Hello all!!!
Its a beautiful day in Eagan! Just wait till winter time!!! haha
Here is a hilarious quote i got from my zone leader: "Service is like peeing your pants. Everyone can see that you did it but only you can feel the warmth!"
hahahahaha! that one made me laugh my head off!!!! He told us that when we were helping someone move.
So it has been such an amazing week! First off President Clements challenged us to invite EVERYBODY to baptism (even if its right when we meet them out in town). We want to invite 1000 people to baptism this week. That means being EXTRA BOLD. When I first heard this, I was thinking: This is going to scare off the people! But now as I think deeper, I think the Lord is telling me as well as the other missionaries that we NEED to be more bold in our teaching and in finding. Jeffery R Holland talked about this. Ill paraphrase but he basically said that this is not something to be taken lightly. This is eternal life that we are talking about. We must be bold and let them know how important this message is. It was a powerful statement. I have made it a goal to be more bold in my teaching AND finding.
This week it got REALLLYYYY hot! In the heat index, It got up to around 120!!! That's including the humidity. I learned that there is no end to the sweating. hahaha But I'm still keeping my color so that's a plus! but i do have what they call the missionary tan: so i have a really bad tan on my collar. Half of my neck is tan and half is pure white. haha I am also getting a watch tan. lol. So its pretty hot! Thankfully not too many mosquitoes. Give it until September my companion told me.
The work is going AMAZING!!! We got the approval from President Clements to baptize Dylan this Saturday!!! we are sooooo excited for him!!! We completed the baptismal interview and we have the program all set up. It's a done deal! It's a miracle! We have been trying to meet with the Rodriguez Family, a part member family, for a while now and we finally got a hold of them. The father is less active and is a priest we think. The mother is also a member. They have 3 kids: Felix (14), Kalvin (11), and Cassie (8). They are about to have another baby soon! Here is a miracle that happened before we met with them: when we met with them, they said that their youngest daughter Cassie just asked them if she could be baptized. They want her to do it. In the meantime, they also have a goal to be sealed in the temple. We were so happy for them to come back to the light. It will be a little bit difficult but we are praying for them. We want Brother Rodriguez to baptize Cassie but he doesn't think he can in due time. He feels guilty. We are working with him and will do our best to prepare him for that day to baptize his daughter. We taught Sister Briggs again last Wednesday. Again she has been a less active member for 40 years. She has been coming to church every Sunday since I came into Eagan. She still doesn't have a testimony of Joseph Smith even after fasting. Right then, the gift of discernment came to me and Elder Baker. I felt impressed to ask: "Did you faithfully ponder about those things that you have prayed about?" She replied no. I had no idea what she needed but at that very moment, I knew that the Spirit really knew her needs. To preach with the Spirit means to preach with understanding. The Spirit was so strong at that meeting and her faith was strengthened as well as mine as I bore testimony of the Savior almost in tears. It was amazing. We taught Monika and Ravi last Friday. They are Indian parents of a 4 and 2 year old. They are Hindu. We were going to have a former Hindu who was converted to the gospel come to teach with us. Her name is Priea. She couldn't come. We really needed her there because she is the bridge between Hinduism and Mormonism. We did our best to help them feel the Spirit but they have no desire to change their faith. So I feel that we shouldn't go back until we can get Priea there to bear testimony of her conversion from Hinduism. Other than these people, we have received a lot of referrals this week! When we fasted last friday, we fasted for a new investigator. We are praying that these new referrals will be interested and receptive to our message and to the Spirit.
Here is my spiritual thought of the week: President Ezra Taft Benson once said: "When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest, in that moment God will endow us with power." I have seen the blessings that come from being exactly obedient on my mission because God blesses us with the power to resist temptation, to be valiant, and to constantly progress and to constantly strive to become more like the Savior. I testify that if we make obedience a priority in our lives that we will be so happy, that we will enjoy the blessings that come from following the Lords counsel, and that we will find peace in this dark world. Keep choosing the right that the Lord will be with you 24/7. Thank you and may the Lord continue to bless you all!
Love,
Elder Mower
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