Noah decided to pay a visit to Slovakia this week :)
It's the flood! Quicky, everybody build an ark!
My, has it been RAINING and RAINING this week. While Sister Krauel and I were in our apartment during planning last night the whole outside world sounded like it was caught up in a whirlwind. Our lights kept flickering off and on. Crazy weather :)
DESPITE the weather :) MIRACLE week.
Tuesday, we met for district meeting. Our mission president is really trying to push us to get people to church. As a district we decided we would combine and devote our efforts to getting our investigators to church. On friday, we were in Zilna, one day we would have weekly planning. Really, the time was short to invite people to church. We really had wednesday, thursday, and about 1/2 a saturday. We talked about it. Decided that we would actually shoot for next sunday, so we could have more time to invite and commit people to come.
For some reason, that didn't sit right with me. I really felt like it needed to be THIS sunday. The spirit was just quietly prompting me, nudging me thoughts. "could we just try for this sunday?" our district agreed. Better sooner than later. 3 days. As many people as we could. At church. OFF WE GO!
I know God has given me a gift of understanding the timing of spiritual things. I saw that before my mission. I see it here on the mission. He has urged me to share this gift with my family and friends. I was grateful for the chance he gave me to do that in this district meeting.
Yesterday :) SUNDAY.
POURING RAIN. Did we let down our faith? no!
We had sooo many people at church :) It was beautiful. Soo beautiful. I felt like I was at home in our little ward family. We had a couple investigators come, one of our less-active members came (She is an ANGEL) even though her knees were hurting her and it was raining. We had members drive our invesgators home. We had priesthood to pass the sacrament. wow. What a miracle. All thanks to God.
You have to understand, with bad weather, slovaks don't go ANYWHERE.
But they came to church :)
I learned something this week as we taught one of our investigators. Cross testifying is not limited by time :)
This woman was taught by one of my MTC teachers. She is a wonderful wonderful lady. She is letting a homeless woman stay with her right now, and helping her find a job. She tries to help EVERYONE. We spoke with her about prayer and the book of mormon. She said, "Yes, I know the book of Mormon is important. Elder Bodily would always say that." Sister Krauel and I were able to add our testimonies to His, even though he served here awhile ago, His testimony of the book of mormon was still working on her heart. Wow. What a privelege to support the testimonies of other missionaries. We cross testified - in the mouth of 2 or 3 witnesses :) shall the truth be established.
We were also able to serve this week! We went and cleaned up one of the parks here. Man! you wouldn't believe how much trash there is in a place until you try to clean it up. As I picked up this park, I felt the spirit soooo strongly. Service really resonates with my spirit :) I know the earth is important to God. He cares about all of his creations. As we picked up trash, I thought of the atonement. There were times I was having to dig up bottle caps out of the dirt, or fishing line out of bushes; other times the trash was simply laying right on top of the grass. There were often HUGE bottles - very obvious to see. Other times little wrappers and cigarettes all over the ground. I thought "this is just like sin." We are all like the earth. One of God's magnificent creations :) Every time we sin, it's like one of those pieces of garbage falling on our surface. If we aren't quick to clean it up, it will get embedded in our soul - just like those bottle caps. Sometimes it is obvious we have sinned - like the giant bottles - other times we may not see one or two "wrappers or cigarettes" because we simply pass them by. Whatever sins we may have, the savior can clean us all. He has the power, no matter how deeply embedded our sins may seem, to cleanse us and keep us clean.
I will close with this thought: patience
I am reading and re-reading and re-reading 1 nephi right now. (really trying to internalize it). I feel like Lehi as he rejoiced in the history of his fathers because I too, am reading the old testament right now. I have learned about patience from 2 examples in these books.
number 1 - Moses' people. Did they never learn? Over and over the lord blesses them. Mana from the heavens, water from the rocks, deliverance from the egyptians, quails, a temple, healing, commandments, etc. Yet they always find a way to complain and complain and complain. They wander in the wilderness 40 years. They couldn't be patient. They couldn't trust the Lord's timing.
Nephi, on the other hand, trusts in the Lord. He is commanded to retrieve the plates. He could have given up on the cause after that 2nd try. But no, he doesn't. He is patient, waiting for the Lord's timing. The first time, Laman cannot retrieve the plates because he fears. Nephi devises a plan - we'll buy the plates! (it was a good plan) but it doesn't work. He could have questioned the Lord. Instead he says "okay, I will try it the Lord's way." Even though he didn't know what exactly "the Lord's way" was. He goes forth!
From this story I learn that God admires our efforts, and that we are supposed to try and try and try, never giving up. Success, however, comes when we succumb to the Lord's will. It wasn't until Nephi tried to retrieve the plates in the Lord's way that he was able to do so.
Love you all! Keep up the good missionary work!
Love sister Kane.
p.s. Check out numbers 16 and compare it to the women protesting for the priesthood in modern day "utah" ;)
just finished numbers 21 - that's where I'm at in the O.T.
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