My focus is to pray with real intent 4-17-15

Hi!

 Start of my 6th transfer! (P-day changed to Fridays.) So crazy, so fun. 

 Sister Kemple and I are still companions (SO HAPPY!) She is the best. 

 I'm trying to think all the way back to last Wednesday ... a lot has happened, I just can't really remember what. 

 We went on a hike as a zone for our last week together. It was really fun. It was more of a nature walk ... but the view was gorgeous at the top. All the sisters in my zone bore their testimony in their native language. It was really beautiful because there was only one other English speaking sister so I could literally understand no one, but the Spirit was so strong. So I understood.

 So we've been at Welfare Square 3 days this week and Wednesday was our last day. I'm so grateful I had the opportunity to learn more about the church's Welfare Program. I feel like the more we explained the program during tours, the more I started to understand the purpose of it all. 

 The Welfare and Humanitarian programs of the church are not done because the prophet or leaders of the church say they should be. They are implemented because they are Christ's programs. They are led and created according to what He would have us do. 

 That's why there is such a special spirit at both the Humanitarian Center and Welfare Square. I love it because the programs are for those who need help and the cool thing is, we all need help! None of us could return to live with Heavenly Father again without Christ. The Welfare and Humanitarian programs of the church enable people to have their temporal needs met, so that eventually, their spiritual needs can be met as well. 

 One day, I will serve a humanitarian mission!

 Tuesday was probably my favorite day this week. Sister Kemple and I were finishing up our Explore Day hours and we got a phone call saying that there was a man on the Square who wanted to speak to an Italian sister. We got soooo excited because Sis K hasn't had the chance to really use her Italian on the Square yet and so we said we would go chat with him! 

 He ended up being a member of the church but he just said that he really felt like he should come to Temple Square and talk to missionaries. He said lately he's been feeling like he has no motivation to do what he knows he should. He prays everyday and reads the scriptures, but he said he just hasn't been feeling the Spirit at all. He asked us how to find the motivation to continue living the gospel. 

 At this moment, in my head I just had to laugh because sometimes being a missionary is so crazy. People come to you with these questions and you have no idea how to respond because you're 19 and these people have lived so much longer than you but somehow think that you have insights into the gospel they don't have. I need the Spirit to guide.

 It was amazing though. Sister Kemple is such an incredible missionary. I am so lucky to be her companion. 

  It's so interesting to me how it's hard for us as people to recognize the good that we do. As this man was talking to us (he spoke some English so I would have a little idea of what was going on), I didn't see that he was lacking motivation at all.

 He made the choice to follow the Spirit and come to Temple Square and sought out missionaries. That act all in itself just showed me that he does know what he wants and he knows how to get there. 

  I think it's just really hard sometimes to allow ourselves to change and think that Christ is there to help us change. 

  If I could just share one message with everyone who I come into contact with I think it would be that we are never alone. Even when we want to be. We never need to feel like we're going through life by ourselves. God doesn't want it to be that way. He wants to help us! He wants to guide us and he's given us all the tools to understand who He is and what His Son has done for us. I love the Gospel.

 Something I've also been thinking about a lot is the Plan of Salvation. I realized that I've never actually prayed and asked God if there are 3 degrees of glory. So I did last night. 

 It was really cool. I rarely get specific answers to my prayers, but last night, I did. 

 This transfer my focus is to help people understand how to pray with real intent; how to pray to receive answers directly from Heavenly Father. 

  I think as an investigator, it might get annoying because missionaries always say "Don't take our word for these things, pray about what we've said."  

  I'm now just realizing that because I struggle with receiving direct answers from God, I need to be better at explaining the steps to receiving answers to those we teach. Let me know if you have any insights :).

Love you tons! P.S. I got to see Cindy and Niese yesterday!! Best.day.ever.

Sister Helton

Denise and Cindy Burnett took a Tabernacle tour.
They also brought 2 new BFFs they met on the plane coming from Seattle
who had an hour to spend in SLC while traveling on to New Orleans.
It was amazing to introduce them to the Church through the Burnetts. Thank you!

Transfer time in the T2 Mission