I hope it's been a wonderful week for
all of you! It certainly has been here; that and interesting, but
that's what you get in the Lord's service. :) It was interesting in
that we spent quite a bit of time in our apartment. Elder Bensing
wasn't feeling well, and after a visit to the doctor on Monday, he was
put on bed rest for a couple of days. He continued to not do so well,
so that turned into a few days, and Saturday was our first day out and
about. Don't worry, though! With the help of wonderful missionaries
and members, we were able to arrange some splits and get some good work
done. People are the best. :)
On Monday, we were able to meet with Drey, as well as his
step-dad, Robert. It was a great lesson, and Robert is a great guy. He
had some bad experiences in the past with some other Christian
churches, and he wonders about the reasons for the bad things that
happen to good people, while the bad people seem to have things made.
He has a desire to find out the truth for himself, though, and I think
he could very well see the truth for himself. I'm excited to see what
happens!
We also saw Cindy for the first time in a while this week,
which was great! She definitely sees that she needs to be more diligent
in her reading and praying, but I think she has a real desire to be
better. We talked a bit about the Word of Wisdom, and she was very
accepting of it and is working on it. She has been trying to stop
smoking for a while now, and is getting better, but I'm really hoping a
greater understanding of the doctrine behind doing that will help her
along.
We were also able to see Jody this week! And his divorce went
through! So he can get married! And then baptized! He also has some
Word of Wisdom issues to overcome, but I think he has the desire he
needs to do that. He's a really good guy.
We were also able to see Sesilia with one of our ward
missionaries. Her kids weren't there, but it was a good lesson. We
talked about the priesthood, and gave her a blessing as well due to a
surgery she recently had and the pain it's been causing her. She really
felt the Spirit, though she did let us know earlier in the lesson that
she doesn't want to be baptized right now because she's already been
baptized in the Catholic Church, and thinks that's the only baptism she
needs. It was a bit of a surprise when she said that, but we're hoping
to help her see the necessity of authority in performing saving
ordinances. It's a big deal!
This week in district meeting, we talked about using the
scriptures in our teaching, and how important it is that we study and
gain a testimony of the scriptures ourselves. One thing that I've
especially been thinking about is "likening". 1 Nephi 19:23 talks about
Nephi teaching his brothers from Isaiah, and he says, "for I did liken
all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning."
When we learn to apply the scriptures to ourselves, that's when
scripture study and knowledge really becomes valuable and blesses us as
it's supposed to. After all, the Book of Mormon was written for us, and
it's up to us to see how that's true. I definitely know that's true,
and I definitely know I need to be better at seeing that.
Thank you all so much for your support and examples! Being a
missionary is hard sometimes (duh) and it means a lot to know that I
have wonderful friends and family who are always there and who are
praying for me. You're in my prayers, too. Have a great week! Be
good! Have fun!
I love you all so much!
Elder Hafen
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