July 29, 2013
Hey family! What's up?
It's amazing how fast the time flies! I can't believe I've been on my mission for 5 months! Every day goes by faster and faster and I really wish I could slow it down somehow!
Things are going well. As I said last week we've really been praying hard to know how the Lord needs us to work in this area specifically and we're starting to figure it out. Right now we do a lot of less active work. Our ward list is huge so we've basically been going through it doing what we call a ward cleansing. Basically we're figuring out who is a member, who is less active, and who has moved because since the ward is so huge nobody really knows... crazy right?
Along with that though we knew we also needed to be finding people so we started to knock on 3 doors for every door on the ward list that didn't answer. We've been able to meet a lot of great people that way both members and non-members.
Now for the awesome experience we had this week! So Sister Hutchings is awesome! She is such a great missionary, but her biggest fear is talking to people. I've been really praying to know how best to help her overcome these fears because she truly is amazing and I know once she opens her mouth she'll realize she doesn't need to fear because the Lord will speak through her. For every door approach i ask her if she'll do the talking and she says declines a lot (she gets really nervous). I kept thinking and thinking of ways to help her out, and so I've been making her practice teach a lot during our companion studies (which she hates, but she tolerates it:) ) Well the other morning to her dislike I had her practice handing out a Book of Mormon. Well here comes the cool part...
So we went to visit a member on the ward list and they ended up not being home so of course we went to knock on 3 doors. The first door we came to as we walked up I asked Sister Hutchings if she would do the talking. She said no so I decided to say "well I'm not going to say anything" (just so you know we love each other and she has a great sense of humor so I joke with her all the time that I'm just not going to talk, but this time I meant it!) So we knock and this woman (Gaila) answers the door. I waited but Sister Hutchings just stood there (not out of stubbornness, but just out of fear). I could see that she didn't feel comfortable talking so to avoid an awkward situation i just went ahead and began introducing ourselves. What followed was amazing! I got through about 1 sentence and then i lost my voice!!! Completely gone! So Sister Hutchings immediately picked up where I left off (like a pro) and began talking to this woman. Then Gaila said "I have to leave but do y'all have any literature I could read" Well my voice was still gone, but Sister Hutchings knew what to do. She pulled out a Book of Mormon and introduced it to her and bore her testimony of it! Gaila was really excited about it. She said "I need to know more about Christ so I'll add this book to my studies." It was so cool! I was so proud of Sister Hutchings! The whole time I kept thinking "the lord works in mysterious ways" It really was like Heavenly Father was saying "Sister Gregson be quiet, Sister Hutchings needs to do this!" and so he took away my voice! It was the coolest experience.
Right after we walked away from that house I got my voice back.
Sister Hutchings and I had a good laugh about it, but we also recognized what a blessing it was. When we talked afterwards I asked her how she felt and she mentioned that it wasn't as hard as she thought. I know we both needed that experience! She's been trying harder to open her mouth and she is so incredible. She is a much better missionary that she gives herself credit for.
Things get better and better with each day that goes by. It didn't take long for me to really truly recognize that this area is where I need to be right now. We've met a lot of less actives that I love so much already. The ward is incredible. They have been so welcoming to us. They keep us well fed, and well taken care of.
I'm so grateful to be here. This gospel means more to me that I ever thought possible. With each new area I've had to regain my courage to open my mouth and be bold in sharing the gospel and it has really helped me to grow and come to know my Savior and Father in Heaven on a much deeper level. I was reading some scriptures on courage today and one of the passages simply said, "Be of good courage, and do it." I'm realizing more and more that courage is simply knowing that God is constant and keeps his promises. We don't always see clearly the path he has created for us, but he walks arm and arm with us down that path and we don't need to fear where it takes us because he is the one that can see the full path. He is the one that is leading us down it. And if it's the path that he has created then is can only bring goodness and blessings into our lives.
I love you all so much!
Keep fighting the good fight!
The Kingdom of God or Nothing!
Love, Sister Gregson
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