Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Feb. 3, 2014 Bethel, Maine

Scripture Power!
Hello Family!!                                                  Feb. 3, 2014

I hope that you had a totally great past week!!  I can't believe that it is February! Time just flies by so fast!  I can hardly even remember what has happened the past week.  It had its ups and downs, but overall, it was great :)

We had a family home evening with a less-active couple, and it was really great!  We talked about family history work and we showed them the new family search website.  It is totally awesome!  I love it so much.  You should totally give it a look if you haven't.  Uploading pictures and stories.  Cool.  We also had dinner with them :)  I love having member meals, it gives us a way better opportunity to know them and build trust with them!  We had three this week, which is really unusual for this area, so that was wonderful!! :)  The members here are so nice and they help us out so much!  I am so grateful for them and for their willingness to help the work progress.  Also, they cook really, really, really good food :)

We were also able to have some great lessons with investigators this week.  We taught the law of chastity to an investigator and we were kind of nervous about how it would go, but it went totally awesome!  She is so amazing and strong and has such a desire to follow the commandments.  It is great to see.  We also taught a lady who has totally changed since the first time the missionaries found her.  She turned to God, received help for her emotional problem, and is learning so much better.  I feel the spirit really strong when we teach her.  Overall, we have some really great investigators.  We haven't been able to see a couple of them because everyone has been sick recently, but hopefully we will be able to see them this next week!  The people here are amazing and I love them so much.  My companion is also wonderful and she is such a great example to me.  She is so happy all the time and she has so much love for all the people here.  It has been a process, but I have really been able to see Heavenly Father blessing me with an increased capacity to love as I have served a mission as well.  It is wonderful! :) 

Funny story.  We were in a pretty sketchy part of Rumford about to see a less-active member.  I wasn't really having the greatest day.  My back and neck were hurting from the accident ( I feel fine now though), and I just wasn't super happy and didn't have a lot of energy.  Well, we pray before we leave the car to go see people, so that is what we were doing when all of a sudden a black lady knocks on our car window.  I was soo scared!  I totally didn't expect it, and did quite a jump.  Turns out it was a Jehovah's Witness we talked to a couple days before and she was just making sure we weren't sleeping in the car on such a sketchy street.  Boy, that gave us all such a laugh!  Exactly what the doctor ordered.  The Lord definitely does have a sense of humor! :)

A highlight of this week was that I was able to go on exchange.  I love going on exchanges and being able to talk with other missionaries and get their advice and see what they do in their areas.  I went to Damriscotta with my Sister Training Leader and we had a fantastic experience teaching two investigators from the Book of Mormon.  We thought they needed to learn more about faith, and a powerful example of faith from the scriptures is the story of the Brother of Jared in Ether 3.  I love this chapter so much, and my love for it increased as I taught it.   That happens quite a lot!  I love being able to put myself in the scriptures and apply it to what I am going through right now.  The Lord doesn't always give us all the answers.  Like the brother of Jared I have seen that I need to make a decision, be humble, have faith, and turn to the Lord to help me.  When he helps me I receive personal revelation which builds my testimony and faith.  Then the cycle starts all over again.  He is such a great example to me, and I needed to learn that this past week.  I need to pray always and have faith.  I shouldn't be afraid to make decisions because I am afraid to make mistakes.  This area is really big and the borders are really messed up.  It is hard to know exactly how to use the time we have as well as our limited miles.  However, I know that no matter what, I can turn to the Lord and He will help me.  What a blessing the Book of Mormon is!! I love it so much and I have such a powerful testimony of its truth! As I have taught others I have also been able to see the impact that it makes on their lives.  Like Preach my Gospel says, "The Book of Mormon is a springboard to testimony and personal revelation,"  also, "The Book of Mormon combined with the spirit, is your most powerful resource in conversion."  That is so true!  I have seen that throughout my mission.  The scriptures are so precious to me.  One thing that I have loved this year is that our mission is doing a scripture memorization program.  We have been memorizing a scripture a day, and it has been incredible!!  The more I read, learn, apply, and remember the scriptures, the more they become a part of who I am.  I feel so blessed to have these powerful resources as my guide along with the Holy Ghost every single day. 

I hope that you have a great week!  I love you all so much!  Keep praying and reading the scriptures :)

2 Nephi 32:9
Sister Bergeson :)

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