Testimonies of Faith

I sevierly struggle with keeping up on this thing the way I'd like to. I've never really considered myself an avid writer, so I guess we can blame it on that.

Nonetheless, for the past month I have been wanting to write this blog post.

At the end of last year, Cameron was called to be the Ward Mission Leader and me a ward missionary- which we were both so stoked about!

About a week after Cam was called, he was apart of a meeting where one of the Stake leaders (and also a member of our ward) shared his desire all year to bring someone into the Gospel. He said that he had felt pretty disappointed that all year long, nothing had happened. And so he continued to fast and pray until something did. Finally, his prayers were answered just before the year was up. Brother Paul (the stake leader) was standing outside his home one night when a young man was walking down the street with bags in hand and asked Brother Paul where he could find a mormon church. Brother Paul said, "Well, it's Friday night so you won't find anyone there, but it's just around the corner...but why may I ask are you looking for the mormon church?" The man (his name is Josh) replied, "Oh, well I'm just really wanting to learn about the Mormons." You can bet that Bro Paul was beyond excited at this point. Long story short, Brother Paul ended up housing Josh in his own home that very night, gave him a Book of Mormon, chatted with him into early morning about the Gospel and watched as Josh read that Book of Mormon until 6:00 the next morning. Josh was hooked. He couldn't get enough of it. So, Brother Paul set him up with the missionaries, and soon the Elders were teaching him lesson after lesson. That next Sunday, Josh came to church with his scriptures and actively participated in every meeting. He was like a little boy on Christmas morning. He had the biggest grin on his face as members of our ward introduced themselves to him. Cam was able to be apart of many of his lessons and would come home and tell me all the details like what questions Josh would answer, and just how willing he was to do what the missionaries asked him to do. Before we knew it, Josh was set to be baptized on January 24th. He was so eager, and I'm pretty sure he would have been baptized sooner if he could have been.

Not even a month into his calling and Cameron was already setting up a baptism. He was nervous and somewhat overwhelmed, but it turned out great and the ward was so extremely supportive of Josh and his decision to be baptized.

Don't you just love Josh's smile?! I love it!

Through this entire process, I couldn't help but be reminded of how powerful prayer and fasting is. Brother Paul is an amazing person, his entire family is. They are all such great examples to me of faith and desire. Because Bro Paul had the desire and the faith to help one of God's children, Josh was blessed. Brother Paul even offered Josh a job, and is still living with Brother Paul to this day. There are so many small details that went into this baptism, but I just wanted to share the major points. Had Brother Paul not been so determined and full of hope- I don't believe that Josh would be where he is today. Josh is on fire- he loves talking about the Church, and has even shared it with his family.

Brother Paul's example of missionary work, makes me want to do be a much better member missionary. Through this experience, I was reminded of the extreme importance to share this beautiful Gospel with all of those around us, and to not be so afraid! The Gospel is not scary, it's an eternal truth that everyone must know about! If you're reading this and would like to know more, please go to www.mormon.org!

On another note, I just wanted to share with all of you how much Heavenly Father loves his children. I cannot tell you all the diverse ways that Cameron and I have been blessed since I had Mack and stopped working full time, but we have been beyond blessed! And what's funny is it's always in ways that I wouldn't think.

Here are just a few of the ways Heavenly Father has fulfilled His promise the last few months:
[I don't share this to brag, I share this as a testimony of faith]
For example, we paid a medical bill a few months ago, and overpaid and somehow received a refund check that was the exact amount of one of our coming bills. My sweet visiting teacher happened to stop by one night and bring us a load of groceries of all the things we needed that night but didn't quite have the money to go buy. We were offered the opportunity to go do this 3 hour mock jury trial thing and both got paid a good chunk of money for doing it. I found out about this online survey site where I've earned gift cards and paypal cash for dates nights, or things we need to buy online. It's been extremely warm here so we haven't had to turn on our heater, which has resulted in a much cheaper electricity bill. There's a sweet little 85 year old lady in my ward, Hortensia, that I've become great friends with, who cooked Cam and I a wonderful Mexican meal, and continues to offer to feed us. I could go on and on about how we have been blessed...we may not have everything, but we have what we need. And that's all I can ask for from such a loving, gentle, merciful, and giving Father in Heaven.

I'm so incredibly grateful for these testimonies of faith, and I'm grateful for the opportunity that I have to be a full time mom, even though it is trying. I'm grateful that I'm surrounded by inspired people who answer our prayers daily. And most of all, I'm grateful for my Savior and for His love, and His desire to help us so that we can do all He asks of us. I'm certainly not perfect, and have soooooooooo much to work on, but I'm trying to do the best I can, because I know I cannot do it without Him.