December 11, 2013

I think a theme for this week would be surprises. The Lord seems to be teaching me a lesson about being flexible, and that has led to some interesting experiences. There's never a dull moment in missionary work :)

Sister Westover and I have had several moments where we've gone up and started talking to someone at a church meeting and then that person has burst in to tears and proceeded to tell us about some struggle in their life and we've begun a gospel conversation, offered them a priesthood blessing (via the elders in our branch) and then not really ever talked to that person again. It's really taught us that if we follow the Spirit we really can become instruments in the hand of the Lord. It's amazing to me how perfectly God knows his children. He is so intimately aware of each of our needs and He places us in each other’s paths to help us find the things that we are searching for. I am so grateful that I am able to serve the Lord.

On Tuesday we had a lesson with Tyler again. It went a lot better than it did last week. We talked about ministering as a priesthood duty and as part of a baptismal covenant and we discussed ways we can seek to minister to others. It was a topic I hadn't really ever studied before and I feel like I learned a lot about how I can do more to keep my baptismal covenants. It's been truly incredible for me to watch Tyler progress. I've been amazed to watch his testimony sprout up from almost nothing and to see him return to full activity in the Church. Tuesday night we had another lesson with Nick. We taught him the same lesson with a different spin, and I learned even more from him. Nick's faith is awesome. All he wants is to be the type of guy that the Lord wants him to be. We asked him to look for ways to serve those around him and when he spoke in Church on Sunday he talked about how he had ministered to others during the week. It made me so proud to see his faith grow from the things that he's learning.

On Wednesday we had a lesson with Sharon. She is recovering well from her surgery, but she felt like she still wasn't quite ready to go back to work. Our Elders Quorum President happened to be at the church, so she was able to ask him to give her a blessing. My mission has given me such a testimony of the priesthood. I feel like before I was a missionary, I hadn't really had enough opportunities to see the power of the priesthood in the lives of many people. Over the course of the last year I have had so many experiences with priesthood blessings, ordinances, leadership, etc., that I feel like I can really say that I know that there is power in the priesthood. It truly is the power given to men to act in God's name. As we act in faith, we can see miracles through the power of God all around us. I absolutely believe this. I know it. God works by power in our lives, through the priesthood. And those priesthood leaders we have who hold keys really have been called of God to lead us. I don't know why it took me 21 years to figure this out, but it's been an eye opening experience for me to realize what it actually means to believe in priesthood power.

After we taught Sharon, we went to contact Brandon. We had a really powerful lesson with him about faith. The setting of the lesson was a little interesting - we didn't have a third female, so we couldn't go inside, so we stood on his front lawn in the dark, holding a paperback copy of the Book of Mormon, and he sat on his porch. He had been just about to light a cigarette when he saw our car pull onto the street. As we taught, the Spirit was really strong, and we invited him to set goals for himself to start living some of the commandments. He feels like last time he came back to church he jumped in too quickly, so we helped him set reasonable goals to slowly progress. I wanted to cry I was so happy. The entire time I've known him he's talked about how he wants to change and he knows that he needs to do better, but he's never taken any actions to go with that faith. It was a miracle that the Spirit was able to soften his heart and help us discern what doctrine to share to meet his needs.

While we were driving home from Brandon's, we got a phone call from the mission home. We pulled over to answer the phone, because the mission president really only calls for extremely important reasons. President Baker is one of my most favorite people. I absolutely love him and his wife. He is really funny, so here's how the conversation went.

Me: Hello, this is Sister Jasperson and Sister Westover.

President: Hello Sisters. How are you doing tonight?

Sister Westover: Good!

President: Sister Westover, as I'm sure you know, your visa papers have gone through....

(some gasping and silent screaming)

Me: Oh my gosh!

Sister Westover: What?

President: Oh. So you have not yet been made aware.

Sister Westover: No! I was not made aware!

Me: You're going to Brazil!

President: You will be leaving on Monday, December...

Sister Westover: (please don't say this week)

Me: (you can't leave this week! I'm not ready for that...)

President: ...16th. Your flight...

So then he went through the details of her travel, and we were both just sitting there crying. When the phone call ended we got out of the car and jumped up and down and cried and Sister Westover collapsed on the grass. So now my third greenie is headed off to Brazil, which may as well be Narnia, and we're scrambling to figure out all the details of our lives. Sister Fuamatu, a visa waiter in Sandbridge, left for Africa on Monday, so Sister Gale went to be companions with her companion, and now Sister Anderson, the other visa waiter, is in a trio with Sister Westover and me. So we're back to one set of sisters in Tidewater.

On Thursday we had another amazing lesson with our next door neighbor Sarah. We talked about the Plan of Salvation. When we finished she told us that she knows that the Church is true! She said it really nonchalantly, and Sister Westover and I barely managed to hide our excitement! The miracles that I have seen in this area never cease to astound me. Her husband still isn't supportive, but we know that things will all work out in the Lord's time.

The rest of the week was honestly a blur. Everything has been so insane. We taught Brandon another lesson, and his girlfriend sat in. We talked about the importance of making changes in our lives and invited both of them to come to all three hours of church on Sunday. Brandon came! And stayed for the entire time, which was wonderful! He also met with the Branch President to start making changes in his life.

I love being a missionary! It is the most rewarding experience I've ever had. It's so hard, but the sacrifices that you make to serve the Lord are always worth it. Have a great week!

With love,

Sister Jasperson