The Errand of Angels: Week 13 Excited/Trainer/Biker

Hello to all my wonderful friends!!

I am excited for the start of a new week. I always love starting the week again, not only because Preparation Day (we get 8 hours to prepare for the week by doing laundry, emails, cleaning, etc) is quite refreshing, but also because I love starting fresh and striving to reach new goals! I cannot express how exceptionally excited I am to see the work continue to progress and hasten in the coming months! 

So.... transfer week! I finished my 12-week new missionary training and will be training a new sister in and staying in my area (I am in Tampa btw, in case you were wondering). And I will be on car share!! Which means... I get to bike every other week!!!

I am so excited to train and to be on car share! I am so excited about car share because it will give us even more opportunities and encouragement for members to teach with us! Plus, you get to talk to everyone while at stop lights, etc.... AND get in better shape at the same time! Although, I am trying to run every morning on our noisy, screechy, yet still wonderful treadmill! I feel so blessed to have one at our apt complex gym!

I will miss Sister Foster - she was an AMAZING trainer and the right/perfect one for me! She is going down South to Venice. But what a great experience it will be to have the opportunity to take what I have learned from Heavenly Father, my leaders, Sister Foster, and others, during these past three months, and impart of it to another missionary! Yay! I have been praying a lot for her and the new sisters coming in :) And for my leaders in regard to receiving inspiration for the mission.

This week was really good (if you couldn't tell by all the explanation marks used in this email). I was not perfect and there are things I definitely learned that I could improve upon for this coming week, but I am so excited to do so! I There are blessings tied to every commandment from God. I love that blessings are tied to obedience, especially as a missionary. I am excited for this opportunity to have the Holy Ghost even greater in the work and to become more Christ-like and obedient :) I am so excited to lead by example with the new missionary and help her see how obedience brings blessings and how working hard brings a greater capacity to work, how talking to everyone allows Heavenly Father to work through you and to find those who are searching, how prayer brings inspiration, etc... Wow, I feel like I need to take a breather in my mind because of all the excitement! Haha...

Anyways, so a couple highlights from the week:

We invited one of our investigators to be baptized in a member present lesson (she was the one that went to the baptism a few weeks ago). She has been reading and praying about The Book and Mormon and has felt its true up until now, but doesn't feel like she has received an answer. When we first asked her to be baptized it was a pretty adamant, "No, I don't need to because I have already been baptized," which is a pretty common answer. Due to the Holy Ghost inspiring the member and us, the Spirit touched her heart and she went from being entirely against the idea to accepting the invitation to pray to know if its the right thing to the do. I felt as though having a member at the lesson and the right member was KEY! I am so grateful to Sister Foster, myself, and the member for listening to the promptings of the Holy Ghost.

We finally were able to have a member present lesson with one of our investigators (we have been trying and trying to have one and it just hasn't gone through). She came to Bishop's house (followed us there) and had dessert with his family. She really opened up about her life and the trials and blessings. Wow! I now feel like working with members is so KEY to success as a missionary. I understand that it is not the only "key," but my eyes were really opening last week to how important members are and I am so excited to use them even more. Wow, really all I can say is "wow" and "hurrah for Israel!" Nothing can stop the work from progressing. We are on the winning team.

Today I read about the 58 new missions opening (http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/list-of-58-additional-missions-created) and then the article about "Members Key to Productivity of Extra Missionary Force (http://www.lds.org/church/news/members-are-key-to-effectiveness-of-increased-missionary-force?lang=eng)." My heart has been so touched by the blessing I have in my life to be a missionary now. A missionary at this time when the work is hastening. I am so proud of the Elders and Sisters choosing to serve... who were waiting so patiently and then jumped on the chance to serve a mission as soon as they could. I am a tad bit older than most missionaries out, but am so glad I waited to go on a mission until it was Heavenly Father's time. He knew that I needed to come now. And I always want to be a missionary NOW. A missionary at all times and in all things I do - a represent  and servant of Christ. I cannot thank Heavenly Father enough for being a missionary at this time preparing the way for a greater surge of missionaries. I love the work. I love my Savior. I love being His missionary.

We really need the member involvement in the work! So members, get to work! Share the gospel by your examples and by words! Invite people to come to church, activities, to read The Book of Mormon, to come to your home for FHE, for dinner with you and the missionaries, to be baptized... anything and everything! The works is hastening. The last days are here!! The Gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone!

My invitation to ALL of you is to make a family mission plan (FMP). Pray/fast about a goal date (for example, April 1 or General Conference (even better)) and then pray on how to do it, get local missionaries involved, and INVITE. 

A couple ideas are to write your testimony in a copy of The Book of Mormon or The Bible and to give it to someone or to have a less-active or non-member acquaintance of yours in your home with the missionaries for dinner, or FHE, and/or a lesson. You are key to investigators having a social experience at church and to be retained as members. Even if someone knows the gospel is true, it is sometimes hard for them to go to church if they don't have friends. I know that as you do this, you will be inspired how to. Heavenly Father will bless you in this effort!! I KNOW HE WILL! This is His work and He will open doors for you, help you know what to say (D&C 100:5-8http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/100?lang=eng), and will not let you fail. In order to harvest, first seeds need to be planted and nourished. You may be part of all or just one of these processes. 

You are all awesome! Keep up the good work!!!

Sister Jenkins
(Pictures will be added later in the week because Deba was having problems with her computer and I am away from home where the Flash Drive is with earlier pictures she sent, until the middle of the week.
Sister Jenkins Sr.)