A Day in the Life of a Missionary

She went to Pemberly (aka Lyme Park)

This week has been amazing. We have two investigators that are just phenomenal. It has been a tender mercy to work with them. The first is a man that was met by the sisters street contacting. He didn't seem very coherent when they first met but from the beginning he has kept his commitments by attending every appointment we have set up. He is overcoming his addiction to quite serious and harmful drugs but he has progressed so much. He has a real, sincere desire to change. As we've been teaching him the missionary lessons he has shown a lot more involvement in the lessons. For example, yesterday we taught the second half of the Plan of Salvation and the first time we taught it he just sort of nodded and agreed with everything but yesterday he asked really good questions and he spoke up when he didn't quite understand something. As well as at church, he would throw out answers that didn't really make sense but yesterday he was reading from the manual and was really engaged in the discussion by contributing answers that were appropriate and insightful. You can just see the change in him as he tries to stop using these harmful substances that it is making him more receptive to the Spirit, which further helps him to change.

Pemberly (Lyme Park)

The next is a girl that has been taught by missionaries for a while. She is so sweet. She has always been kind of hit-and-miss with when we can see her, she wasn't really committed, but we invited her to a family home evening a couple of weeks ago to a members home and she really felt the Spirit there. Since then she has kept her appointments, has a stronger desire to commit to read the Book of Mormon and attend church. It was so cute, she bought a whole new outfit on Saturday so that she could be modest when she came to church yesterday. Also, she texted us that night and told us that she loved being at church and that everyone was so lovely to her and made her feel very welcome. She is preparing for baptism and is so willing to change because she can see how it will change her own life for the better.

Dressed up as "Ladies of Pemberly"

Last, we are working with a returning member family. I absolutely adore them. They have a couple of stresses on their family but they are so lovely and they definitely have the Spirit in their home. We have been seeing them once a week and going over Preach My Gospel with them and having them teach it back to us to help them have a better understanding of the basics of the gospel. Yesterday evening we had a prompting to call by and just see how they are doing and they let us in and we had a great conversation with them. The first thing they asked about was church. How was church? Did lots of people come? Just their attitude showed that they wish they could have been there. They missed because a couple of the family members were ill. We told them that we had missed them at church and we had noticed that they hadn't come and I think they really appreciated that because they felt missed. They felt important and they felt the Spirit as we shared a spiritual thought about how Heavenly Father guides us in our choices. But yeah, I absolutely adore them and love them so much. I learn a lot from the people we visit, from their experiences and from the Spirit I feel in their homes.

That reminds me of my study this week. Sister McDonnell gave me a talk to read called, "Be the Fourth Missionary," and what really stood out to me was at the end, the speaker talks about how being completely consecrated to the Lord is not a matter of obedience, it is a matter of intelligence. I love that because I want to have a greater commitment than just being obedient. I want to be obedient, not just to be obedient, but to show that I love God. The intelligence part reminds me of the quote in Preach My Gospel that says (roughly): "True doctrine understood changes attitudes and behaviors faster than a study of behavior changes behavior." I have seen that with our investigators this week and I hope to incorporate it myself. My attitude toward my mission is a reflection of how well I understand Jesus Christ and the role he has played in the Plan of Salvation. 

I love you all and hope you have a brilliant week! :)

Love, Sister Christensen

Just taking a turn about the Garden