Hello Family,
Something very special happened this week. My best friend in the whole world left for Germany on her mission. I love Sister (Natalie) Stevenson. I know that she is going to be a great missionary, and is going to help a lot of people.
I was given special permission from President Martino to say goodbye and to take pictures before she left, so that is a little miracle that happened.
This week was very interesting, and I saw a lot of miracles. One was that we got two new investigators. Both of them are from the south and are excited to learn more. Their names are Tarri and Bernard. We also got two new missionaries in the referral center. Their names are Elder Salas and Elder Nelson.
Something that has been on my mind lately is how much God loves each individual. I know that God works in mysterious ways. As I look back on how I got here to the Referral Center I am amazed at how everything fits together. All the trials that were put on me led and prepared me for where I am now. I also asked President Martino for clarification on what will happen to me. He said that It looks like I will be here at the referral center for the rest of my mission.
Sunday 07/09/2017
The devotional today was amazing. A man named Brother Thurston came and told us about ways to work effectively as missionaries. He gave us what he called the "Missionary Success Formula." The formula is:
- Obedience
- Hard Work
- Get along with your companions
- Love the people and your area.
He also said something that was really special. He said the highest position that you can get is not a District Leader or a Zone Leader but becoming a "go to" elder. This means that you are the type of elder or Sister that people can go to because you are trustworthy and you are willing to be obedient to whatever you are asked.
Something else that was fun was I got to lead the doctrinal discussion after the devotional. Doctrinal discussion is just when we talk about a point of Preach My Gospel. I had the opportunity to talk about Baptism. The Zone shared experiences and talked about what baptism meant to them.
Elder Savoie is training a new elder named Elder Salas, so I have a brother now. Elder Nelson is being trained by Elder Woodruff.
Monday 07/10/2017
I had the opportunity to go on exchanges with Elder Schwendiman. We had an amazing day.
I taught an investigator of his, whose name is Nazaret. She is thirteen years old and has an amazing testimony. We talked about baptism and prayer together. We told her that God is there and He is listening. It was very interesting to teach someone under eighteen because it shows the difference in attitude the comes over time. Nazaret was not immature, but she was very shy like most people are when going into high school. What was truly amazing was the prayer of gratitude that she said at the end.
The best part of my day was companionship study with Elder Schwendiman. We talked about the importance of making a plan. He then helped me make a plan to use Preach My Gospel effectively.
Tuesday 07/11/2017
Something super cool happened today. These two sisters walked up to us when we were returning from language study in T4. They asked if they could bear their testimonies to us. So we said yes, and they are going to the Netherlands. so we got to hear their testimonies in dutch, which sounded really good.
The devotional tonight was given by an emeritus general authority couple. Their names were Brother and Sister Hafen. Something Sister Hafen said was really awesome. She said "Lust will wither away your faith, but virtue will make it thrive."
Afterward I was able to talk to my old spanish teacher because Brother Hafen is Hermano Corbin's wife's grandfather.
Wednesday 07/12/2017
We talked with Josefine again today. It was awesome. We talked about the importance of keeping a journal. She has a journal for all the spiritual experiences she has, but now she wants one for her scripture study and for what happens in her daily life. We also talked about the power of prayer.
Thursday 07/13/2017
Elder Withers, Elder Jacobson, and I just had a missionary bear his testimony to us in American Sign Language. I actually was able to understand a lot of what he was saying. He talked about God and how he was grateful for the things that God had done for him. I then thanked the missionary in sign language.
Friday 07/14/2017
Today was fun. People from Teaching Center (how we talk with people on chat) came to the referral center to see what we do, and then we got to do a personal interview on how we thought they could improve teaching center. So that was fun.
Con amor,
Elder Stevenson
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