God Exists

February 28, 2011

Today we went to Redrock Canyon Conservation Area with our members that we live with.  It was actually a very cool place.  I was impressed.  There are some really cool hills there and there was snow on the mountains and a little bit of snow on our trail that we hiked!  That was cool.  I also saw moss for the first time in like 2 years... haha!  I have a picture of it and right next to it is a pear cactus. :D  Some pretty cool pics.  I'll attach some right now so I don't forget!

 

Also!  When they were filming the seminary videos, there is a video that is about a family having a family reunion and there is a ton of food and everybody is having fun, and then another family comes along and their car is broken down and they pull out this little measley picnic.  So the big family goes over and invites them to eat with them and fixes their car and sends the other family on their way.  Well that was filmed in Redrock Canyon, and our members were part of the "big family" having the reunion!  So if you watch it, Sis. Alba is the one in the pink shirt that shooes the kids away from the food at the beginning and Bro. Alba is the one with the thinning hair, haha!

 

We were teaching Anna this week.  She is our new foster girl investigator that is getting baptized soon.  Well we went over and taught her and she wanted us to come back the next day and "convince" her friend because he doesn't believe in God.  She said that she had already tried to convince him but it wasn't working and when he heard that she was getting baptized, he was like, "Anna, you don't really need to go and do that you know."  She was shocked and asked him to meet with us and he said sure but he was convinced that he wouldn't be convinced.  So we warned Anna that we could teach him but it is really up to him to accept the message.  Well, she told us that she was going to fast and pray that day and we agreed that we would come over the next day and teach.  I prayed a lot and studied about teaching to investigators needs and I got some specific promptings on how we should teach him.

 

The next day came and we taught him.  It went very well and we focused a lot on who God is and what our relationship is with Him.  We talked about how we can develop faith in God through prayer and scripture study and we described to him about how we receive answers to our prayers through the Holy Ghost.  We taught him about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon and how that is relevant to him and how that is a personal example of someone seeing God in person.  We asked him to pray at the end of the lesson and the Spirit was there.  The Spirit was there throughout the whole lesson!  He had committed to go home and read and pray.

 

The next day, we got a ride with the senior missionaries to Stake Conference which was broadcast from Salt Lake.  Anna rode with us too.  She said that that morning, she had gotten a call from Nick and he told her that he had read and prayed.  When he woke up in the morning, he got a really warm comforting feeling and he told her that he knew that God was real and that he existed.  It was so cool!!  I know that God answers prayers.

 

In addition to telling Anna that she was right and he was wrong and that now he did believe in God, he told her that he was going to come to her baptism and also that he wanted to know when he could meet with us again.  So we are going to talk to him at her baptism or, if possible, talk to him some time this week.  He lives across the city so if he were to be baptized it would be in another area, but that's ok.  I don't know what his family is like, but he said that he didn't grow up religious at all so he had never had a reason to believe in God.

 

Wow, I was so excited when I heard this!  I'm so glad that Anna was able to have this experience with her friend.  She kept on bragging about "her missionaries are the best!"  We still need to tell her that it had nothing to do with us but all to do with the Spirit.  I'm glad that she decided to fast that day and that I took the time to seek guidance and help.

 

I know that all of this is so real and that it is all true.  I love this gospel.  It's true!

 

Also at stake conference, we heard from Neil L. Andersen and Dieter F. Uchtdorf and also a seventy and the first counselor in the general primary presidency.  It was very cool.  Anna was reading the Book of Mormon during the conference because one of them quoted something that piqued her interest.  We were able to explain a lot about what they said and what she read and she had a really good experience.  Cool.

 

I enjoyed everybody's updates.  I wish I had time to write to everybody individually, but that is impossible.  Thanks for everything and keeping me updated.  I'm sure that it is the only reason that I have never been homesick on my mission.  I'm glad that I have such a great family.  I love you guys!!

Btw, that last picture is of a small seasonal waterfall from snow runoff.  I got a postcard with a better picture of it.