Sunday, July 27, 2014

[7/21/2014] Week 72: A Great Week!

Hey, you know what? It was a great week. All of our appointments fell through, but we found and taught seven new investigators! How about that? That was thrilling. It's amazing, the kinds of things that happen on exchanges.

This week, our zone had scheduled interviews with the mission president during which Elder Haupu and I had the opportunity to prepare and give instruction while missionaries waited for their turn. For us, this was a great experience. Elder Haupu and I really worked hard to seek inspiration for the zone, and boy did we find it! For part of our instruction, we trained on and role played correcting investigators' prayers and inviting them to offer another prayer if they didn't ask Heavenly Father specific questions about Joseph Smith/the Restoration. Why is this crucial? I have a firm testimony that when you ask Him specific questions, He will respond with specific, powerful, heart-changing answers. When you ask Him specific questions, you show that you have exactly in your mind what you want to know, and that you're serious about knowing it. If you shy away from being bold and specific in your prayers, you miss the mark on what Heavenly Father really, really wants you to know. A sincere and seeking heart is a heart prepared to receive revelation and act on it. As well, I have learned that taking time to pause and reflect and listen directly following a sincere and specific prayer is crucial. That is when the whisperings of the Holy Ghost reveal truth, light, and direction. Sometimes, it takes just a few seconds of listening, and sometimes one should be prepared to wait longer, pray consistently, and follow the Holy Ghost to ask the right questions.

We had the opportunity to watch an investigator, DeMarkeyas, whom we taught get married to a recent convert, Osharrhea. That was awesome! DeMarkeyas will be baptized this weekend before he and his new wife move back to Alabama for school. I love how the gospel organizes spirits into families. The Temple will be soon enough!

I've been working really hard and praying really hard to get along better with my companion. We've had a much better time, and have definitely seen the impact on the work we do. Our spirits are higher, and the prepared people keep popping up.

I cannot believe Christian leaves in a month. It's blowing my mind! Soon enough, there will be another Elder Martin out there! He's going to have such a great experience, and he's going to be a killer missionary! I'm stoked! What's Seth thinking about all this mission stuff? Is he going to serve? If so, right after high school, or will he do a year of college first? I love our family!

That's all I've got. Have a great week, fambly!

Love,

Elder Martin

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