6 Steps

Hola familia mía!

¿Cómo están? Bueno, esta semana pasó bien rápido pero en serio me siento muy bien, tuvimos mucho éxito.

This week was really good! The whole district really shot up and did well this week! I sure am proud of all us. As for us as a companionship, it was also one of our best weeks.

How many lessons do you teach each week?

Well, I will give this week as an example. We taught 7 lessons to investigators with a member present, 3 recent convert lessons, 6 less active lessons. Those are some of our key indicators. We hit around 20 visits a week I think.... which isn't too bad.

How large is the area that you are working in right now?

It is fairly big... I don't know how to compare it actually. Walking from one corner to the other... 20-30 minutes I'd say... Not too big really. When you are in the bigger city the areas tend to be smaller.

What was your best/happiest experience of the week?

Hmm... actually lots of really awesome stuff happened. Finding people who sincerely want to figure out which is the true church, being able to teach POWERFULLY when the investigator needs to hear it how it is, God letting me know through His servants that he is proud of my efforts of being Obedient, it was just a week full of best/happiest experiences. But I will go in more detail now. :)

We met a new young gal who is a friend of several members in the ward, but finally one brought us to visit her. She has seen that there are so many churches and so many are there for personal gain, and she knows that is wrong. Teaching the Restoration she understood great and is all excited to go to church next Sunday!! Woo!!! We are going to try to invite the whole family to listen now too. The bummer with her is that she is only free Sundays due to studies and all that.

As for P, he got stuck in the Morropon countryside on irrigation duty, so he comes back Tuesday, and there we will start working with him.

With the other family we are visiting, the whole family is doing great! But the father didn't read the Book of Mormon, he keeps pulling out the craziest facts and questions and things that don't really matter. So during one of his big topics about a different church and why they act the way they do, but we then all told him straight: They key is the Book of Mormon. Just read, ponder, and pray. Myself, my companion, the members helping us, even his own family members (also investigators) all had to tell him! haha He is such a great man, tonight we are going to see how he is going with his investigation.

This week we got 2 investigators with baptismal dates! for the 31st of January! But we gotta work real real hard. They are D and M. They have been attending church for a long time now and love it and came to us asking about what you have to do to be baptized. So we've got a goal, but we need to work to help the family really. Pray for them!

Well, I did some big thinking this week about what I told you about, the 6 steps to finding where to be a missionary. I am still fixing kinks, maybe I will get it all golden in time for a homecoming talk (haha) but here is what I've  got:

1. Do I lack a saving ordinance or need help in renewing my covenants?

(It always begins with ourselves. D&C 11:21, I Nephi 8:11 (Lehi ate it before he could invite his family to come too))

2. Who in my immediate family is in need of a saving ordinance or need help in renewing their covenants?

(D&C 75:28, Deuteronomy 6:6-7)

3. Who in my extended family is in need of a saving ordinance or needs help in renewing their covenants?

4. Who of my "Friends of Consistent Contact" is in need of a saving ordinance or needs help in renewing their covenants?

(A "Friend of Consistent Contact" I consider to be someone you interact with face to face at least once a week. ex: Coworkers, Classmates, BFFs, Neighbors, etc. St Mark 5:19)

5. Who of my extended friendships is in need of a saving ordinance or needs help in renewing their covenants?

("extended friendships" I consider to be everyone you would consider a friend or acquaintance who doesn't fit the Consistent Contact requisites. ex: How many of your Facebook friends know you are a Latter-Day Saint?)

6. Who else does the Holy Ghost invite me to help that is in need of a saving ordinance or need help in renewing their covenants?

(Who says that only missionaries can street contact?! :) But the Lord will put in our paths people who are in need of what he have. And if we pray and seach for how we can help them, the opportunities will come naturally. 1 Nephi 4:6)

Read through that one and hopefully you can get a few ideas of people to help out!! Like I said, I am still working on it, and I need for scripture references, but hopefully the Spirit will help you discover what you need to do. If you need help in what to do, "Ask the missionaries, they can help you!" :)

I love you all, the church is true! Have a great week!!

Elder Russell