this week was wonderful!
tuesday we started out the week with an exchange. i went with sister goaslind into her area. it was a lot of fun because sister goaslind and i came into the mission field at the same time so we will be going home together. it was fun to be with her and get to know her a little bit more!
wednesday was a game changer- literally! we had a worldwide missionary broadcast and we received some new changes! we used to track 12 key indicators for missionary work and now we will only track 4! (missionary key indicators are things like member present lessons, people with a baptismal date, etc.) we also had a change in the missionary schedule! we still wake up at 6:30 and go to bed at 10:30 but we have a lot more flexibility in our schedule and we have an hour and a half to get ready in the mornings! wahoo! also we have the option to go to bed at 9:30 because we used to come home and plan for the next day that night, but now we are planning in the mornings. with the new changes we have a lot more "freedom" which is weird. we are so used to the set missionary schedule, but sister garcia and i have already seen so many miracles as a result of these changes!
since wednesday, all of our lessons have been with a member! and that never happens! it is usually a miracle to have a lesson with a member 2 times a week. wednesday after the broadcast sister garcia and my plans cancelled. we decided to go knocking. we prayed and then looked at a map, still unsure of where to begin. on the map there was a street circled, rue may, so we decided that was as good a place as any to start since it was circled. we ended up knocking 4 apartment buildings and had incredible experiences in every single building! (ps that never happens) we had meaningful lessons and met incredible people. one of the doors we knocked on, we had a lady answer and when we said we were missionaries she told us that we knocked on the wrong door because she was muslim from morocco, but she was super sweet and we started telling her about the plan of salvation. she told us she agrees with all of it and loved it! when we gave her the pamphlet with the address of the chapel on it, she asked us if she was invited and we said of course! she was so happy and told us she wants to see us again! her name in arabic means "victory." she was such a beautiful person and had a beautiful spirit. it was a blessing to meet her!
we received a media referral of someone who is so prepared for baptism. we will be giving her to an english speaking ward, but it was so cool to go in and teach her the first lesson!
but the biggest miracle of all.... (drumroll please)
WE HAD SOMEONE AT CHURCH!
one of the most important things for an investigator to do is to come to church. they can't get baptized without it and they won't receive a confirmation that the church is true if they don't come. my whole entire time in gatineau, no matter how tirelessly we would work, not a single investigator came. we would find rides for them, we would meet them before church to have them follow us there, we would call them and do daily contact, and without fail, they wouldn't come. we would ask for advice on what more to do and follow everything, and no one. this was pretty discouraging. 21 sundays and not a single investigator. this past sunday we again did everything we could and our investigators promised they would come, as always and they cancelled.
sunday we walk into the chapel hoping for a miracle, and she walked in with a big huge smile on her face! her name is ambroisine. she is catholic but her father is a member of the church. she told us that she never had gone to another church before, but this sunday she felt like she should come, so she called a taxi and came to our church all by herself. she was so wonderful! she talked to everyone and even knew a family in our ward! we were able to teach her and make her a new investigator and she told us she is so excited for us to come visit her at her house.
wait i almost forgot another AMAZING miracle! our less active member that we have been working with just got her temple recommend yesterday to receive her endowment! over the past 5 1/2 months i have been here, i have seen her go from pretty much inactive and using prescription drugs incorrectly and being too afraid to repent to becoming fully active and studying her scriptures every day and changing her heart. i will never forget how happy she was the monday we went to her house and she told us that she had repented. she is going to the temple! she is a miracle. she is a testimony to me that the Atonement changes lives. she was so unhappy and there was almost like a cloud over her all the time. she was in pain and she was miserable. now she is happy.
i am so grateful for Heavenly Father because truly this was a blessing from Him. when we couldn't get our investigators to church, He touched ambroisine's heart and sent her to church. i am so grateful that she listened to the prompting she received. at the worldwide missionary broadcast elder bednar told us that success is a gift from Heavenly Father. we don't have success unless He chooses to give it to us. now, He doesn't hold it back from us, He wants to give us success, but He wants to teach us and give us as many opportunities to grow as He can. it was such a tender and sweet miracle.
another thing i learned from elder bednar was a phrase he kept repeating. "all things gather together in one in Christ." it is so profound to me. all of our lessons, everything we teach, all of our strength gathers together in one. and that is our Savior Jesus Christ.
i love you all! today we went snowshoeing in the great white north and man i'm pooped but it was so fun! i hope you all have a great week!
love,
soeur paine
pictures:
sister goeslind and i on our exchange
we went snowshoeing with the scotts and with members in our ward. yes i got stuck with the huge snow pants.
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