"Commitment is doing the thing you said you would do, long after the mood you said it in has left you." George R. Zalucki
"I Felt the Lord Guide Me"
We've been anticipating the beginning of the Christmas Season for a long time now. We have so many new missionaries that have never had the 'Christmas Lights' experience-but they are in for a treat! Tonight, as we watched some of them, you could see the worry in their faces. Do you remember how intimidating a large group of people can be? But I have been so proud of them. Despite personal struggles, they go forward. On opening night, one of the new VC sisters that has been shy and hesitant invited a group of over 10,000 to come to the Visitor's Center. She did it. I don't think she thought she could, but she did. I was so proud of her for accepting that assignment and following through. Over the past few days, we've seen other missionaries stepping up and going beyond their comfort zones.
Even experienced missionaries have struggles. Here's the story of one elder's personal miracle:
My Companion and I are dreaming of a "White Christmas," and that dream kept us going this past week through some difficulties and disappointments. I am grateful for what you shared after zone leader council; that we must have it in our hearts that the Lord will bless us with those baptisms and that we must pray and work as if it already happened.
One miracle that I experienced this week was at the opening night of Chirstmas lights. I was excited for it the whole week, and woke up on Friday morning looking forward to working at the lights that evening. When we arrived for the meeting, however, I was extremely nervous. I don't know why, but I was really, really anxious and had trouble keeping still. I haven't felt that in a while. With a prayer in my heart, I went with my companion, and we parted to go to our assigned areas. I did my very best and prayed for the faith sufficient to be able to talk with and invite everyone. I am sad to say that I did let a few people pass by that I felt impressed to talk with, and will repent of that, but I felt the Lord guide me and help me as I spoke with people. The nervousness that I had felt so strongly went away as I did my best to put into practice that which I was taught and focus on the message of the Restoration. We were able to see and feel that we were successful as a group that night, and I am so grateful for the opportunity that we have to serve at the lights.
When I was 14 or 15, I had a teacher that prided himself on being a thinker. We had some enlightening discussions in his classroom. He helped me ask some great questions that led to tremendous answers that still guide me today. We agreed on many things, but were at odds on a few. One of them was religion. I had a lot of respect for this man, but it amazed me that someone who claimed to be open minded was blind to just how closed minded he was when it came to God. He was always challenging my faith. He considered my beliefs to be a sign of my weakness. His claim was that unless it could be acknowledged by the 5 senses, there was no proof that God existed. I struggled as a young person to help him understand that he was limiting his understanding to what he had personally experienced, cutting himself off from other possibilities. The best that I could do was to try and help him understand how I knew; that things of the spirit could only be understood and perceived by the spirit. Years later, I still don't have a better answer to this one fundamental question, but I face the same dilemma. This blog is dedicated to preserving stories and experiences of missionaries in the Arizona Mesa Mission both during and after their formal missions. Some stories are fun and light hearted, but others are of a spiritual nature. The blog forum is so convenient, yet the format is limiting. There is more to these words than letters on a page. To truly understand the messages requires not only an open mind, but a soft heart.
After all, "A man's reach should exceed his grasp, else what's a Heaven for?- Robert Browning"
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