REMEMBERING MY PURPOSE

DY Beach Sunrise

Ello Beautiful Family!!!

OK OK ... PUBLIC  APOLOGY FOR THE WORST WHINING WEEK OF ALL TIME!  DOING SO SO MUCH BETTER THIS WEEK!

Just needed to be humbled a bit and now we are back on track. 

I love being a missionary- it has taught me so much about persevering and trusting in the Lord.

ALSO! I GOT HEAPS OF LETTERS FROM FAMILY THIS WEEK -- IT WAS LIKE CHRISTMAS! I appreciate them more than you know.

The TURNING POINT for me this week was my interview with President. We had such a happy, cheerful chat and I love him so much. He looked at me and asked, "What can I do for you Sister Lloyd?" I love President so much as he stands in the place of my family, my leaders, and my friends while I am serving.

We discussed going home and he nonchalantly mentioned my plane ride home. He talked about it like I was going home next week! I assured him I still have about 3.5 months! We laughed and it was a wonderful interview. He also said, "So Sister Lloyd, you're going to BYU eh? Sister B told me all about it!" He then sat back and started laughing! (I am going to keep you all guessing ... !)

Missing Toronto NSW

He told me something very key. I have been feeling guilty about thinking about plans when I get home because I just want to focus on my mission. But here's the key: he told me that there is a difference between THINKING and DWELLING. He told me to "think" 20 mins a day about what I am going to do and then focus on my current responsibilities. 

Here's another piece of excellent advice I received:

“It is vitally important to recognize that the Lord also responds a third way to prayer by withholding an answer when the prayer is offered. Why would He do that? He is our perfect Father. He loves us beyond our capacity to understand. He knows what is best for us. He sees the end from the beginning. He wants us to act to gain needed experience: When He answers yes, it is to give us confidence. When He answers no, it is to prevent error.

When He withholds an answer, it is to have us grow through faith in Him, obedience to His commandments, and a willingness to act on truth.We are expected to assume accountability by acting on a decision that is consistent with His teachings without prior confirmation. We are not to sit passively waiting or to murmur because the Lord has not spoken. We are to act.

Early Morning Beach Discovery

Most often what we have chosen to do is right. He will confirm the correctness of our choices His way. That confirmation generally comes through packets of help found along the way. We discover them by being spiritually sensitive. They are like notes from a loving Father as evidence of His approval. If, in trust, we begin something which is not right, He will let us know before we have gone too far. We sense that help by recognizing troubled or uneasy feelings.” (Elder Richard G Scott Oct 1989)

What an incredible week it has been. Sister P and I have been pleading with the Lord for His help this week, and to lead us to those who have a desire to change and to learn. It seems that we never stop finding people to teach, but most of these people have been "dropping off." We prayed for prepared people to be placed in our path, and the Lord immediately answered our prayers. 

We met a young woman at the park, she was sitting on the grass, and we felt prompted to go talk with her. Her family isn’t religious, and she has never even thought about the idea of a God. We taught her the Restoration, and talked about Joseph Smith receiving an answer to a humble prayer. She said that we could come back and teach not only her, but her entire family.
 

Manna from Heaven! Found on the sidewalk = dinner!

Also, remember the C family? They have been in my heart a lot. She actually texted us this week to let us know she was thinking about us too.  Please keep them in your prayers.
 We met another family  from Samoa! They are so prepared and want to learn. They said that they have always wanted a family religion and the “Mormons” have always made such good impressions on them. They invited us over to teach them this week! Miracles!  Another man was walking, head down, and I felt like we should quicken our pace to talk with him.  We taught him of the relevance of religion and the role and potential it had to change his life. He was so keen and asked us to come over the next day and teach him and his mum. 

We met so many people on the buses and on the streets who not only wanted to meet with us again and come to church, but... they actually returned our phone calls and texts and want to progress!  We have seen so many miracles.
 We had an amazing first lesson with our investigator L as well. We taught him the Restoration after finding that he had already read the intro, witnesses and the first part of the BOM. He already loves the BOM and has such a desire to learn. I am so grateful for the way that SP and I have been able to teach over the last couple of weeks; the spirit was powerful and I knew that we should extend the invitation for him to be baptized. However, the spirit told me to be silent. SP opened her mouth and invited him powerfully and clearly. He accepted to be baptized next week! I’m so glad that she was able to testify and invite successfully.


I am also so grateful for the power of member presents. Teaching with a member should never be taken lightly, and also should never be underestimated. I think that sometimes, our investigators grow tired of hearing us talk, and when the member speaks to them and invites them through personal experience, the spirit is amplified.
 

Teaching as the Saviour would teach came from a lesson with our investigator M. We followed up with her about our last lesson on the Plan of Salvation, and she said that she had so many questions for us. The three of us decided that in order for her to receive answers and to progress in any way, that she first needed to know that God existed and that He loved her. We decided to get on our knees and ask with her, right then.  The space was sacred, and I could feel the spirit in the room, but I pleaded with the Lord the entire time that she would be able to feel it as well.
 As we got on our knees, she starting sobbing and fell to the ground in tears. I was so grateful for the silence and how I know the spirit was touching her. She expressed to us how scared she was and I realized we were asking this sweet woman, someone who had been told her entire life, that God didn’t exist, and that no one loved her, to find a life changing answer. Something that I take for granted- praying, and knowing that God exists, was something earth shaking to her. 

I read something in the August Ensign https://www.lds.org/ensign/2014/08?lang=eng that I would like to share:  

Yes, I live here! God's Beautiful Creations ...



“Please do not ignore chapter 1 of Preach My Gospel and its question 'What is my purpose as a missionary?' Internalize the purpose of bringing people to Christ through the principles and ordinances of the restored gospel, and you will understand that sharing the gospel is not a program; it is a cause—the cause of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Internalize the purpose of inviting people to come unto Christ, and you will understand that the world has no access to atoning grace and salvation but through The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You will understand what sharing the gospel is all about, and you will be up and about your Father’s business. You will know that the full-time missionaries, as did the sons of Mosiah, teach “with power and authority of God” (Alma 17:3), and you will invite them to teach the gospel to those to whom you have already extended the invitation to “come and see” (John 1:39).


For me, the missionary purpose captures the majesty of the work and the glory of God (see Moses 1:39). What endeavor is more magnificent than bringing the children of God to ultimate salvation through the grace of their Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ? Remember that our missionary purpose is not only to warn others but also to save them, not only to teach but also to baptize, not only to bring others unto Christ but also to make them steadfast in Christ to the end. 
Our invitation to the world is to come unto Christ. Coming unto Christ is an abbreviation, a way of describing in three words the plan of salvation. It means to obtain the fruits of His Atonement and Resurrection—ultimately eternal life. Eternal life depends on the exercise of our moral of our moral agency, but it is possible only through the grace of Jesus Christ. To come unto Him means to do what is required to lay hold upon that grace—the pardoning, sanctifying, transforming, redeeming power of His infinite, atoning sacrifice.”
(Elder Christoffersen Aug 2014) 


The highlight of our week was the baptism of T and D! I bore my testimony, and while I looked down at T and D in their white clothes, the scripture in 3 NE 19:25 came alive for me. I could literally see the glow and the light of Christ radiating from them. It hit me in that moment that my purpose for working so hard is because I have to ensure that I do everything possible so that we can live together again with our Heavenly Father and Saviour. I held the pulpit and tried to hold back tears as it hit me that THAT is what motivates my consecration.

I love this gospel and my Heavenly Father’s plan so much – I can hardly comprehend the blessing that we have as missionaries to invite others to live together in His glory and infinite love for eternity. That is my purpose! 

I love you all to the moon and back! Through all the wind and rain... and back again!

*cough** Can't wait for the snow... NAT! Never coming home! hehe