What a week it has been! A little difficult to be entirely honest - we had quite a few people cancel on us, but Elder Skinner and I always seemed to be fired up. We would have discussions at night where the Spirit would be so strong among us, it's all real stuff! On Wednesday, we had a Mission Leadership Council with the whole mission focused on how we can keep the momentum going forward. It seemed as though everything that Elder Skinner and I had discussed prior to the meeting was turning into the focus of how we can sustain it. We are looking for real growth in this country and it is only found through working with the members and helping them to accomplish their missionary work. It's been turning into quite a fun experience!
Yesterday, this ward had 12 non-members in church - the members have been inviting their friends and family! The work is really beginning to move forward in this country and I only know that it will disperse all over the country! The mission had two baptisms in Alta and one in Stavanger! I had a personal celebration because those are my two former areas!!
One thing that stood out to me in this past week, was when Elder Skinner and I were talking with one of our investigators. This man had run into some personal problems with where he was going to live. We tried to teach him that among all the trials that we go through, God is trying to teach us something. He seemed to be mostly focused on the here and now rather than the big picture. He went to retrieve keys from a man for an apartment to stay in, so Elder Skinner and I took a minute to look around the city center. Basically, what I'm saying is that we people watched for a few minutes.
During the course of people watching, Elder Skinner and I came to the conclusion that, "if you ever doubt that the church is true, just go people watching!" We looked around this city as God's children were so preoccupied with many different things, too many to even describe in this post. Many of these things demonstrated that when we take our eyes off of the purpose of this life - or even if we don't fully understand the purpose of this life, we begin to waste away our days aimlessly wandering through this life.
I am so grateful for the knowledge that I have, that this life is our time to prepare to meet God. It is a time for us to perform our labors. When we diligently seek to fulfill God's will by serving others and following His Son's example - we can fully understand the purpose we were sent here to become. Every day is a new opportunity to learn something new, to stretch ourselves and to be stretched. When we build our foundation on the Christ, no trial will be too tall - we can overcome all through Him.
I hope to always have my focus on the bigger picture throughout the rest of my life. It's a daily decision and effort that we must develop within ourselves. I hope that everyone has an excellent week full of success!
One thing to add is that my baby niece received her baby blessing this week in Las Vegas, NV - Claire Dodson!! I can't wait to meet this new baby - and the twins that are on the way from my brother and sister-in-law! The Lord has richly blessed us!!
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