"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall
find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
"For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that
seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." --Matthew
7:7-8
One of our investigators was set to leave for Iowa to accept
a job offer there. We had, of course, been praying that she would be able to
progress ever since we had started teaching her. Her going out of state would
prevent us from coming to see her and we were hoping that, though in a
different place, she would be prompted to keep reading and meet with
missionaries again once she returned.
On Thursday this investigator told us that her job offer had
cancelled, so she would be staying in North Carolina for a while yet. This
allowed us to continue teaching her and get her to church.
Essentially: we prayed her job away.
These sorts of things sometimes happen with missionaries.
So we often have to be careful what sort of blessings we
call down on people when we pray.
***
This week had a lot of extreme weather that made working on
bicycles difficult. There were times when we simply had to just call it a day
and wait for things to clear up or get warmer. On Saturday we got caught out in
such heavy rain that we had to take cover for about an hour until it calmed
down enough to resume biking. I don't mind rain that much, though.
***
The best stories about this week actually came from church
this past Sunday. The woman I delivered the Book of Mormon to last week came to
church and got swarmed by members, who did such a great job of welcoming her
that she had a wonderful experience. It also helped that all of the speakers in
sacrament meeting did a fantastic job.
For a missionary, Sunday is Game Day. And you really hope
that your investigators show up for the game and that your team, the members,
do a good job. Fast Sundays are a terror for missionaries.
The story I'd like to share was a story by one of the
members, a convert to the church in his adulthood and with an incredible
conversion experience. Growing up in New York years ago without a father, as a
teenager he dropped out of school and joined a gang. One day a group of his
friends got killed in a drive-by shooting by a rival gang.
When all that his "friends" wanted to do in
response to the shooting was get the other gang back, this youth realized that
he didn't really want to be a part of the gang life anymore and got out of it.
He made new friends with a better crowd and started working harder in school.
Once, at a party with these non-LDS friends of his, they
stopped in the middle of what they were doing to have a short Bible study and
read the Sermon on the Mount. This member explained that it was the first time
in his life that he had ever heard the words of Jesus Christ, and he
immediately knew that the man who was speaking had to be the Son of God and
that he must become a Christian. So deep was the impression this event had on
him that he later studied to be a minister and, years later, came into contact
with LDS missionaries, joined the Church, and served a mission.
It was incredible to see this well-spoken, well-mannered and
well-dressed man tell such an incredible story. His actual conversion story is
possibly even cooler, but there is no time to tell it here...
One of the things that the Savior taught in the Sermon on
the Mount was that if we ask in prayer, we will receive. I know that this
promise is true. Just be careful that you don't pray down some intense
blessings on people.
I love you all. Hurrah for Israel!
Elder Fisher
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