Cleansing & Sowing . . .

April 13, 2015

Dear Family,

Sounds like you guys all had a great week!  It is always so fun for me to hear about everything that you are all doing, and that everything is going well!

So things out here are still going well for me too!  I lost my voice almost completely for about 4 days, not really sure why, but I am thinking that it is because I got sick.  I don't know what it is about the time when missionaries are finishing the mission, but it seems like at the end, everyone who has had almost the whole two years of being perfectly healthy just gets sick!  I didn't let it stop me though, and still went out and worked every day!

The week went well, and it was a week that the area definitely needed!  We used to have lots of "investigators", but the thing is that they were not people who really wanted to change their lives, they were people who became really good friends with the missionaries, and the missionaries just didn't want to stop visiting them.  For me that was a little bit hard, because I want the people to progress and change their lives, not just like me and change for me.  So, we started doing what I have done in all of my areas, and just did a deep cleansing of the area.  We prayed to know who truly wanted to listen and change, and that we would know who did or didn't want the message.  We then realized that through their church attendance, their reading, and also just with how they received us who truly wanted to learn more about the gospel!  It was hard because we were left with only one person, Celsi.

That was a little bit hard because we had no one to visit in the day besides her, and even she is struggling a little bit because she just had mouth surgery, so she was unable to go to church this week.  My comp was a little bit sad, and was struggling with wanting to get out of the house.  He was taking a really long time to get ready and such, and when I asked him why, he told me that we didn't have to hurry because we didn't have any one to visit.  I just put a big smile on my face and told him that we did.  He asked who, and I told him I didn't know.  He asked when, and I told him that I didn't know, and that I didn't know even if we were going to visit the indicated person that day, but that we were going to find them!  So he got ready and we left.  We went the whole day knocking on doors....  aaaaannndddd passed the whole day with out finding any new people!  The next day, I told him the same thing, and we had the same results!!  We now have four days of doing the same thing with the same results, but I am happy.  I used to think that it was all about teaching and baptizing, but I realize now that every phase of the work is important.  Sometimes we go to areas to be the one who sows, and sometimes we go to be the one who reaps the harvest.  I decided that I was going to find my purpose in this area, and if my purpose is to sow then I am going to sow the whole area, house by house and person by person!.

So that is really all that has happened this week, nothing really new to report!

I just want to tell you to stay strong in your faith!  Lots of times there are things that maybe we don't understand, or things that we are unsure about, but I promise that this is the true gospel.  I know it because I have lived it and continue to live it.  I know that we are put in different situations for our own benefit, as well as the benefit of others.  We must constantly live in harmony with the gospel to know what we need to do, and I promise that through your faithfullness and diligence that you can know what your purpose is, and how the gospel can work in your life if you just open up, let it in and embrace it.

I love you all so much and hope that you have a great week!

Love,

Elder Garrett McEwan