Sunday, March 10, 2013

March 4th, 2013



Oh it has been another crazy week! 

There is so much to write but so little time so again I will just hit the big things!

This week Tashena was able to go to the temple and do baptisms on Tuesday! That was one of the coolest things in the world! We were able to go and meet them there as soon as they had finished and have a lesson/talk about it on the temple grounds! Oh it was so cool to see Tashena walk out of the temple! I remember back to when Danielle had gone to the temple for the first time after her baptism, though we were not able to go we were able to talk to her about it later that day! It is times like that where you are so proud and happy to be a missionary! These are the times that make everything worth it and times that we will remember for the rest of our lives! It was cool as Tashena explained her feelings while in the temple and said that she never wanted to leave! That it was the most peaceful place on earth! So cool! I love the temple! I love being able to go and attend the temple and be closer to my Heavenly Father and come to know of His plan for me! We also had some more lessons with Tashena this week and she continues to impress and teach us! She has such an amazing understanding of everything it is crazy! She will pass my gospel knowledge pretty soon! She is definitely an elect child of her Heavenly Father! 

We were able to have a really cool experience with Tyler this week as we watched Joseph Smith: the Prophet of the Restoration with her. The spirit was so strong! I love what that movie can do! I have never watched it with someone and had them not receive a testimony that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of God! Tyler felt the spirit so strong! She said afterword’s that, "The whole time I have been meeting with you two, every time you told me that God would give me an answer that Joseph Smith is a prophet and this is all true, I didn't believe you. Sorry but I didn't! I didn't think that God would answer me. Well.....I was wrong! I just got my answer!" It was such a cool experience! The change we were able to see in her is night and day. We had a lesson with her the day after and she was a different person, overnight! That is the difference of someone who is unsure about their relationship to God and someone that comes to understand that God loves them and knows who they are and that He has a plan for them! God loves us all! He is wanting and waiting for us to put forth the faith so that He can communicate with us and bless us! I am thankful that I am a member of His true church here upon the earth and that I can communicate with Him and He can help me through all of my trials. 

The best part of this week is the lessons that we had with Nicole. We found her last week and she is Legit! We love teaching her because she is so much fun to teach! She is a huge testimony builder to me that God prepares His children to receive his gospel! It was so cool to teach her about the Plan of Salvation this week! It was so funny as she was asking questions about the parts of the plan that we had not got to yet! For example, as we were teaching about the fall of Adam and Eve from the presence of God she asked, "If God knew that Adam and Eve were going to eat the fruit and fall and not be able to return to Him, why would He do that? Is there something that can fix that?" We were happy and were like, "Yes that is part of the plan! Let's talk about the Atonement of Jesus Christ where everyone has an opportunity to return to God's presence!" Another example happened as we were teaching about the gospel of Jesus Christ (Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End) and how those things are required for salvation. She asked, "I love this stuff but what happens to the people that die without having the chance to learn about these things and do them for themselves?" We were stunned for that one and both of us just started to smile! We happily discussed the spirit world where all people will have the opportunity to learn and accept the gospel of Jesus Christ! It was so amazing! This is God's work and He is leading it and preparing the way for us! 

The other thing that we had this week was ZLC! I love and hate ZLC! It is one of the best opportunities and such an amazing spiritual experience but it wears me out! Ha-ha we wake up at 4:45 am after having finished our phone calls around 11 or 11:30 and then we drive for over two hours into Tucson. We generally get there around right as the meeting starts at 8:30. Have the meeting until around 1 or 2. Go to lunch. And drive back! Lots of time sitting that is super tiring! Ha-ha But it is always a great experience! President Killpack, President Larson, and President Rahel all talked about the Atonement and it was so cool! I love the spirit that is there at ZLC! It is great! 

Well that was my week! 

Elder Banner

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