Well as you can see from the title.. this past week has been THE BEST WEEK OF MY MISSION (so far!) :) I have never seen SOOOO many miracles and ways provided by the Lord in such a concentrated amount of time!! It was AMAZING!!! I'm truly SO thankful! :) And we feel SO blessed!! Thank you for ALL of your love, prayers, encouragement, and support! :) I love you all SO much!! :) So this is what happened... :)
It all started with an "all of a sudden inspired goal" prompted by the Spirit during weekly planning, to set a goal of 43 lessons taught to an investigator with a member present!! :) (our mission average of 'lessons taught to investigators with a member present' is 3!! And Sister Ewell and I have averaged on our mission about 6 a week! So 43 was a REALLY HIGH goal!!!! :) ) We both got really excited just thinking about the idea and decided to pray about it to receive a confirmation that this is what the Lord wanted us to do. As we prayed tears came to our eyes and we felt so happy and KNEW this is what we needed to do and that it was going to happen!! We knew as long as we had faith and did our part to be consecrated and obedient missionaries the Lord would make this possible! :) And that is exactly what happened!! :) Not only were we blessed with 43 lessons taught to an investigator with a member present but by Thursday we felt inspired to set a higher goal of 50 instead!! and by the end of Sunday night (last day of our missionary week) Sister Ewell and I were blessed with EXACTLY 50 lessons taught to an investigator with a member present!!!! :) If that's not a testimony that Heavenly Father is real, answers prayers, and that with Him we can do ALL things, then I don't know what is??! :)
This week has been a week of miracles and we have loved every minute of it!! :) Sister Ewell and I would go out with faith, strive to be as consecrated as we could, work hard, and come home each night ASTONISHED at how many member present lessons the Lord blessed us with that day (and wondered "What have we been doing our whole missions??!!" and said many times, "THIS is how a MISSION SHOULD BE!!: :) ) and how many new investigators came along with that (we were blessed with a total of 24 New Investigators this week!- which was DOUBLE what we had set as our original goal of 12!) The Lord truly has a GREAT and MARVELOUS work to do and all He needs is willing and worthy and CONSECRATED missionaries to do it!! :) And that's really not asking much with ALL the blessings He gives us in return! It's amazing!! :) We decided to strive to achieve the 'impossible' like "Roger Banister" as Elder Bowen had spoken about, and with the strength and guidance of the Lord and the amazing and willing members, we were able to do it! :)
I have learned SO much this week from this experience such as
-FULLY Trust and Rely on the Lord (always)
-Don't "Lid the Lord" (flea analogy)
*don't put 'lids' on the Lord's goals and His will but strive to RISE to them! :)
-Be the 'instrument' you were meant to be!
*Consistently 'tune' yourself (to the Spirit)
*Allow yourself to be 'used' and 'played' (by the Lord and His Spirit- let the Spirit work through you)
*Strive to stay in 'harmony' with the Lord's plan and will (all day, everyday)
-Constant and Consistent Consecration is Key!
-Have "Tree-like Faith!"
*not just 'seed-like' faith (have HIGH Faith)
*and trust a 'tree' will grow!! (that miracles will happen!!)
-Follow the Spirit (even the smallest inklings/promptings)
-Talk to EVERYONE!!!
*How will to know who 'the prepared' are unless you talk to them?
-'Personal Best' Preparation and Planning Provides Power!
*Prayer
*Fasting
*Temple
*Studies etc.
-"Don't run faster than you have strength" (Mosiah 4:27) ... but just like Roger Banister,
you can run a lot faster and are a lot stronger than you (and others) think!
(and so are the members!) :)
I love the Lord and I love His work!! :) It is AMAZING to be a part of such a 'marvelous work and a wonder!!' I LOVE it! :) The Church is TRUE and "A marvelous work [just] came forth among the children of [Lawton]!!" -D&C 4:1 :) And with the strength of the Lord, we've learned, we can truly do ALL things!! :) And so can YOU!! :) What a blessing!! In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. :) Have a wonderful day and week!!! the Lord KNOWS and LOVES you SOOOO much!!! Trust in Him fully and He will guide you to even greater things you never imagined were possible!! :) I testify this is true! :)
Love, Sister Carlini :)
ps my finger is okay! :) it got rolled up on in the car window one night! yikes!! :) but all is well! love you!! Merry CHristmas!! :)
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