Dear Family and Friends,
Happy New Year! I have set some new goals for the new year that I hope will help me become a more effective missionary and just improve in general. I decided that I need to focus more on my purpose as a missionary in order to increase my desire and willingness to work. So on the first of every month (which actually turns into about week--I am a really slow reader...) I am going to study the first chapter of "Preach My Gospel." Also, I really want to be healthier and more in shape because I am happier and have more energy and more enthusiasm to get out and do something when I am (the mission has been really bad for that). So I am going to eat more vegetables and exercise better in the mornings!
This week was a toughy. We have had to do a lot more finding because we are indeed running out of potential investigators, as I previously predicted. And that means tracting. My companion has been blessed has never really had to do a lot of finding before, so she took it really hard. We had to call it quits early on Saturday because she was just too hard on her. She took a nap and I updated the area book (we had a new ward list that needed notes written on it) and called a few potentials that we only have the phone number for. It could be a rough couple of weeks until we get some good finding in. I try to be sympathetic, but my previous areas have given me some tough skin when it comes to finding. We will keep trying to come up with more ideas.
We were able to meet with Dominick twice this week and he is progressing for reals now!!!!!!! It is so exciting. He is an earnest seeker of truth! He is planning to make changes in his life and he is starting to do them. He even fasted yesterday. And he fasted to have more strength and courage to turn himself in. The best part was that he thought of that on his own. We did not even have to suggest it. I am impressed that he has even come as far as he has considering his background, the situation he was born into and the fact that most of his family is still actively involved in drugs, alcohol and gang activity. He has shown in the last two weeks that he is serious about the Gospel and is gaining his own testimony! My favorite thing about Dominick recently though was probably in Gospel Principles class yesterday. When the teacher asked if anyone would be willing to give the opening prayer, Dominick without hesitation raised his had and said "I will!" I was priceless.
We were able to meet with our media referral, Bill, this week. We had a church tour, which was good and bad, and he came to Sacrament meeting (he told us before that he was feeling nauseous and didn't think he could last the whole three hours). Unfortunately, the church tour resulted in an info dump and Bill was super overwhelmed. Thankfully, he has a strong desire to learn and really enjoyed Testimony meeting. Most of our ward is converts and they all shared pure and simple testimonies of restored truth (and the importance of baptism :) ). We look forward to meeting with him again this week.
This week in my study I have been reading Mormon. And it is super depressing. It makes me so sad to read about the people who had the truth and then completely rejected it. I found comfort again, in the New Testament. I read about the occasion when the Savior healed Peter's mother-in-law. I especially loved Luke 4:39 that tells of the woman's actions immediately following her miraculous healing. It reads "And he stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her: and immediately she arose and ministered unto them." The first thing she did was minister to those around her! She saw the Savior work in her life and then bore testimony and served her family and close friends. I love her example. Those are my favorite stories to read in the scriptures. When people gain a testimony, but their faith does not end there. When they faithfully endure to the end. The best.
Love ya lots!
Sister Turley
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