IT WAS A GREAT WEEK!

29 March 2011

Well I might as well not beat around the bus; this week was awesome. It was one of those weeks that you don't think you have accomplished much but then when you total everything up on Sunday, the totals tell a different story. I was looking back over my week and I was thinking about what I would write about today. One of the biggest things that I took away from this week is if we are patient with our Heavenly Father, He will manifest His love unto us in ways we never thought possible. We found some new investigators, we taught a lot of lessons and we knocked a lot of doors. Considering that is was spring break here, it is a miracle in itself that we were able to still find and teach. But the big thing that I was able to feel was the joy that comes from the work. Elder Liu and I were a little down for part of last transfer and we thought no one would listen. We didn't let that get us down though. It rained all week but we just smiled and trudged right on through it. We had doors slammed in our face and we just laughed it off and went to the next one. After all this some people may get discouraged, but I know that the Lord is my light, the Lord is my strength, I know in His might we'll conquer at length, my weakness in mercy He covers with power, and walking in faith I am blessed every hour. (Hymn 89). This week I was asked to speak in sacrament meeting on the Restoration. How blessed we are to have this knowledge that He is there for us, that He knows what we are going through and He will bless us accordingly.
Some of the tender mercies we had this week were small but they meant a lot. There is a part member family that we are trying to teach that moved. We couldn't get a hold of them to find their new place. So we are tracting and guess who we tract into, that family. They let us in and we set up a return appointment for later this week. We were going down the less active list and talked to one sister who said we could come back and teach her family. We got in contact with a potential investigator, now new investigator, who has cancer and just happens to be going to Salt Lake for her treatment next week. We invited her to go check out Temple Square and she said she had always wanted to visit there. In sacrament meeting we had two of the recently reactivated sisters speak. Also we had a lesson with Levi about how now is the time and this is the place to be anxiously engaged in preparing and performing our labors. (D&C 58:27-28 X Alma 34:31-33)

This week was just full of all kinds of stuff that makes me so grateful for the chance to be serving in Pendleton right now.
One last thing that happened this week that really helped me was when Elder Liu and I needed to go speak with a new missionary about not getting down. We talked about what a successful missionary is and how it doesn't all come at once; you have to work at it. Seeing the growth I have made since that point in my mission gave me a great boost. I have made leaps and bounds in my testimony and in my knowledge of the scriptures. It says that in my patriarchal blessing and I never really noticed it until I had this chance to sit down and be a friend to a missionary who is struggling. He is doing great now, we gave him a blessing and there is no other way to describe that experience other than the Spirit comforting a troubled heart.
I hope you all have a wonderful week. Stay safe and remember to replace fear with faith.
Love,
Elder Draper