Week 18

Good morning!
Wow....this week so many great things happened!

Well, May 2nd was one of the best days I've had on my mission so far. We had two great lessons that day! We have two new investigators! One of the lessons we taught that day was to a less active couple. One was a return missionary and the other was not. He has been off of his mission for about six years. They are a new couple in our ward so we set up a time to get to know them and share a message. After an hour of talking with them we finally shared the "Prince of Peace" video. There were tears...The return missionary talked with us and said he has never connected with a set of sisters. When him and his wife were new the first people that talked to him were the missionaries. He began to cry and said that he considers himself less active and that he would like for us to come and to teach the lessons to him and his wife. He said to us "I can tell you're prepared". He said "I haven't felt this way in a long time". Of course I cried! In that moment I felt purpose. That was the first time since I've been on my mission that I felt purpose. Purpose being in Montana. Purpose being a missionary. Purpose that I was sent here to help them. I instantly loved them. I had been praying to find my purpose on my mission and the Mathews family gave me that.  That same day we had a lesson with our new investigator Jason. For a whole hour he told us about himself and his story. My heart hurt for him. He asked the questions "What is my purpose?" "I'm doing everything right why is God punishing me?" Jason has had struggles with family his whole life. He has never been married nor does he have kids. He is the sweetest most loyal person I have ever met. He said when he was in the military out serving; he said if another man needed to be saved, I would give my life for him because someone will miss him. He said everyone else had a family to go home too so no one would care if I was dead or not. After we left that lesson I cried for 20 minutes. I know that I was sent here to help Jason feel of his purpose and that God does love him. May 2nd was just an emotional day! It doesn't stop there....as I was pondering on that day, all of a sudden I thought back to the first person I ever asked to be baptized. Kelvin. The feeling of failure and rejection terrified me. My heart was pounding and I was asking a question that could change some one's salvation. I believe it's the most sincere question ever to be asked "Will you follow the example of Jesus Christ by being baptized by someone who holds that priesthood authority of God?" I asked Kelvin to enter into the waters of baptism, into a new life. Though in that moment he said he wasn't ready I knew I could overcome something that I thought was terrifying. This goes for life. Getting outside of our comfort zone can be terrifying. "Life begins at the end of your comfort zone." Well what am I getting into? MISSIONARY WORK! "Behold, I sent you out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor." -D&C 88:81. A ward and a family who centers their lives around missionary work has a strong foundation in the gospel. I promise you so many blessings will come of it. A crazy miracle that happened last week was Gregory. At 8:55 at night we decided to knock on one more house. The best thing is when Gregory opened the door he was in boxers and I couldn't help but laugh. Cracks me up. Well it was late so he said it wasn't a good time but that we could come back that next morning. So we came back and brought Sister Marshall with us and the lesson was amazing. Gregory's hold up is coffee. When we explained to him why we don't drink coffee he began to cry. I know in that moment he felt the spirit testifying to him. I felt the prompting to be brave and invite him to church the next day and guess what...he came! When he walked into the church I could feel my face light up and his did too. He is the most happy person ever and so humble. He sat right next to me and it was a perfect Sunday because testimony meeting! During one of the testimonies Gregory looked over at me with tears in his eyes and said, "There are still are good people on this earth ." Welp duh I cried! It really touched me because he saw a different world and it gave him such hope. 

The rest of the week went like this...

Both set of elders in our zone got sick. One with salmonella poisoning and another has an pneumonia . We brought "sicky sacks" to both of them and had to break into one of the elders apartments to get stuff for them. Then we had to go to the ER to visit them and give them the things they needed. The sisters are still going strong! 

Well last week got hot. Up in the 80's and it was the worst! Summer is beginning...The weather in Montana is so random. One day it was 80 degrees then we had a crazy thunder/hail storm. There was so much water coming down that the sewers were overflowing and spraying out. Yeah...nasty. It was pretty entertaining though. We were super busy all week! I'm definitely exhausted!

 Sister Darnell is the cutest. She was like "You look like a cute Mother Theresa!" Haha at least Sister Darnell thinks I'm cute. Yesterday we had our first lesson with two girls 8 and 10. We are teaching them the lessons and preparing them for baptism. They were adopted not too long ago and their family is part of the church. One of the girls is deaf so we had to have someone come that knows sign language and I guess this is a good opportunity for me to pick up on my sign language again! Sister Decker and I fasted 24 hours again and let me tell ya...way harder this time! I was seriously struggling! I was hangry haha. Yesterday was an emotional day for me. I stormed out of Sunday school because I just needed to cry. A mission is hard and people will let you down. We were supposed to have six investigators at church yesterday and two showed up. I was grateful for those two but I was just so disappointed. Devoting all of your time into those who say they will come to church and commit and don't show is so dang frustrating! In that moment I took a step back and tried to think of their reasons and their perspective. The Savior is patient with us so why can't I be with these people? Something to think about. We had another great lesson with the Mathews family yesterday and I shared my story with them. I bore my testimony on the love that God has for us. Everyone was crying and it was such a powerful moment. Back when I was 12 and greatly battling depression and suicidal thoughts, I thought God had abandoned me. I felt so alone but realized it was me that was blocking out God. I related my story to Joseph Smith and when he knelt down in humble prayer in a grove of trees. And this is his account of his experience-"After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction. But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction—not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being—just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light"-Joseph Smith history 15-16. At the time Joseph Smith was ready to sink into despair and give up...God and Jesus Christ appeared. In the moment and even now when I am just ready to give up, God hears me. He does answer prayers and He does hear you. I bare witness of that. 

I would just like to bare my testimony on God's love for us. He loves you, never doubt that. Look to God. When you pray, if it's really sincere, God will send an answer. I owe it all to the gospel. I love my Savior and I love this church. I would like to bare my testimony on the Atonement that it is there for us. The Savior already suffered so that you may have eternal life. "And as one earth shall pass away, and the heavens thereof even so shall another come; and there is no end to my works, neither to my words. For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." -Moses 1:38-39 I love you all and I pray for you. Look up. 

"Most of us clearly understand that the Atonement is for sinners. I am not sure, however, that we know and understand that the Atonement is also for saints...." -Elder Bednar

"Even if I need to stand alone God expects me to stand" - Hank Smith

I hope you all have a great week! You're amazing! Less than a week until I get to talk to you! Keep the faith. 

Love,

Sister Miles