Heart, Might, Mind and Strength

Hello, friends and family!

Sister Chu and I are both working really hard to find people to teach and baptize. We are committed to our 3 application steps of talking to the first person out of the flat, having 10 gospel conversations each day, and inviting at least one person to be baptized each day. As a result we have taught a load of on the spot lessons this past week. Unfortunately, our  member present lessons still suffered this past week but this week is already looking more on the bright side for that; we set up some fellow shippers for our already scheduled appointments at church. We meet so many wonderful people each day and it is evident that the work is indeed about to explode:

-Jean. a lady that lives near a recent convert and the bishop that was given a Book of Mormon by missionaries a few months ago. She told us we can come visit her after she gets back from holiday.

-Emma: Street contacted her and she told us she was Christian. We briefly taught about the Restoration. She is interested in learning more! We invited her to be baptized by someone holding the restored priesthood, she said she would.

-Adam: a man in his 30s we street contacted that told us he wants to overcome his addictions. We testified about the power of the Atonement and change. We should be meeting with him this week.

-While on exchange, Sister Chu and one of our STLs invited 2 people on the spot to be baptized on a specific date and they both accepted a date! One of them fell through on their appointment but we are set to see the other this week.

-Lez: a elderly man in his 70s who said he ''was not trying to be sarcastic'' when he asked us why there were so many churches if there was one God. Such a golden question. We were excited to teach him the restoration but he sort of walked off before we could tell him anything haha. Cute old man. I am sure we will run into him again.

-Slav: a young man from Poland that is Catholic we street contacted. We taught him the restoration and he was grateful to know about it because he had never heard about our church and Joseph Smith. Ironically enough, he lives in our same flat complex. He accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon and a restoration pamphlet.

-Elvis: Yes, you read that right. We met a man named Elvis, everybody! We were walking home after church and talked to him in front of his yard. He had a question about religion that we were able to answer using the Book of Mormon (there is so much power using the Book of Mormon in our finding). He accepted a return appointment and committed to read the Restoration pamphlet we gave him to help him prepare.

-Taylor and Joe: Met them on the journey back home from church as well. They live outside of our mission in Birmingham. We testified that God is their Heavenly Father and loves them. They were so ''happy to know some one loves them.'' They gave us their info so we could pass it on to the missionaries in their area.

-There are Chinese people that are starting to come out of the wood works. Because of the rarity of spotting someone Chinese during the summer months, we end up running after a lot of them. Many aren't interested but there are a few that have interest. Yes!  

- We finally received some referrals from the mission office. One of them wasn't really interested but the other said she was and told us to call back another time.

Before any thing can progress and before Heavenly Father will make great things come to past, however, I know we will need to prepare the ward to handle to big influx of baptisms I know we will experience.

On that note, we have been able to see 7 families /members/ less actives/ recent converts this past week. We already have a good idea of the members we will be seeing this week too. I have had this impression that we need to put the members before our investigators for a short while. For instance, yesterday there was a YSA fireside in Chester that we could have attended with an investigator but it conflicted with choir practice. The ward choir director is very passionate about choir and depends heavily on the ward missionaries to participate. Knowing how much this meant to this member in the ward, we decided to go to choir instead. We were also able to offer some service for the ward this past week and help set up a meal after a funeral service that was held this past week.

We had tea( aka dinner) at the bishops house this past week. Bishop's son is going on a mission to Greece this month and they have been watching the District DVDs together. As a result, Bishop has been inspired to work more closely with our WML and missionaries. I am so grateful that the he has been able to get on board with the hastening of the work here in EMM through the Spirit. 

This morning I was studying Doctrine and Covenants 4:2:

''Therefore, O ye that embark in the service‍ of God, see that ye serve‍ him with all your heart,might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless‍ before God at the last day.''

 It is something we recited all of the time in my mission prep class and it is a verse I have read and pondered about time and time again before and during my mission. I  wanted to learn a little bit more about what it means to devote all my time and attention to serving the Lord. I turned to the topical guide for inspiration. Next to each word were related words that gave me a lot of insight.

Heart- Conversion; new, spiritually reborn.

Might- Authority.

Mind- Intelligence; learning; study.

Strength- Courage; health; power of priesthood.

After looking at these words it occurred to me like never before just how much we are to full consecrate all that we are as missionaries to the Lord and His work. As a result of my discovery, I asked myself a series of questions:

 Have I given him my whole heart? Have I become my first convert through my service? Have I become spiritually reborn because of my mission?

Am I using all my might?  Do I realize the power that comes with that authority? Am I righteously exercising the authority I have as a missionary? Do I live worthy by living all of the mission rules to qualify for the power of that authority?

Am I using all of my mind? Am I sharing all the knowledge I have obtained before and during my mission to help those I teach? Am I devoting all my studies to the needs of my investigators and find answers to their questions?

Am I using all of my strength? Am I courageous in fulfilling my purpose as a missionary? Am I keeping myself healthy so I can serve at best? Am I relying on the power of the priesthood for more strength when I need it?

I know that everything we have (our knowledge, testimony, our conscience to do good, etc) is all from the Lord and it rightfully belongs to Him. I know that as we consecrate our lives to the Lord, He will bless us beyond measure. This principle applies to us at every stage of our lives. What can you do to consecrate yourself more fully to the Lord?

I owe every good thing in my life to the gospel. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Christ's church once again established on the earth. With the Restoration of the Church came the restoration of gospel in its fullness. The church is designed to help us live the gospel more fully in our lives. We must remain active in both the gospel and the church. I'll leave it up to you to ponder about what that means.

Love,

Sister Jordan