Hello from the south! (also known as the best place on earth)
Missionary work is an absolute party let me tell ya ;) it's not easy but it's sooo much fun. I've never felt more joy than helping bring souls unto Christ and serve with some pretty amazing people in such a neat area!
I was able to go on exchanges last week and went to Chapel Hill with Hermana Bernal! She packed our day full of service opportunities helping to pack care kits and fold laundry at an overflow hospital, helped take care of technology issues at an elderly ladies house and did origami with a less active member who lives alone. While doing phone tracting we found out she's been teaching Daniel Helms! He's the tight end football player for the 49ers and lives here in NC!! Crazy! We also had a lesson with a guy named Antwon who has been progressing really well! It was interesting though. As we taught him a recap of the restoration to help better answer his questions, he began digging deep and wanting to know more. With Hermana Bernals broken English she didn't know how to respond so it was up to the greenie to take over the lesson XD
He asked questions like, "If I were to stay at my church for the rest of my life would I be saved and exalted? What's the difference between the bible and book of Mormon when they both testify of Christ? I feel the holy spirit just as powerfully at my church so what makes me need to join yours? What makes Mormons so different from the other religions when you and I have such similar beliefs?"
Good deep questions but hard to answer! I was blessed to be given the opportunity from the Lord to help teach Antwon correct principles and testify of the truthfulness I know and believe. When I opened my mouth, God filled it with what needed to be said. It was powerful to watch his confusion change to understanding and he excitedly kept wanting to learn more about the gospel. When we extended the invitation for him to pray for himself if the book of Mormon was true and read the intro, he accepted. He even asked about our church services and when he could join via zoom to feel this same spirit. The lesson went so well!! Antwon offered to give the closing prayer and kept thanking Jesus over and over for sending the missionaries to him and teaching him the things his heart has yearned for. Such a neat experience!
We've had a pretty good week so far! Found some new people while Facebook tracting and one of the progressing ones is Eddie. He's a die heart country fan and a firm believer God is his best friend. We had a Bible study with him and he wants to meet again to learn more about "what makes us so hype." XD we have another lesson scheduled this week :) other than that most of our lessons fell through which was a huge bummer but we lucked out with tons of extra service opportunities! We helped clean up a ladies yard after the storm tore apart most items in her shed. We helped stack wood at a recent converts house who used to be a drug dealer in cali but changed his life around when he ran into some missionaries. He's trying to get his wife converted and wants us to help him create a spreadsheet of Bible verses that help pertain to promise fulfilled or deep doctrine. He even had some personal questions of his own that we helped answer which turned into a great gospel discussion! We helped volunteer at the Tarheel Antique Festival and tons of people came to look at the tents filled with treasures and participate in the auction going on! There was a barn filled with lights and ice cream, country music, hay rides, silo slides...such a great time! We've been able to do lots of member lessons after dinner and made a video of us introducing our new mission Facebook page that was launched onto our ward page! We are loving Hillsborough:))
We have a family in the ward, the brandts, that have us over for dinner every Wednesday night and we have grown so close with them! After dinner, when it came time to share the lesson we shared the scripture Alma 32:21 and each of us were able to share faith building experiences. I for one shared how my faith has been tried with the trials I endured the first few weeks of my mission and am still enduring but how God has allowed me a greater connection with Him, a ward, mission, family, friends and companion who care. 8 now have a greater ability to trust in Him. I shared how even though every aspect was pointing in a route for me to go home I still fought to be here and applied the faith I was taught long ago to continue to keep pushing forward with what I wanted. Brother Brandt shared that on my second visit with them I was extremely quiet and it caused their family to worry about me. Now that they know a lot more of the story, they now know that during that time I was struggling with a lot on my plate and trying to figure out how to balance it all. He said it's amazing how over the past few weeks they have seen me flourish into a powerful missionary and how it has struck them with awe how the hand of the Lord can take someone and shape them into a reliable servant. Jed, their son, piped in and let me know he's so grateful he's a witness at what the gospel can do in people's lives. Sister Larsen testified that she too is grateful to be a witness and is so blessed to have me as a companion. All of my qualities and traits as a missionary have influenced her to do more and she'll be forever grateful for this time of growth on both our ends. It's amazing how powerful words are and when said at the right time; from the heart, you feel so special! It seriously meant the world to me!
I'm so excited for general conference this weekend and the opportunity we have to hear from our prophet and apostles as they share inspiring and uplifting messages! Plus with an added bonus of it being Easter Sunday!! I'm so grateful for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who paved the path for me to return back to my heavenly home to live with my family for eternity. For that I am forever thankful and feel honored to share this same light and knowledge with all I teach. Life is so good! Stay safe everyone and know Jesus loves you:)) as do i!!
♡♡♡
Sister neel
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