Hi!
This week has been CRAZY. Seriously. Like a literal roller
coaster. Last Tuesday for pday, Sister Revoredo, Wentzel, Makovei, Chazen,
Jarvi and I all went to the Great Salt Lake at sunset and it was sooo gorgeous.
That's where the pics I sent you are from. :)
It smelled really bad and there
was tons of dead birds in the sand, but the pictures turned out really good!
Then, on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday Sister Revoredo and I went on
exchanges. It was so amazing to get to learn from each sister and I just have
to tell you a few of the miracles we had!
We realized that we didn't
make a plan for where we were going to walk on Temple Square and so I just
asked Sister Wentzel where she wanted to go. She was like, "Mmm, I feel
like downstairs." That was exactly what I was thinking and so we went down
to the Scriptures and Revelation exhibit and started talking to this elderly
couple. We asked if we could explain the exhibit (the restoration) to them and
they said sure!
So we started teaching and when we finished, the man was like,
"I actually have read the Book of Mormon. I also helped build one of your
chapels and I've always wanted to attend an LDS service."
Thennn, he
started talking about how he and his wife were searching for a new church and
we ended up inviting them both to be baptized and they said yes and agreed to
meet with local missionaries!
At the end of our conversation the couple just
said that they knew we were meant to meet each other and that they just felt
renewed after walking around Temple Square.
I learned that you just never know
who is ready to hear the gospel. Anyone at any age (even 78) can choose to
change and to accept the gospel.
On Saturday, I went to MLC, this little half-day training
thing and it really opened my eyes. It was all about becoming more like Christ
and how that is the goal of our lives. For some reason it had never really
clicked for me that in order to teach the gospel as Christ did, I need to
develop His attributes as best as I possibly can. So uh, I have a lot of work
to do! Somehow, I just kind of ignored chapter 6 of Preach my Gospel all these
months...
On a more positive note! Sunday, we walked into sacrament
meeting and sat down and started talking with sisters and all of a sudden my
companion leans over and whispers in my ear, "Sister Helton, look who's
sitting next to President Poulsen on the stand."
It was Quentin L. Cook!! (One of the 12 Apostles.) He just stopped by our sacrament meeting with his wife! He invoked the most
beautiful blessing on our mission and everyone was just bawling. I tried to
take notes but I seriously couldn't see anything.
He said something that I
loved. It was so simple and so powerful. He said, "You fulfill your
purpose as a missionary when you invite."
There are so many moments when I
think to myself, "Did I do enough? Did I say the right thing? Heavenly
Father I am so sorry if I just did not follow the spirit in that contact and
said something that didn't help this person at all!"
But that little
statement from an apostle of the Lord just gave me so much peace. It's the same
for every one of us.
Even though being a missionary is just a short little
period of time, I really want to live by that little quote. We fulfill our
purpose when we invite people to come closer to Christ. Even if it's just a
little invitation. Our purpose in life is to prepare to meet God and to become
more like our Savior. Christ invited every day. We can do the same.
Another miracle we had was yesterday when Sister Revoredo and I were finally back together as companions!!
We were just about to take our
lunch when we got a text that said, "999 2 Italians." Which means
that there were 2 Italians that had been waiting for a tour for over 5 minutes
and so we decided to skip our lunch and take them on a tour!
They both ended up
giving us their contact information and took a Book of Mormon. It was so
amazing because since Sister Revoredo and I have barely been together for a
week because of all the exchanges, we were a little nervous about how to
translate and be balanced in our teaching in Italian but the tour just flowed
so smoothly and my Italian comprehension is getting so much better! It's kind
of nice because it's so similar to Spanish so I can kind of understand what's
going on.
Anyways, right after the tour, we had to take an Organ Recital tour
and that was the biggest miracle of the day.
This man joined the tour half way
through and as we were walking one place to the next, I started talking to him.
He told me half of his family was Mormon so he knew a little bit about the
church but his family had never pushed anything on him.
Anyways, we finished
the tour and I was talking to this one man answering some last questions and
Sister Revoredo was talking to the guy who I had spoke to earlier who had
family in the church.
So I joined their conversation and the man literally
said, "What do I need to do to join the church? What is the first
step?"
He told us his whole story and basically, he's just starting
over and he's searching for purpose and an anchor in his life. It was just
beautiful that even through everything he's gone through, he knew that God was
the only sure source of strength and the only true anchor in this world that is
ever-changing.
I love Temple Square! Can you believe I hit my year mark?
Also, where in the world did the month of August go? Conference is in a month!
Love you all so much. Hope you have the best week.
Sister Helton
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