Roasting in St. George

Hi!! 

This week has been a great one. The weather is warming up really fast...almost too fast. And we will be made a walking area again pretty soon so hopefully I adjust! Every time we get into the car Sister Shoemaker and I feel like we are roasting to death. So maybe walking will be a bit more breezy since our car rides are not too long.

We've been doing a lot of splits recently (where we have too many appointments to cover so we each go with an active member to a lesson) The other night I didn't see Sister Shoemaker for about 2 1/2 hours because we had so many splits! But the busier we are, the happier we are. 

The other night we had dinner with a wonderful family and they brought a recent convert to eat with us. Her name is Bernadette.  She used to be Jewish. She had quite an interesting story. But boy, did she have a strong testimony!! After we ate we shared the scripture that in 2 Nephi 31:20 that talks about enduring to the end and such and we asked her a few questions. I can't remember all of her answers, but I remember her saying that our Heavenly Father has a plan for us, a plan for us to serve others. And I'd never thought of it that way before. But it's true! All of our gifts, talents, time and means are there for us to use to serve others. 

The next Sunday in church she was singing all the hymns at the top of her lungs and shouting "Praise the Lord! Hallelujah! Amen brotha! Amen sista!" after everyone who spoke. That added a little excitement into our meeting!! Sister Shoemaker just loved every minute of it - we had to contain ourselves a few times from busting up laughing just because you don't see that every Sunday in a St. George chapel. 

And her testimony was just beautiful. The whole time she was just bearing testimony of Christ and his sacrifice for us. At one point she exclaimed with her hands in the air, "The more we love Jesus, the more we'll love each other!!" And then a few people in the audience said "Amen!" 

It was just great. 

Something lately that I've realized is a challenge for some that we are teaching is the consistency of family prayer and scripture reading. There is a great quote from Elder Christofferson that addressed this issue. He said, "It's not always as we go about reading the scriptures together or praying or having family home evening that a marvelous miraculous spiritual experience occurs. It seems kind of mundane. But over time, those actions, those practices, yield a wonderful and spiritual harvest in our lives." 

I know without a doubt that I have already witnessed a little of that spiritual harvest in my own life. And I know that there is more to come.

I love this gospel and I love seeing the change it can bring to a persons whole countenance when they apply these principles and teachings in their life. I've seen it so many times, and it happens simply because they love our Savior more, just as beautiful Bernnedette put it. 

 

Much love, Sister Martin