Ok, so sorry that Hannah Montana's song is popping up into my
mind for the subject of this email. I'm apostate. It's ok. But really,
life IS what you make it! Last week was a trying week. This past week
has been wonderful! Of course we had a mix of up's and down's, but
things are continually looking up.
So, Sister King has been needing to practice her
Portuguese in preparation for her leaving to Brazil (her assigned
mission). Our new Zone Leader just happens to speak Portuguese! What a
tender mercy! So we met up in Union Square earlier this week so they
could do their language study together while Elder Witbeck and I
contacted nearby. The Zone Leaders were confident we would be able to
find a Portuguese speaker as we contacted in Union Square. I scoffed. O
ye of little faith. Elder Witbeck and I were handing out family
history cards and asking people where they were originally from. One
man stopped and said "Brazil." My jaw dropped and I was freaking out!
"WHAT?! Really?! Do you speak Portuguese?!" I quickly asked. "Yes, I
do," Frank replied. "Oh my goodness! Ok, I have some friends who speak
Portuguese and they are actually studying it RIGHT now! You just have
to meet them!" I almost squealed! "Oh, I don't have much time...," he
began to say. Haha... I ignored his comment and introduced him to Elder
Potter and Sister King. They talked for 20 minutes and taught him the
Plan of Salvation. God answers prayers. My faith was strengthened.
The ZL's were right. I repented. :D
Later this week, we dropped by Tanasha's place to say
hello. We met Tanasha one of my first weeks in Manhattan. She is a
sweet lady and is so friendly. She hasn't shown interest much in the
gospel, but has SUCH strong faith in God and is slowly asking us more
questions about our beliefs whenever we drop by. When she answered the
door we warmly greeted her. She told us how she had had a hard night
and her daughter was just getting back from the ER. We spent the next
hour talking about God and tithing and Tanasha's mother who use to study
with the Mormon missionaries before she passed away. Before we left I
asked her if we could say a prayer with her. She readily agreed. After I
ended the prayer, she had tears in her eyes and she gave us the biggest
hug! She said God sent us her way to help her! I think so too :)
On Sunday our Ward Mission Leader asked if we could meet
up for a meeting after church. We readily agreed. We were surprised to
see our first counselor in the bishopric also join us. To our
surprise, he spoke some very direct and bold words to us regarding our
missionary work and casual conduct with the women of the ward. We were
informed that there were some things the members were concerned about
regarding our to-be privileges on Facebook. His words were unexpected,
but understood. Our ward is extremely youthful... almost all the
members of the ward are in their late 20's or very early 30's. They
each had a different mission experience and a variety of rules to adhere
to. The use of internet, cell phones, texting, etc were drilled into
their minds as being "of the devil" and rights to be sent home if
(mis-)used. And they are struggling with the idea that not only will we
have access to it (Facebook, Skype, Blogging, Email, Texting, iPhones,
iPads, etc), but will be encouraged to use it in our proselyting efforts
and with them as members. It made sense what our first counselor was
saying, but hard to hear some of the strong feedback he gave us. It was
great to know what the members thoughts were so we know how to respond
when they raise concerns.In the end, it came down to the point that we needed to educate our members on the good that can come from sharing the gospel online and by using social media. And also by sharing the restrictions we still have in regards to these new opportunities. I would have never thought this was a hard thing for members to accept, but if YOU are one of these members who is struggling with the idea, think about it. Ponder it out in your mind and ask God if it be right. A prophet has asked us to do this, and it is up to US to be the pioneers to bring it forth. I ask for your support in not only accepting this new technology, but embracing it in a positive way to share the gospel around the globe! If members are not working with us on this, then the work WILL be hindered. So, again, pray about it. Miracles will happen. I promise!
This week we got to teach Travis Lee- one of
our investigators who is from Egypt. He became a Christian several
years ago and has been coming to church with us the past 1.5 months. He
is thirsty for the gospel message. Every few days he will text us a
spiritual experience he has. It is so amazing to hear the dreams that
he has, the thoughts that come to his mind, the prayers that are
answered, and the experiences he has. This man is having a rain shower
of spiritual experiences poured out on him! The Lord wants this mans
heart and soul so badly! It is beautiful to see his progress and
eagerness to learn more!
Lastly, on Tuesday
(yesterday) we were able to go to Union Square to try a new idea for
contacting. We asked people standing or sitting on the many benches or
steps if they would write an
uplifting message on an index card. We explained that we would give
the card to someone in the city who looked like they were in need of a
pick-me-up. People loved the idea, and 1/2 the people we asked
willingly did it! After they gave us back the index card, we gave them a
Mormon.org card with our Zone Leaders blog address on it (reachmygospel.blogspot.com) and told them we would be posting the results of this social experiment online and to check it out! #1- They did something good for someone else.
#2- They had a positive contact with Mormon missionaries.
#3- They ALL accepted a Mormon.org card.... It was a HIT!
They all wrote WONDERFUL messages of hope, love, and GOD! It gave me renewed hope in humanity :D I have been out on my mission for 6 months now, and I STILL have a hard time opening my mouth about the gospel! I struggle with it every day and it is my biggest obstacle to overcome. And if you know me, this is surprising to hear, right? I can talk with anyone! And this is true... I can. BUT, I have a hard time just STARTING the conversation and making it feel natural. But I had NO problem going up to people and asking them to help us help make someone elses day better. So, it was a great "social experiment" to try out and help me simply open my mouth.
Haha... there was this one man who saw us going down the
line of people sitting on the benches and asking for their help in
writing the note. He immediately ducked his head deeply into his
newspaper. I laughed and thought, "Oh, I got this one!" I approached
him and said "Hello Sir! How are you today? We are doing a little
social experiment and are wanting to know if you could write down
something inspirational on this card...." His head did not move. There
was no sign of life in the man. I had thought if I just continued
talking, he would look up because he felt awkward ignoring me while I
kept talking. Lol- but he didn't! Hahaha! I paused, laughed, then
apologized for bugging him as I wished him a good day and continued on
down the line. Some people make me laugh....
I found out that the only young man that we have in the
ward (a 15 year old adopted boy from Ghana who joined the church 2 years
ago) did something similar with a youth group the other night where
they went out onto the NYC streets and asked people what they were most
grateful for. They could have their pictures taken with their written
answer, or have the youth video record their answers. What a WONDERFUL
idea! All of this is allowing for us to open our mouths and share the
gospel, whether in word or deed! Fantastic!
The gospel is true! The work of Salvation is
moving forward swiftly! Come join the ranks of this great work! You
know you want to :) Here are some WONDERFULLY motivating quote from our
prophet and other leaders from this past General Conference on
missionary work:
“Now
is the time for members and missionaries to come together, to work
together, to labor in the Lord’s vineyard to bring souls unto Him.
He has prepared the means for us to share the gospel in a multitude
of ways, and He will assist us in our labors if we will act in faith
to fulfill His work.”
-Thomas
S. Monson
“President
Thomas S. Monson, as he did once again this morning, has called each
one of us to a very important work. He said, 'Now is the time for
members and missionaries to come together, to work together, to labor
in the Lord’s vineyard to bring souls unto Him.' Have we been
listening?”
-S. Gifford
Nielsen
“Many members
do not even pray for opportunities to share the gospel, fearing that
they might receive divine promptings to do something they think they
are not capable of doing.”
“We are not
asking everyone to do everything. We are simply asking all members
to pray, knowing that if every member, young and old, will reach out
to just “one” between now and Christmas, millions will feel the
love of the Lord Jesus Christ. And what a wonderful gift to the
Savior.”
-M. Russell
Ballard
WATCH:
*Videos on sharing
the gospel at: hasteningthework.lds.org/
*“The Work of
Salvation” [worldwide leadership training broadcast, June 2013];
lds.org/broadcasts
......
Open
your mouth! It's hard, but it is worth it! Make God proud! I know
I'll continue to try to each day! Come, join with me in this great work
of the Lord!
Love Always,
Sister Weyandt
Pictures:
-Sister Awerkamp (her 21st birthday that day), Sister Khong, Elder Witbeck, Elder Potter, Sister King, Me
#2-
Sister King and I with our beloved Aimee Bloch! She is our
investigator who flew out to see General Conference! She is solid! We
ADORE Aimee. I am adopting her.
#3- Our "inspirational message" cards from contacting in Union Square.
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