Thursday, November 5, 2015

A Week Full of Miracles (and rain)


 Hello from my new companion, Sister Nilson, and me!

Miracles and rain aren't surprises, right? I'm still not sure how to organize my emails, so they will come how they come. :)

This week was full of miracles (as told by the subject line). First thing: we have 7 new investigators. WE FOUND SEVEN NEW INVESTIGATORS!!!  More like they found us. Last week during p-day while we were playing soccer as we always do, the Elders in the ward next to us said, "we have a referral for you and he has read the whole Book of Mormon and wants to be baptized." So sure enough, the elders passed along that we hold a bible study at a VA recovery place every Tuesday and that Brian (the referral) could meet us there.

The moment I stepped into bible study I could tell who Brian was. His countenance shown with the light of Christ. We even had a full room of 10 people at bible study-4 being people Brian brought. So, we read John chapter 14 in bible study, talked about it with everybody's religious backgrounds, we even had an atheist in the mix! It was awesome! People had questions about God and the chapter we had just read and Brian responded with our doctrine from the Book of Mormon! It was the coolest thing ever to see. See, we believe in both the Book of Mormon and the Bible, I love the Book of Mormon because it fills all the gaps the Bible has. After bible study we stayed and talked to Brian and heard his story. He has had a very humbling background that in May brought him to God. He then found the Mormons, read all of the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, Old Testament, New Testament, went to general conference at the stake center( this is how the elders got in touch with him) and wants to be baptized.


We had our first lesson with him yesterday (November 1) where 3 others (Doug, Kelly, and Troy) sat in and participating. Brian was there because he wanted to be baptized. Doug was there because he was raised Baptist in Phoenix, AZ, knew Mormons, also had very humbling circumstances that brought him to read the Book of Mormon, but he had never met missionaries. Kelly is currently angry with God and had heard of Joseph Smith, but wasn't quite sure about the whole thing, and Troy was raised Protestant, had never met a Mormon, and wanted to learn more.

We taught the restoration, making it applicable to them, and helping them feel of God's love, because that is at the very heart of this gospel- is the love God has for each and everyone of His children. The moment we got to Joseph Smith's account, the spirit was so strong.

“I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me...When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other-This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!” Joseph Smith--History 1:16–17.

Doug teared up. Afterward there was silence. The spirit was so thick that I didn't want to say anything to make it disappear. After about a minute, Troy said, "where has this been all my life, especially in the last 9 years?"

By the end of the lesson we had baptismal dates for Brian and Doug, and Troy is going to read the Book of Mormon and pray to know Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I know the Spirit was In the room, because that is what really teaches and testifies to those who have an open and humbled heart. The church is true!

So that is four of our new investigators, and the other three are the children of the less active family we brought the birthday cake over to last week.

More exciting news: Sister Nilson is my new companion from Salt Lake City, Utah. She is so patient through training as well as how often we got lost. Here is story time: Our area is very long:it takes about 20 minutes to drive from the top to the bottom which is at the Columbia River. We were contacting people downtown and a lot of the streets down there are one way. One street that I thought I had to take was actually the wrong one, and before I knew it we were on the freeway over the bridge that takes us across the Columbia river to Oregon-Portland, Oregon. So we got lost in Oregon for a total of 20 minutes before I got off the freeway, turned around, and came back over the bridge to Vancouver. And dear Sister Nilson was patient as I freaked out because we were completely out of our area and zone, and maybe even our mission, I'm not sure. All that matters is that we are safe and sound, and that president just laughed when he found out. Apparently, that little adventure has happened before with 1st ward missionaries.

Last of all, I have really been studying charity lately and all of 1 Corinthians chapter 13 is my favorite on the subject. Also a thought I had is not only do we need to submit our will with God's will, but replace our will with His will. It makes us happier, and we can truly become the best people he wants us to be.

Well, I love you all, peace!
Sister Frisch



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