I'm doing well, just tired ahhh! We have sooooo many new investigators. We just need to get them all to commit to a date! We taught 7 lessons on Saturday... it was ridiculous haha! Loved it! We also had a baptism! Her name is Dadaa! She's so cute and so golden and really loves Jesus and the Atonement!
There's so much work to do here in Chiang Mai it's crazy! Sister Reedy and I have been trying the new methods that we learned at zone conference of promising blessings, testimony, then teaching, and it's working. We've noticed a difference in our lessons and that we can feel the Spirit more, especially since we're testifying more.
I also think it's key to address in the first lesson with our investigator at the beginning of our purpose in teaching them. To help them come closer to Christ and be baptized in His name! It's makes it more clear and gives them something to work for at the beginning, rather then waiting to give them the commitment at the end of the first lesson. It also establishes why we're there teaching them. Just my thoughts. :)
Soooooo I hope you have your Scriptures on hand, because I did some studying... Lately, I've been interested in the message of Finding the Strength to Endure. Here's what I've found...
Scriptures:
Isaiah 40:31: If we rely upon the Lord, He'll renew our strength and help carry our burdens.
Isaiah 26:3-4: Whoever trusts in God will receive everlasting strength.
Isaiah 41:10: God is with us; NO REASON TO FEAR!
Hebrews 12:1: Lay aside our burdens, sins, doubts and fears, and we'll have the strength to endure to the end
2 Timothy 4:5-8: Prove yourself and let people know that you were there. Make them remember you and remember how they felt. Make them remember that you are a representative of Christ.
Moroni 7:45: We need LOVE!! If you don't have love and charity you won't want to do anything; You won't be patient, you won't be kind, you won't want to serve etc.
Moroni 8:26: The Holy Ghost will help you
James 1:12: If we can endure temptation, great shall be our reward!
James 5:11: God is merciful and we need to be positive.
I read a talk also on The Strength to Endure. Here are a couple of things I got out from it:
"Spiritual strength we develop will help us successfully endure all the challenges we face in life."
And something I got from it as well was temptations and trials are times where we are tested on our character and testimony.
It's true though. If we realize that we're being tried, we'll want to turn towards Christ and Heavenly Father. It's a time where we realize that we can't do it on our own; but through them we can. They'll carry the rest that we can't carry. That's part of the Atonement that Christ did for us. To help carry us in our most troubling times. God gives us trials to humble us and realize that we have to rely upon His help and remind us of how merciful He really is. I know that He also gives us trials to determine where our faith is at and see how long our faith will last. If there's anything I know though, is that God is mindful of His children, and will provide us a way to get through our trial.
I've been witnessing it throughout my whole life. Recently, I went on a switch off in Lamphang. It was a great experience and I loved serving with Sister Samitra! She's sooooo cute and a fantastic missionary! I prayed for help and the gift of tongues to be able to communicate through the Holy Ghost. I was able to carry on full conversations with her in Thai, and I know that it was through the aid of Heavenly Father. I also loved contacting out there with her, and I felt that as I was contacting, I could feel God working through me with these people. I could feel of the love He had for these people.
I also experienced an aha moment with her. We were out riding our bikes, and going up a little hill. I realized I should probably switch gears since I was experiencing some resistance. Then I realized something. Christ is a lot like the gears on our bike. Sometimes we don't realize we have the capability to switch gears and so we go up this impossible hill. We are going through this trial and experiencing a lot of resistance; however, we when we switch our gears, we realize that the trial is made easier. We still have to go up the hill, but we don't experience as much resistance. The same thing applies to our trials in life. If we just switch our mind sets and rely upon Christ, we'll see the burden/ resistance being eased off our shoulders.
Sorry this is a lot, but I hope this message helps! Thanks for all of your hard work! Let me know what I can do to help!
Sincerely,
Sister Woodbury
p.s. I shot with a cross bow! Please know that I'm truly your daughter :)
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