to look how there are just so many different bibles in the world today, and all of them differ in so many ways. But we shared how the restoration has helped bring light from God on many doctrine subjects, whether it be through the Book of Mormon, or through modern day revelation through living prophets. 

One amazing moment in the lesson was when we shared James 1:5, where we shared about how we can know if it is true. When we found the page in her bible, that was the page where her marker was at, where she was reading with her family just a day earlier. 

I know that the Lord prepares people to receive the message of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. that was one of the coolest 2-hour lessons ever!!

phfew......that's a mouth-full!! 

This week was really awesome!! To say the least!!

Thank you all for everything that you do to help me, I really can feel your support and love!! Keep going strong and have a great week!! I love you and wish the best for you all!!! 

--

Elder Glen Wright Washing Kennewick Mission