Sacramento - Week 52/53

Due to the new security measures requested by the Mission leaders, the names of all investigators and people that Sarah comes into contact with will be replaced with the name of a well-known character from a children’s movie. This will keep the identities of people safe as well as make it easier to keep everyone straight. The name given is in NO WAY intended to reflect the personality, looks, or circumstances of the individual(s).

“Repent!”

January 28, 2014

Hello everyone!

The title of the email is really for me. I am trying to be better at time management so that when I get on the email I have time to write everyone I need to and still put together an email about my week. 

So, this week went like this:  

Transfers! I am staying in Folsom with Sister Zenger as my companion. She has been out about 7 months and we are just two peas in a pod. We have a bunch of fun together and are working really hard. It feels great! They say the key to missionary work is work. Work, work, work, there is no better substitute. It's true! When we are working diligently we feel our best and do our best. I love being out talking to people and teaching them about this awesome gospel. 

We had an amazing experience with our investigator Maleficent this week. Maleficent has had a lot of questions about baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. We had a great lesson with her on the importance of priesthood authority. We didn't think she was going to be able to make it to church on Sunday so we told the gospel principles teacher, who is one of our ward missionaries, to just teach whatever she wanted. When we headed to Sunday school, Maleficent showed up! She could only stay for Sunday school hour, but she was happy to be there.

So we get to class and the teacher shares the story of how she decided to just open the gospel principles manual and see where it opened to. It opened to baptism and she didn't want to teach that so she did it again....and it opened to baptism. And so she just ignored it and came up with her own lesson. Then she was in the shower on Sunday morning and was thinking about her lesson and the Spirit said, "Why do you ask my opinion if you don't want to listen?" So she went and kneeled and prayed and then let the manual open again. It opened to baptism. And so she taught on baptism. It was just what Maleficent needed! It was a miracle and a tender mercy. We have a lesson with Maleficent tonight so we will follow up with her then and see how she is feeling. We gave her a good homework assignment so we are excited. 

This week, I've been thinking a lot about repentance. What a miraculous gift we have been given from our Father in Heaven! In His loving kindness He sees us for what we are, mortals who mess up! He knew that, that's why He provided a Savior for us. And even though He knows we are perpetual sinners, making mistakes big and small each and every day, He loves us and knows our potential. He knows what repentance and life experience can make of us up. He knows we can be refined into something glorious, but that means we MUST go through the refiner's fire. 

In the words of Kenneth Cope, "You meet the Lord in the furnace, long time before you meet Him in the sky." In the furnace of affliction, we draw near to our Father in Heaven and our Savior, and They draw near to us. The hardest trials in life can become sacred experiences for us if we will use the gift of repentance and the Savior's atonement. Repentance means we change. We constantly try to be better. The path we walk may be bumpy and long, but it can become hallowed ground through the atonement of Jesus Christ. 

Hope you have a great week!

Love, 

Sister Burchett