28 July 2014
“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31-32
This past week seemed like a bit of an anticlimax following the spiritual high of training in Bratislava on Tuesday, but even so the Lord blessed us to teach a good 20 lessons. Funny how it all works, many of our progressing investigators are struggling with the same things: recognising their growing testimony, and deciding whether to set a date for baptism despite not yet having a perfect knowledge.
Miracles and tender mercies: yesterday while contacting on Marianske Namestie, Sestra B stopped a young man wearing headphones. I remember a time on my mission when that sort of thing would have really intimidated me, but my trainer, Sestra Pyšňáková, helped me see that I’m never bothering people by offering them a chance at salvation (doesn’t mean they can’t choose to see it that way though… 😉 ). The young man, D, sat down for a bench lesson and is so excited to be baptised and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost in three weeks’ time before he moves to Canada.
Another miracle is that we’ve picked up an investigator that Sestra Pyšňáková and I found last year! She is a devout, but unhappy Catholic. We’ll see how it plays out with helping her work up the courage to try reading the Book of Mormon, but she is sensitive to the Spirit and LOVES Jesus so I trust that her “truth sensors” will win out.
L can’t see it in himself quite yet, but he’s changing for the better and starting to hunger and thirst for the gospel. He went running with us one morning, and we had a bench lesson in the park. He started a daily commitment to measure up to the Ten Commandments: he’s working on reverencing the Lord’s name, and keeping the Sabbath Day holy. It’s hard-going when he’s decided not to tell his family that he’s investigating the church – especially now that he became an uncle this week and is expected to be the krstný otec (godfather). Please keep him in your prayers!
The W family are doing great! We showed them mormon.org as part of our English lesson, which they enjoyed. They accepted our invitation to read in the Book of Mormon daily, and Sestra B and I are astounded at just how carefully the Lord has prepared them for the message. Our hopes are sky high for this beautiful family!
E is playing with us in our concert, bless her! 😀 She too is showing willingness to consider baptism out of a sincere desire to feel clean and give her little son a good future.
We taught Brat J M about tithing with Elder and Sister Wr, which was positive. For now we will no longer teach him actively, although we’ll continue to invite him to church. Truth be told, he has become quite the regular in our little congregation. I was teaching Old Testament Sunday School and asked him to present a brief portion of the lesson, which he did masterfully. You should have seen him glowing with pride at the opportunity to lecture on the subject he loves. 🙂 Sestra B and I are hoping that he will soon realise just how important the restored gospel is becoming to him.
Had some great moments with the Se girls, too. I love them; absolutely adore them. I think they would be amazed to see themselves as I see them. It is powerful to behold the great impact and potential they have: they are literally the future of the Church in Slovakia.
This next week looks packed! Tomorrow is Distrct Meeting with visiting Zone Leaders. Wednesday is our combined concert with the Trenčín District. Thursday morning we’re heading to Košice for our final exchange (conveniently overlapping with their concert, in which we will perform). Friday, on our way back from the exchange, is the concert in Trenčín. And finally on Saturday we’ll plan for the final week of my mission and maybe catch our breath in time for the Sabbath! How we’ve managed to teach and help investigators progress at all with these additional responsibilities is utterly beyond me. I have gained a renewed testimony that “whom the Lord calls, He qualifies”.
Love you lots! ❤ Sestra Jones
Liahona, Guide Me Home 