Sorry for the longer letter, but I have a lot of good things to talk about. Hope, following the Spirit, and miracles!
This turned out to be a really good week. Monday and Tuesday, not much happened. Wednesday was slightly better, but Thursday was looking to be rough. Discouragement was threatening to set in. But as my companion and I talked about it, we realized that all of the best moments of our lives and our missions came after trying times. "For after much tribulation come the blessings." So we decided to look at our drought of success as a sign of good things to come. We decided to keep working hard with our heads up and smiles on our faces, expecting that soon, we would see the blessings of the Lord in our area. Up until Thursday we hadn't found any new investigators and had only taught one lesson with a member present. On Thursday, we added one to each of those numbers. By the end of the week however we had found seven new investigators, taught nine lessons with a member present, and 30 quality lessons. What a miracle! I am a strong believer in the power of hope.
I've also started realizing the importance of writing in our journals and recording the hand of the Lord in our lives. It is our past experiences that give us hope. And if we don't have our own experiences to give us hope, we can do as the Book of Mormon constantly directs and rely on the experiences of others by "remembering the captivity of our fathers" and "how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam." That's why we have the scriptures! To help us remember what God has done in the past and in so doing increase our confidence in his love, wisdom and mercy. There really are good things to come for those who believe.
The Q got confirmed on Sunday. M was feeling really sick, but came anyway! They had to leave right after because of how she was feeling, but they are so determined to hold faithful to the end now. Brother Q told us that he doesn't know how, but he promises with all his heart that he will pay his tithing from now on and he will never again go to the swap-meet to sell on Sundays. He has given his spot to someone else. What faithfulness! I'm so happy for them.
One of the reasons we found seven new investigators this week is because we found a family of four. On Friday, Elder Villanueva and I were on our bikes when someone clearly came to my mind that we had never followed up with. We had said a prayer with her and her brother towards the beginning of march. I thought, "We should try and see them again sometime." Then my companion said, "Hey, do you remember that brother and sister we said a prayer with?" As I smiled and said, "Yeah." He said, "you were thinking of them too, weren't you? Let's go!" So we did, found their whole family at home, and have a return appointment for tomorrow. From that experience I learned/remembered just how subtle the Spirit can be and how important it is to act immediately or the prompting will fade. Many times, when we talk about experiences like that we say, "The Spirit whispered to me, 'go visit this person.'" But for me, there are rarely any words involved. There's not an actual thought that comes to mind. It really is just an impression, which is very hard to describe. I think that's why we describe them as verbal thoughts.
I'm excited for Zone Conference on Wednesday. I know it will be an uplifting experience. I am SO thankful to be a missionary. I have learned so much and learn more every day. I love this work!
Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Lofthouse
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