This week has been...good. I am so grateful for the lessons I am learning here on my mission :) Wow, they will definitely influence my whole life.
The weather has been a little cooler than last week. They told us that here in HB they have gray May and June gloom. And then July, August, and September get super warm.
What happened since last Tuesday....
Keith came to church yesterday! It was exciting. He doesn't really like church much yet, but I think he will def come to like it if he continues to come. Did I tell you about how we started teaching Keith? He was a member referral and he is awesome. I think he got a little bit overwhelmed with it all this past week so he canceled his lesson with us on Saturday (that is the worst thing ever) but he did come to church. And he read the chapter we left him to read. So he is doing good. I think he just needs to have a little bit more of the desire to know. So will you pray for that? Pray that he will want to receive an answer and want to know for himself and be willing to read and pray about it even though he doesn't like to read. He is still praying about his baptismal date, so at least he is seriously thinking about it :)
Teaching someone who wants to learn is awesome. It hasn't happened very many times so far, but I just need to be more patient. And hey, it makes me appreciate the lessons that do go so well.
This week I have really been trying to learn how to listen better. In PMG it talks a lot about what it means to pray with faith. One of the sentences (bullet points) really stuck out to me this past week. I don't have my PMG with me but it goes something like this: Each night when you pray give the Lord an accounting of the day's activities, review with Him your plans for the next day, and then LISTEN for the promptings of the Holy Ghost. I realized that I don't know how to listen very well. I think it goes hand in hand with pondering (which I'm also really bad at). I have been trying to take time to listen, but it's hard to not fall asleep when you're so tired at the end of a long day... :) But I think that is one of the reasons why prayer is a form of work. It really does take work to be focused and listen and concentrate as you pray and after.
I was reading in True to the Faith (I LOVE TTTF. Chelle, I remember that you said that on your mission and I was like, why? It's just definitions of things, but now I just love reading it. It makes so many things more clear, it's awesome) about prayer. And I read a bit about reverence. I really wanted to quote it for you, but I forgot to bring it, so you should read it. It's on page 145. But one of the things it said is reverence is profound respect and love. The depth of your reverence is manifest in the music you listen to and the other entertainment you seek as well as the way you dress and act when you attend the temple and church. I love that. It also said that as you are reverent and peaceful you invite revelation. Who doesn't want revelation, right? I am trying to be more reverent in my whole attitude towards missionary work. It doesn't mean it can't be fun, but I am trying to remember more what an important calling it is. I still just love this line from the white handbook-How great is your calling!
Jen, I've been thinking a lot about the question you posed in your email about modesty. Sister Thompson and I were discussing it-how modesty is a reflection of your understanding of the purpose of why we have bodies. She said that if you think about the temple think about how it is never decorated or adorned with anything that distracts from its sacred purpose. It is beautiful inside and out. But never is anything put on it that takes away from how sacred it is. And our bodies are temples. So how important is it that we never dress in a way that detracts from the sacredness of such a wonderful gift. Anyways, it has given me a lot of food for thought.
This week we've really been talking a lot about member missionary work. I never realized how important it is! Something that our ward mission leader said really struck me. He said, try to think of ways that you can put yourself in the path of more people that don't have the gospel. I guess that just blasted away my excuse of how I was never around people that weren't LDS before my mission. But what a lame excuse is that. Because I should have chosen to put myself in those situations so that I could share the gospel more. You should all read the talk from February 2005 Ensign-7 Lessons on Sharing the Gospel by Clayton Christensen. And try always to be member missionaries. Not only does it help the missionaries but it brings you joy as well. "How great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father." It's totally worth it :)
Well, I feel like this email is super boring. Sorry about that. I wish I had more exciting things to write about :)
Oh, as of today we can no longer eat with elders at members homes. I wasn't very happy about that rule because our ward is already having issues with dinner signups. But it's okay. When you obey rules you get more blessings right? :) I'm sure President Bubert knows what he is doing. And we're trying to think of all the positives of this. I think we'll be able to talk better with members when it is just the two of us, so that will be good. And talk more about missionary work the whole time instead of just a quick lesson/thought afterwards. It will be so good :)
This morning in personal study I read a scripture that I loved. It is in Helaman 10:4. The Lord is speaking Nephi. "Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done; for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word...and thou hast not...sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, to keep my commandments." I want to serve my mission in a way that at the end of these 18 months I can be worthy of that scripture. Blessed art thou, Sister Andelin, for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word. What a beautiful reward that would be.
SO my challenge this week is just that: try this week to keep the commandments with unwearyingness. Life is so much better when you are centered on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I hope you all have a fabulous week! I love you!
Love,
Sister Andelin
Pictures:
1-from the corner of Newland, a corner we pass by all the time. Aren't the flowers so pretty? They bloom differently throughout the day depending on where the sun is :)
2-At the Newport Beach Temple! It was so good!
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