Something that is often passed around missionaries is the sage advice that "The Lord doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called." If you had to be perfect to be a missionary, we'd have like... 2 elders and 3 sisters in the field and I would not be one of them. D&C 1:23, am I right?
But lemme tell you something. No matter what anybody else says (YOU LISTEN HERE, YOU LISTEN TO ME) the Atonement is REAL. And it WORKS. For missionaries like me, for members like some of y'all, and for EVERYBODY like YOU. I watch it work everyday, so keep that in mind.
I've got two baptisms coming up this week! Dolores and her daughter Samaria!!! Nothing makes me happier than seeing a family be together. Having been a part of a family that is under the covenant of an everlasting marriage, seeing a mother ask "can my daughter be baptized too? I want her with me too." kind of makes my eyeballs leak.
Next week, *drum roll please* ALVIN'S GETTIN' BAPTIZED!! And I know he is because I've watched his resolve strengthen and firm to the point where he tells Heavenly Father in his prayers that he's going to church. You can hear the rock solid in his voice.
Preach My Gospel tells us that as missionaries, as we obey, will be recognized by the people we meet as servants of Christ. To recognize, you must first have a knowledge of it, right? So it's the coolest thing to me to be identified as a "church lady." Cooler still is when people get excited that we're there. We have 2 instances of that this week.
Noezi, one of the most prepared investigators I've ever met, lit up like the 4th of July. I'm not kidding. He was moving his brother, so he was carrying a box upstairs to his apartment when we called out to him. He turned around and I think his face split in half, so wide was his smile.
We also started teaching the Spanish Elders' neighbors, John and Paula. They make me laugh. When we walked up to their apartment, John jumped up and said "I GOTTA GET ME A PICTURE, THEY'RE REAL!" He had been calling us "UFO's" to the Elders because he didn't think we would come by. BUT WE DID.
Some missionaries might think that, because they're not epic teachers, they're not doing a good job. At the beginning of my mission, I felt this way. To quote "Into the Woods," I "[wasn't] bad, [wasn't] good, just nice." Amidst our imperfections, I think we forget the kind of power we CAN and DO actually have. 2 Nephi 23:3: the Lord commands his sanctified, he calls the mighty. He may be working with imperfect tools, but he's not painting with bricks! I like to think that we're "quasi-qualified" because if we were completely inadequate... well, the missionary field would be scarce. If you've got faith, hope, charity and love with an eye single to the glory of God, I don't know what else you need. You're qualified enough.
I wish I could bottle this Texas heat and make you sympathize with me.
Love, Sister Gunson
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