Week #59

Kišapada Blagoslova-Raining of Blessings

Intense week! We went to Zagreb with President R, and it was great! We talked about the area and our companionship like how we plan and work in the area. He gave some good ideas how to focus our efforts and making our "jar of missionary work" filled with rocks instead of filling it with sand first. We arrived in Zagreb and enjoyed my first, in a long time, family home evening with teenagers and little kids. It was so much fun. Slept then the next morning went to the doctor's and received a diagnosis for Sestra B. Every thing's good, she just has low blood pressure. Prescription: more water and salt. So we are on a new diet and it's been really good for both of us which is great because the following week was busy full of finding and teaching!!! We went to many different homes of former investigators and two accepted to hear about the gospel again :) Then along with our time of tracting, two families (both single mothers) are interested to learn more about who we are and "what makes us have so much faith." On Wednesday, we did something I've never done on my mission: splits. Sestra Burton went to V's with a member and I went to a less-active member's home with the senior sister, Sestra I. We both had good, powerful lessons. It was hard because we both wanted to be there for both of the lessons, but the work needs to hasten. So we will be going on splits a lot more which is amazing to me that we have the capability and busyness to do that! Fun fact, we went to a less-active family this last week and they live about 3 kilometers from Hungary. So I saw Hungary for the first time this last week. Weird huh? Last Friday, we had a wonderful activity which I think about 40 people came (usually about 10-15 come each Friday). The church was more full than I have seen it my whole time here! And about half were non members! But one of the best parts was that V came to church, she even came an hour early! She thought it started at 9, but we hustled over after finding out she was early and then had a lesson with her before church started. It was so great! All these blessings just kept pouring and I haven't even mentioned half of the things that happened this week! I'm just grateful to gather the blessings and then keep going forward, so God can bless these people even more.

While I was talking with President R, he mentioned how I'm in an interesting part in my mission. I'm getting comfortable with the language and missionary work. Now what? Then he challenged me to study sacrifice. Therefore, this past week, I've been studying sacrifice mainly with Abraham's sacrifice. There are many things that I could point out, but the part that hit me most was that Abraham knew he was to sacrifice Isaac and he kept going having faith in God. I know if I was him that a lot of the time, I would be hoping that the ram would come along the first day or even when they arrived at the mountain, so I wouldn't have to get to the point of sacrificing my only son. I can only imagine what was going through Abraham's mind the entire time, but he had enough faith and obedience to raise the knife. Then God stopped him and blessed him with one of the greatest blessings heard. The trials we live through, the sacrifices we experience are hard. But the blessings come after we experience them. I can't even count the amount of times of nights we tracted but it's the last few minutes we are let in and have a wonderful lesson (like last night with one of the single mothers). And I know that's how it's going to be the rest of my life. I will be living through a trial, trying and finding the blessings, but then the greatest blessing comes in the last moment. Because Heavenly Father wants us to prove ourselves. Who am I? What am I willing to give up or put in? What will I do? Heavenly Father knows what we will do, but do we? We live through these trials so that we can prove to ourselves that we can do it. We can be faithful. We can have great faith. We can do it. Keep going! Find the faith! And then the blessings will come. Volim vas!

 

 

S vjećnom ljubavlju,
Vaša kćer,

Sestra Kristine Jolley
Uvijek Sljedići Braće