Dear Family,
So this week was wonderful. I’ll give you some highlights:
We were giving a tour of our church to a nonmember with a group of his friends that are members of the church. One of the members happened to be the librarian, and she loves her calling. And I mean she really loves it. If only everyone loved their callings as much as this woman. 🙂 But as we finished the tour and were talking about baptism she announced, “I can show you the LIBRARY!” And there the herd proceeded to the library to look at the old giant copy machine, the church magazines, and the stapler. . . The church is true. Even in the library.
Also, I got to go to a petting zoo. No joke. I held some rabbits, a guinea pig, pet a pony, a LLAMA, a rooster…. yeah. Also I looked at a pig. But I didn’t touch it. 🙂
You probably think that I’m making this up. Why would I go to a petting zoo? Well, you see, we get to volunteer at a christian assisted living center and last week they were celebrating NURSING HOME WEEK! Yeah, that’s a real thing. SO naturally we got to help out with the petting zoo. 🙂 The church is true.
Then, we were having a lesson last night, with our wonderful investigator named Luke, and as we were talking about being brothers and sisters… the 11 year old in the family said, “So yeah, it’s like weird when you get married and you are like ‘this is my brother.'” . . . Thank you, Jamie. 🙂 Luckily, he still accepted the invitation to be baptized. The church is true.
Embarrassing story? Well, I have this new habit of getting food in my hair when I eat. I learned it from my trainer. Thanks, Sister Hood. 🙂
Also, I’m learning Portuguese from my companion because she is waiting for her Visa to Brazil. . . LANGUAGE STUDY! But it’s ruining my french. The french that I was practically fluent at. 🙂 Really though it’s funny, because the more I practice Portuguese, the more I remember how much I love french and how bad I want to learn it when I get home.
Eu sei que Jesus Christo e meu Salvador. 🙂
OKAY- NOW IT’S TIME TO SHARE SOME MIRACLES!
So. . . on Friday our zone leaders sent out a text to our zone challenging everyone to invite two people to be baptized and report their miracles at the end of the day. . . so we were pumped. But we had no luck all day. We asked one person to be baptized early on while we were tracting, but nobody else would even let us talk to them. We basically tracting and tried to contact referrals all day, but nobody would let us get very far. . . Well it was 8:15pm and I was feeling pretty excited, expecting a miracle in the next 45 minutes. 🙂 Sister Beck and I had planned to call former and potential investigators from the area book at that time, so we got in the car and began to make phone calls and I told the Lord that I knew he could make a miracle happen and we could find one more person to invite to be baptized. Well… we found a mans record from back in 2009 and decided to call him. Turns out it was the wrong number, but we’re missionaries, so that shouldn’t stop us, right?! The conversation went a little like this:
Man: Hello.
Missionaries: Hi, is this John Smith?
Man: No, Sorry.
Missionaries: Oh, do you know a John Smith?
Man: Nope, I’ve never heard of him.
Missionaries: Well, we are the missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day saints. We must have the wrong number. But would you be interested in learning more about our church?
Man: I dont think so, but have a nice night.
Missionaries (woah, this guys really nice.): Alright, you have a nice night as well. Bye!
. . .
Missionaries: We let him off way to easy.
The spirit: You let him off way too easy.
… So we continued our work. Making phone calls.
Following is a conversation that took place in Sister Meservy’s head:
The Spirit: Call back.
Sister Meservy: Ha, that’s a crazy idea. He know we just called him and it was the WRONG NUMBER. Why would we call again?
The Spirit: Didn’t you want a miracle?
Sister Meservy: Yes.
The Spirit: Call back and ask him to be baptized.
Then before I knew what was happening the phone was ringing and we were calling him back.
Man: Hello?
Missionaries: Sorry, is this the man we just called?
Man: Yes it is.
Missionaries: I am so sorry.
Man: It’s alright, who were you looking for again?
Missionaries: John Smith.
Man: Yeah, sorry, I don’t know him.
Missionaries: Well, have you ever talked to missionaries from our church before?
Man: No, but my grandson is on a mission.
Well we proceeded to have a wonderful conversation about why his grandson has loved his mission so much and why THE CHURCH IS TRUE. And then we invited him to be baptized. And no, he did not accept the invitation to be baptized but he said that his grandson would probably be talking to him when he got home in a month, and he would listen to his grandson. 🙂 It was wonderful.
On another note,
One of our investigators is getting baptized this Saturday and we are so excited for her! We have been seeing so many miracles all week! I swear that when you do your best and are as obedient to God as you possibly can be, HE WILL TAKE OVER AND MAKE MIRACLES HAPPEN. This is His work, and He is doing it.
I love Alma’s testimony in Alma 29:
:9 I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy.
:10 And behold, when I see many of my brethren truly penitent, and coming to the Lord their God, then is my soul filled with joy; then do I remember what the Lord has done for me, yea, even that he hath heard my prayer; yea, then do I remember his merciful arm which he extended towards me.
🙂 Repent. It makes you happy. And then help others come closer to the Savior so that they have the desire to repent as well. 🙂 God loves you so much.
I know that the church is true. My testimony is growing so much.
Thank you for supporting me! I love you all!
Love,
Sister Sarah Jane Meservy