Hi Everyone!
How are
you?! I love you so much! Wow, isn't missionary work awesome?! It is such a
blast and just so beautiful and so rewarding to have an opportunity to see/feel
a portion of God's love for people!
Ready for a
really long email?! This will make up for last week's short one! I am going to
try out a new email format today. We will see how it works!
Funny of
the Week: Well, I
think the title might give this one away. Semi-funny,
semi-devastating... both our bicycles got stolen this week! Yeah, did
I mention part of our area is the "ghetto" or "hood"
as some people call it. We just weren't as smart as we should have been.
But we learned a few valuable lessons! 1. Do not use the chain that comes
with your U-lock to lock up your bikes; even though the U-lock needs to be
sawed, the chain can actually be broken in seconds by a metal cutter. 2. When
the Spirit gives you hesitation, two low tires, and stops your speech during
your lesson, you should probably a. pray before you even get there if that is
the right thing to do, and b. when your speech is stopped, end the lesson and
go outside. 3. The scriptures prophesy that our treasures will become
"slippery" in the last days. Yes, folks, it is the last days! 4.
Having your bike stolen is a great way to get members to join you in lessons!
(Our members are great so they do this anyways :) 5. There is some humor in
this, right? Anyways, moral of the story, if you listen to the Spirit,
you are SO much better off!! But its beautiful, God loves me so much, that
when I was praying about this (and fasting), I got the answer "Be still
and know that I am God." I trust and promise that God will work everything
out. I don't know how, but I do have the most powerful being in the universe on
my side. Why should I fear?
Talk of
the Week: I
love reading General Conference/Ensign talks. Wow! I usually read at least a
couple a week. Isn't it beautiful that we have the opportunity to hear from
modern Prophets and Apostles. I think its so cool! Talk of the week: "Nine
Principles for a Successful Marriage and Family" (http://www.lds.org/ensign/2013/06/nine-principles-for-a-successful-marriage-and-family?lang=eng).
So good! I know the Gospel of Jesus Christ blesses families! I would definitely
suggest reading it! Also, I would suggest the talk from obedience in my
"Christ-like Attribute" section.
Tender
Mercy/Miracle of the Week: The biggest tender mercy/miracle of the week was the baptism of
Sister Dawn Sloat. She is stellar! Wow, I just adore this woman her
family. She has been taking the discussions from missionaries on and
off for at least 9 years. She has known this is all true, but has had an
obstacle here and there to overcome. She has done it. She has moved forward
with faith. Her husband (a member) called us right after we were transferred to
the area. On our second lesson with her we set a baptismal date and calendar.
She was so excited and so prepared! There are so many people prepared from God.
He just loves His children so much and works so many mighty miracles to bring
the gospel of Jesus Christ to them. Sister Sloat was baptized this week. Some of
the plans were made last minute, but Heavenly Father worked every single thing
out. Her husband found baptismal clothes large enough for him (6'9"), she
lived (almost got hit by other cars 5 different times), many from the Gulfport
Branch came to support her, and her friends made it to the baptism after
previously thinking that they weren't going to, oh! and our landlord and his
family came (we have the same landlord as the Sloat family). Tender mercies and
miracles?! Yes indeed! What are the chances?! 100%! It was beautiful and I am
so grateful! Oh, and we had an investigator come to the baptism, our Deaf
investigator, that also stayed for a single adult dance afterwards. Her
blessing for receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost was positively amazing. She is
so happy. You can tell how important baptism is to someone when they are
standing in cold water (I guess the building didn't have warm water for some
reason), and waiting to get baptized for the second time (her elbow didn't go
under the first time), she is smiling from ear to ear. Sister Dawn Sloat is
such a great example and I love her so dearly. Great job!
Other
Highlights of the Week:
This week
was just awesome. Wow, I loved it. This Church is true! God loves everyone! He
definitely loves and blesses His missionaries and anyone or strives to follow
Him! :)
Later in the
day after we finished police calls for our bikes, we needed to go to our ASL
class, but had the smallest of promptings to take an umbrella back to an
investigator on the way there. We almost didn't because it seemed a bit
inconvenient, but decided, oh well, we already have the umbrella, we can take
an extra 5-10 minutes. So we dropped it by, said hi, and left. When we walked
out the house, the neighbor of this investigator called us over. Around a month
ago we said a peace and blessing prayer with her and her son, but they didn't
seem super interested and so we had only seen them about once since then.
Earlier that day this woman had been praying and praying to God. She then felt
the need to go outside, and right when she did she saw us. She knew that we
were the answer to her prayers. This Church is true. The message we share is
from God to the world. This is not an uncommon experience. God knows this is
what people need. Yeah, missionaries are great, but its the message that we
share that will bring a perfect brightness of hope to the lives of individuals
and eternal joy. It was a wonderful experience.
The other
huge blessing of this week was helping a family with their reception. The wife
is an absolutely amazing individual. She is so sweet and has so much faith and
trust in God. Her husband isn't a member, but is a fantastic man and treats her
so well. We were able to go do service a couple times this week to help with
the reception. I loved getting to know their friends and family members. When
you are serving others you are serving God (Mosiah 2:17http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/mosiah/2.17?lang=eng).
This is so true. But also when you are serving others its like Christ
serving them. That is what I felt like. I felt like Christ. Not that I can
compare myself to the Savior of the World, but I was doing the work He would be
doing. I was serving, and talking to others, friendshipping them, and it was
great. It brought about so many doors for missionary work, and it was so
beautiful to gain those friendships. It was so wonderful. We also got to stop
by the reception briefly right after the baptism. I am so grateful for this
family and especially this marvelous woman.
We are doing
the Addiction Recovery Program with a returning member. Yesterday she said that
she is going to be begin praying, which she hasn't done consistently in a very
long time. I am so proud of her! It is beautiful to see the progress in her
testimony and coming to know of her goodness.
Wow! Go
righteous women! I feel like that was definitely the theme of this week!
One other
highlight, we had a Specialized Training for our Zone. President and Sister
Summerhays head out the first part of the July and we get a new Mission
President. I am sad to see them go, but know that God has called the new one
and I will support Him just as I supported President Summerhays. That is how
the Keys of the Kingdom go! (Priesthood Keys). The training was absolutely
wonderful! There was a great talk about an Indian legend. Each of us have a
white wolf and a black wolf fighting within us. The one who wins is the one we
feed. Do not feed the bad. Do not feed the critic. That is not from God. He
loves us how we are, but loves us enough to not let us stay that way. He sees
our deeper-self. The son or daughter of God that we truly are. I have been so
grateful to yield the sword of truth for the Savior alongside President and
Sister Summerhays!
Pictures:
1. Sister
and Brother Sloat right before her baptism.
Christ-like
Attribute of the Month: Obedience So every month the mission has been studying a
different Christ-like attribute. I would love to share my thoughts each week on
this attribute. This month is obedience. Wow, do I ever love obedience! It is
so absolutely wonderful! The thought for the week is this:
1. The
commandments are a road map for our eternal happiness:
"A
useful way to think about the commandments is they are loving counsel from a
wise, all-knowing Heavenly Father. His goal is our eternal happiness, and His
commandments are the road map He has given us to return to Him, which is the
only way we will be eternally happy. How significant are the home and the
family to our eternal happiness? On page 141 of my little brown book, it
states, “Indeed our heaven is little more than a projection of our homes into
eternity.” - Elder L. Tom Perry ("Obedience to Law is Liberty" http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/obedience-to-law-is-liberty?lang=eng)
"And
moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state
of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all
things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end
they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state
of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for
the Lord God hath spoken it." (Mosiah 2:41 http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/mosiah/2.41?lang=eng)
Invitation: Find someone to serve this week
and do it! If you pray, God will put someone in your path every day you can be
of service to - everything from a smile and wave to helping someone move. God
knows who needs you.
Closing
Notes: I love
this work. I really love this work! Gulfport is great. This last week had some
set backs (bikes being stolen), but that will not stop the work from
progressing. "No unhallowed hand" can stop the work. I know that is
true. Rain or shine, bike or walking, this work will move forward. What a
tender mercy to know that. The tender mercies of the Lord are all over us and
those in Gulfport A.
One last
thing, the Gospel is true! The Church is true! This is Christ's Church. I am so
grateful that God trusts us enough to let us enough to use us, to forgive
us when we come to Him daily, and then to use us again. It is so beautiful! We
have lots still to do and have things to still work on, but as we strive, God
will continue to pour out blessings. I love this work! I love being a servant
of the Lord! All of you can be a servant of Him in your daily lives as well.
Wow, God loves His children!
Have a great
day!
Sister
Jenkins
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