We got a massive snowstorm this week. There was about a foot of snow on the ground, and it's cold enough there's really no sign it's going to go away soon. Yay! I think I could be out forever in 30 degree, sunny, snow-on-the-ground weather. Now if only it was in the high 20s or 30s and not the single digits or low teens... but a coat fixes that anyways.
What a great week! Got to attend the baptism of Casey Dunn back in Parkway (he was baptized by his friend, Ammon Black on left), and then had a baptism of our own with Katey and Alyson and Bryson. Every week is a good one with a baptism. It's a good reminder to give us drive on why we're on missions - to get people to this point. The Spirit is so strong during baptisms.Most of the week was spent prepping everything for Katey, Alison, and Bryson, but once we got them in the water reality hits pretty hard that our progressing investigator pool is at zero. A reminder that we are basically whitewashing an area that has had no work for the previous six months. No foundation for finding except for what we've built in the last six weeks. But, as I'm finding more and more, as long as we do what we can the Lord will fill in the rest.
We did a while of contacting in the half-of-an-apartment-complex that lies in our area. Now, in the past we've had no success here at all. There are four sets of missionaries that tract here: us, the sisters that cover the other half, the zone leaders that cover the YSA ward, and the Spanish branch Elders. Numerous times as we knock a new door there, we are immediately rejected and told to stop coming over (even though we personally have never knocked the door). We've been attempting to try a new approach: create a "net" of active members to "catch" all the new move-ins and such for us to try and teach. That's going so-so (there's only two active families and six semi-active families that live in the 150 doors of the apartments that we cover). We did go back and contact a few doors that we've created relationships with in the past that either moved away or have new family living there, and got a warm reception at every single one of them. We're looking at now teaching a family of four, a roommate of a less-active, and the husband of a less-active. We do what we can and the Lord fills in the rest.
This week we had a zone conference where the mission president gave us our new mission standards for the year. Every Companionship Baptize Twice a Month, 4 on date, 4 at church, 7 Lessons with a member, 7 other lessons, 4 progressing inv, 4 new inv, and 7 hours of personal contacting a week The biggest changes: baptizing weekly to baptizing bi-weekly, and 4 new investigators vs 7 new investigators. He also added a new key indicator, personal contacting. I guess some missionaries think the members should do all the work and aren't spending any time doing personal contacting, hm. It's fun to know our companionship "hit mission standard" this month on baptisms! Yay.
--Elder Chandler
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thought: Bible Dictionary Faith
President gave us the "silver bullets" for baptizing bi-weekly: Faith, Obedience, and Diligence. I guess it's from the mission president handbook. So I've been thinking about faith a little bit. Spent time memorizing Alma 26:22.
A question that's popped into my head before: Do I really have sufficient faith? How do I know if my faith is strong enough for what I'm doing? So during Personal Study I decided to try and answer by turning the the BD definition of faith. A few tidbits: - Faith must be centered on Jesus Christ - "Faith is kindled by hearing the testimony of those who have faith": I've helped people be converted so I know I at least have sufficient faith for what I'm doing. - "by faith one obtains a remission of sins and eventually can stand in the presence of God", and... - "A lack of faith leads one to despair, which comes because of iniquity": What a powerful thought.
I guess this is what I wanted to focus on. I'm going to attempt to tie together a lot of thoughts at once, so bear with me: Doing a little bit of scripture math/logic, we find that despair = lack of faith = (guilt => iniquity). Sometimes I do find myself feeling a little bit of despair when I think of my imperfections. But all that it really shows is a lack of faith on my part. Humility does not come from "beating yourself up" because of your imperfections and weaknesses, but from the hope that Jesus Christ can make up the rest. And from that hope comes the faith that is true faith, of which we can reap the positive effects of (remission of sins, knowledge the course of life is acceptable to the Lord, reception of the Lord's blessings, and assurance of personal salvation [BD Faith]).
So it sounds like I have some work to do. No despair, ever! Keep on smilin'. :)
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