My second official week in Williamsburg was great! My companion told me that the work has picked up here since I got here. Miracles have happened one day after another, and I am so grateful to be in this area.
One of the blessings that came was that an investigator set their own date for baptism (it is still not in stone yet, but it was still a great date to be ready by). Usually that does not happen.
Another blessing was we contacted a member referral and we are now teaching her about the gospel. She is married to a less-active and he has a desire to come back to church after he had a good time coming to church one time with his family. This investigator has a great desire to learn more about the gospel. She said that when she read the 1st chapter of Nephi, she wanted to keep reading to learn more.
We met with a less-active who lives above a storage unit office (she is the manager) and we saw some missionary work happen right before our eyes before we started talking with her. She knew this customer and his mother, and she invited him to church. We also gave out a few "He is the Gift" cards (which is what us missionaries are giving out now for the season) in her office.
The next blessing is still happening, and I am so thankful for this one. Sister Smart and I get along so well that it seems too good to be true. We teach in unity, and there has been no contention. We continue to build onto one another's ideas and we continue to be focused on our Missionary Purpose and work. Sister Smart and I have so much in common. She and I both play the clarinet, and we know how to make the work fun.
The greatest thing to top off this week was when someone called our phone and left us a message. The young man told us how after he read about 17 chapters of the Book of Mormon, he "...came to the conclusion that [he was] interested". Another thing he said was that he has read the Bible and he hadn't felt such power when he read the Book of Mormon. We told him that what he felt when he read the Book of Mormon was the Spirit. One of the greatest things he told us was that he said the LDS religion is "a great religion and I want to be apart of it". Sister Smart and I must have given out at least 30 'He is the Gift' cards, and one called back, at least, we thought. It turned out that he called our number from a Mormon.org card which he was given sometime ago from another set of sisters with the same Sister Missionary Phone number. This does not happen often at all! It is very exciting when there is someone interested in learning! When people are interested in learning something, they usually apply themselves more than those who are interested just for the sake of learning, or who are 'curious'. This is truly a miracle.
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Something fun we did this week was go caroling with the church ward in some nursing homes. We had a couple of elderly people in the nursing homes follow us with their wheel chairs. One of the elders pushed an elderly man and he sang along. Children from our ward sang too. If there is one thing that our religion has a good foundation with other Christians, it would be Christmas.
I heard that Christmas on the mission will be one of the best Christmases I will ever have. There is 17 days away until Christmas. Since I've been on my mission, I have been able to focus more on the Savior and His love for us and how great of a gift He is to the world. I have been able to study even more on how Jesus Christ was perfect, even in his development in his childhood. He was able to develop faster than any other human being because he was perfect; In Luke chapter 2, it talked about how he was 12 years old, and the doctors where fascinated with him and the wisdom he had. He was at a level where a lot of 12-year-olds were not. I pondered on the thought on what a perfect person would be like, especially in their childhood years. I cannot fathom it, to be honest.
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In my studies, sometime ago this week, I rethought about how everything in this universe is under the Law of God. The Sun, the Moon, the Stars, the world, life itself, and all other laws pertaining to everything else on Earth are under His direction. No matter what we believe, do, or say, cannot change the nature, or the law of God. The world's standards, fads, politics and their debates on what is right and wrong, also cannot alter God's laws.
"For behold, I am God; and I am a God of miracles; and I will show unto the world that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and I work not among the children of men save it be according to their faith" (2 Nephi 27:23, & Hebrews 13:8 - 'yesterday, today and forever' ).
I know that this church is true and I have seen so many miracles that have come from living the restored gospel. I have seen many miracles happen to others as they have applied the 5 basic teachings of Jesus Christ, and have read the Book of Mormon. I invite everyone to pick up the Book of Mormon and to read it, either separately or with their families.
This is all I can say for now, and I wish y'all Happy Holidays!
-Sister Marshall
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