January 26, 2015
Dancing and Laughter
Yesterday, I was laughing really hard because we were showing sister Tamahahe all of our lame American dances. Here in Tahiti at church dances everyone knows how to cha cha and waltz and fox trot. It's the real deal. And it was fun to laugh all together.
January 19, 2015
Jesus, Redeemer of mankind
We stopped to say a prayer and ask what the Lord wanted us to do, to find someone who needed Him in their life that day. After the prayer the word ''member'' came into our minds. Two seconds later, Sister Stastny saw a member of her ward leaving her house. She ran over to talk to her and ask for the info about the apartments. The member gave us a few names and then thought of a part member family, but she didn't know the exact apartment number... We decided to start trying and go knock some doors.
The first door we tried two people came out, shocked upon recognizing us as the missionaries. They asked, "how did you know we were here?" Kind of a scary first sentence. And then, "wow, even when you move to Babylon, the Lord doesn't forget you... we were actually in the middle of drinking...give us two minutes...." The brother and sister invited us inside and we started trying to talk to them, to find out their story. Sister Stastny shared a scripture about the Lord never forgetting us because we are engraven in the nailprints of His hands. The brother started to cry and left for the balcony to calm down. When he came back, he said, "I just have one question, if someone drinks, if someone smokes, if someone commits adultery, tell me, is there a redemption for them?" The Spirit was so strong as all of us bore testimony and shared experiences about redemption for those who have strayed off of the path. He left the room again.
When he came back and asked, "I have one more question... I smoke. I drink. I have broken the law of chastity. Tell me Sister Stastny, is there a redemption for me? Tell me Sister Spackman, is there a redemption for me? Tell me Sister Tamahahe, is there a redemption for me?" How strong and precious the Spirit as we, representatives of Jesus Christ, were able to say, yes, there is a redemption for him. Yes, that is why Jesus Christ suffered in the garden, why He died on the cross, because He is the Savior and the Redeemer of the world.
Sometimes we lose our way in this life, sometimes we are burdened down by our poor choices and we turn away from God, but I testify that this is not the end, that there is always a second chance, and that Heavenly Father cannot wait for us to turn to Him again. I love Jesus Christ. I love the Atonement. I love the warming embrace and hope that repentance brings. I know that Heavenly Father never forgets His children, and when they are in Babylon, there are people who are praying for them and searching for them to help bring them back.
The first door we tried two people came out, shocked upon recognizing us as the missionaries. They asked, "how did you know we were here?" Kind of a scary first sentence. And then, "wow, even when you move to Babylon, the Lord doesn't forget you... we were actually in the middle of drinking...give us two minutes...." The brother and sister invited us inside and we started trying to talk to them, to find out their story. Sister Stastny shared a scripture about the Lord never forgetting us because we are engraven in the nailprints of His hands. The brother started to cry and left for the balcony to calm down. When he came back, he said, "I just have one question, if someone drinks, if someone smokes, if someone commits adultery, tell me, is there a redemption for them?" The Spirit was so strong as all of us bore testimony and shared experiences about redemption for those who have strayed off of the path. He left the room again.
When he came back and asked, "I have one more question... I smoke. I drink. I have broken the law of chastity. Tell me Sister Stastny, is there a redemption for me? Tell me Sister Spackman, is there a redemption for me? Tell me Sister Tamahahe, is there a redemption for me?" How strong and precious the Spirit as we, representatives of Jesus Christ, were able to say, yes, there is a redemption for him. Yes, that is why Jesus Christ suffered in the garden, why He died on the cross, because He is the Savior and the Redeemer of the world.
Sometimes we lose our way in this life, sometimes we are burdened down by our poor choices and we turn away from God, but I testify that this is not the end, that there is always a second chance, and that Heavenly Father cannot wait for us to turn to Him again. I love Jesus Christ. I love the Atonement. I love the warming embrace and hope that repentance brings. I know that Heavenly Father never forgets His children, and when they are in Babylon, there are people who are praying for them and searching for them to help bring them back.
January 12, 2015
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)