Hey everyone,
The title this week sounds bad, but it seemed like it worked because this week has been such an up and down ride. Really, this week has been one of my favorite ones missionary wise, but there have been some other events that have kind of tested my patience and diligence. Ill go ahead and start with the harder parts of the week so that I can end on the great parts! Going through this week has helped my testimony grow in the fact that everything that we go through, as long as we are following the spirit, is for our good because Heavenly Father loves us.
- To start the week off I was extremely disappointed with the companion I got. President Anderson had told Elder Sumpter that I might be training this transfer, and I was very excited for that (training is something that I look forward to). He had hinted the same thing in the interview I had with him. And then I got the transfer news that my new companion is Elder Thatcher, which of course meant I wasn't going to be training, and then on top of that I heard so many bad things about him as a missionary and how all he wants is leadership, and how stuck up he is. I tried my best to keep an open mind, but its hard when so much negative things are being thrown at me about him.
- Then as I am putting my shoes on to work out I noticed a huge rip that happens to be in the perfect place for my little toe to hang our very comfortably, the last part of the being sarcasm. That was real exciting to find out about considering I still have 20 months of P-days that they need to be used.
- And now to top off the negatives... We were tracting a couple days ago when I set my scriptures on top of our car, and my scriptures are in the same carrying case that holds my camera so that if I ever need it I have it readily available. We walked away to see someone for a couple minutes and then when we came back my scriptures, and everything with them, were gone. We searched all over the place, and have gone back each day since, but it is now pretty official that my scriptures as well as my camera are gone. Great huh? No camera, no scriptures, and no idea how to fix it.
Now reading through what I just wrote it sounds extremely negative, which was just the affect I was going for so that everyone can see that despite all of this happening my week has been incredible and there is no way I would have skipped it if I had the option. Sometimes I don't understand how God is working, but because of this week I am learning more that if I put my trust in him things will work out how they are supposed to. So lets go into why my week has been so great!
- My companion is awesome! Weird huh? Turns out the Spirit knew what it was doing when President Anderson was told to put Elder Thatcher and I together. All of the arrogance that others saw in him has simply been because he is not confident in himself and doesn't want to show it. Its true that he wants to be in leadership, but that's just because he wants others to look at him and think that he is a good missionary, not because he is full of himself. Since the Spirit has helped me see this I went from being defensive with him to wanting to help him be the best missionary possible. After just 2 days he has told me that I am his favorite companion so far and it feels like I am training him, which was a little embarrassing at first, and he is likewise helping me become a better missionary. Several times a day he asks me how to improve and wants me to teach him how to be confident at door steps and in lessons. I'm amazed at the thought of how different things could have been if I decided to just grin and bear this transfer instead of working with him like I should. Plus, he has been out 15 months and has never had a baptism and now he gets to come into an area where we already have 3 people on date to get baptised. What an incredible blessing for both of us.
- A couple days ago we devoted much of the day to tracting. After two hours he starting making comments about how useless tracting is and that we were wasting our time. I admitted that Ventana Ranch has very little success with going door to door, but that it is still important to do so that we are worthy of greater blessings in other areas of missionary work. We stopped after two hours of little success and went to an appointment we had and discovered that they weren't home, and we had nothing else planned for the two hours we had left until dinner. So to his disappointment, and even mine a little, we went out and tracted another two hours near where dinner would be. Still there was little success until the last part of it, and then the blessings poured out upon us. We were knocking on a door, no one home, when my companion looked over his shoulder and decided to let me know that a very attractive girl was walking by with her dog. Excited to talk to SOMEONE I turned right away and yelled out "Would you like to learn about how you can have an eternal family?", one of my favorite lines that I have come up with to start conversations. She shrugged and said that she was Baptist and started to walk away, so I replied happily that we are Christian as well and began walking with her. Pretty soon we were teaching her the first lesson and now she is excited to learn more and we are giving her a church tour on Wednesday. Then right after this another man walked by getting his mail and I asked if he knew Christ visited the Americas. He said no and that he was very tired and will talk to us later. I noticed he was wearing a fireman shirt and asked if he knew Rick Healy, who is also a fireman and was just baptised. Turns out this guy, Mike, is his boss and we started a conversation which resulted in him asking us to come into his home to tell him more. In the end he told us that it 'just so happends' that he is having a lot of family trouble and was looking for the right church and he accepted the Book of Mormon and is reading and praying about it. We were 10 minutes late for dinner :-)
- Just a couple days ago we went back to the street where my scriptures were lost and decided to look one last time, and did not find anything. So then we decided to go walking around the neighborhood in hopes of finding people outside to talk to. To our surprise there was not a single person the entire time we walked around so we came back to our car ready to leave. As we were about to get in my companion suggested checking the storm drain behind us, and with high hopes we walked over to it, but still found nothing. Then, we had a prompting to walk around the block back to our car instead of just walking backwards, and as we were coming around the last corner we saw a man working on his car. I called out asking if he needed help, and its a good thing he said know because I know almost nothing about engines. So then I asked if he could show us his car and he excitedly accepted the offer. After about 20 minutes of talking he said that he would love to meet with us again and talk about the church. Isn't it funny how the miracles always wait until the last second to happen? Later we were talking to a member who said he had been several houses up and he had watched the whole time, and he said he could tell we were following the spirit as we walked and that he enjoyed seeing us work.
- We met with the Healys again and they are still doing incredible. I guess the anti-Mormon grandma is not giving in at all but the family is handling it very well, and even getting more bold about how they talk to her. The family is now preparing a Book of Mormon with their testimonies written inside to give to her, and they said they are just hoping she doesn't throw it across the room. The interesting thing is that even though she is still very against the church she said that she has felt better in their home recently, but she refuses to admit its because of the spirit.
- Jeremy is getting baptised! I don't know if I have told you about him, but he is a friend of a family in the ward. One night he asked to stay the night and they allowed him to only if he agreed to come to church. He has been to church almost every week since and is now taking the lessons and getting baptised on the 10th. He is one of the most impressive young men I know. He is only 16 and he is already reading Preach my Gospel with the Book of Mormon and said he is excited to serve a mission. Then this last weekend he got kicked out of his home for meeting with us, and still would not give up his desire to be baptised. He stayed with the member family for a little while but finally his dad let him come back. Now his father says he wants nothing to do with the church but has agreed to allow Jeremy 'freedom of religion'. This young man is so in tune with the spirit and already has such a strong testimony that nothing can stop him from progressing!
- Nothing good has come from my ripped basketball shoes, yet, lol
There are so many incredible stories from this week, and so many miracles that have happened but I have to get going. I want to thank all of you for your many prayers in my behalf though, and hope you continue to pray for me and those I am teaching. If anyone needs prayers from my end Ill be happy to give them!
Love,
Elder Inman
Monday, June 28, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Phenomenal!
Hola,
It has been such a PHENOMENAL week! There are so many great things that happened this week, so I will do my best to write them all down. Here it goes:
- We had the baptism of Rick and his son Jace this week on Thursday, and it was one of the most uplifting and exciting experiences of my mission so far. It started out with the Healys showing up with all of Sister Healys family, and all of them looked really excited and happy. Sister Healys dad is the one that was asked to perform the baptism, and the whole time he was on the verge of tears because he was so excited about it. He told me that he was a convert as well and never had the opportunity to baptise any of his kids so this felt like he Finlay got that chance. Then, a couple minutes before the baptism began Carson, their daughter, came up to me and said that when she walked in she knew that she needed to get baptised, and that she wanted to be baptised with her dad. I told her that we would not be able to get her ready for that in 10 minutes but that we will prepare her and then in a couple weeks her dad would be able to be the one to baptise her. She was a little disappointed at first but then got really happy with the thought of her dad baptising her. Then the baptism went incredible, with the whole family on the verge of tears the whole time, and the spirit flooded the entire room.
Last night we went and visited with the Healys again for the first time after the baptism and they are on fire with the gospel. Turns out they went and visited with Ricks mom, who hates the church and thinks its a cult, and she told Carson to never get baptised because our church isn't christian and we worship seagulls, which was new to me. Carson had always sided with her during discussions like this but they said this time she handed her grandma a Book of Mormon and said that she is getting baptised because she knows this church is true, and then explained that we really do worship Christ. In this same conversation we had with them last night we found out that 9 years ago Rick had kicked the missionaries out of their house and told Holly that he never wants anything to do with our church for the rest of his life. The spirit again flooded the room as Rick bore his testimony of the truthfulness of the restored gospel and said that since his baptism he has felt a sense of peace and happiness that he hadn't known was possible. Each of them has had the change of heart spoken of so many times in the scriptures, and being a part of that has been one of the greatest blessings in my life. They are happier now then they have ever been, and they are continuing to grow stronger and stronger as a family.
One last things about the Healys that is more funny then uplifting, because if made me feel really loved by them. On Saturday night we got our transfer news. and of course I get to stay here in Ventana Ranch, which I had told the Healys I would be staying a couple days before. Some how as news spread by word of mouth it got to Hollys parents that I was getting transferred to their ward, when it is actually Elder Cochran, another missionary in my district, who is getting sent up their.Yesterday the Healys were at their house for Fathers day when they head that I was getting transferred. Rick said that she started crying and arguing with them saying that they are wrong because I already told them I was staying. She went on to them about what a big blessing I have been to their family and that I cant get transferred yet. She was very happy to find out that I'm staying, lol. This is a family that I hope to stay friends with for the rest of my life, because they have been an equally great blessing in my life.
- We had Stake Conference yesterday, and the Stake President said some things that I wanted to share with as many people as I can. After he spoke the presiding General Authority, Elder Roberts, stood up and told us that the words which were spoken were heaven sent and if there was any disputing with them we are arguing with Heavenly Fathers council. The Stake President spoke of families, and the spiritual roots that need to grow if we are to be eternal families. He said that nothing should ever take priority over the gospel, and if we are then those roots will not grow and families will not survive beyond the grave. He listed a couple things to see if we as families really place the gospel first in our homes: Do we move FHE day to another day besides Monday so that kids can attend other activities? Do we have family scripture study every day despite hectic schedules? Do we allow children to get involved in activities that pull them away from any seminary or youth nights? Is more free time spent outside the home then inside it? Does anything get in the way of activities designated by the prophet? If any of us answer YES to any of these questions then we are putting the things of the world ahead of the gospel, which means we are allowing the things of the world to stop us from being an eternal family. He said that for a while he would hold family nights on Sunday instead of Mondays because his daughter was involved in a school activity that wouldn't allow her to attend FHE. It was an activity that was good and would help her further her Resume for college, and he didn't see any problem with simply moving FHE to a different day. He then said that he has repented of that since but still sufferers from some of the consequences of ignoring the prophets council. I grew more and more thankful for my parents and family the more he spoke, and said a short prayer thanking Heavenly Father that I was blessed with parents that wouldn't give in when we as kids would try our best to convince them that it was alright to miss seminary of FHE for sports or other school events. There is nothing more important then making sure our families become eternal, so why would we let insignificant things get in our way of that goal?
- Another just fun thing.. I found out that Ventana Ranch had always been an area that missionaries were disappointed to get called to since it was small, low baptising, and all the houses look the same. I'm so glad that I didn't know this before hand because I'm scared it may have lessened my excitement of being here. Now though, Ventana Ranch was where many missionaries wanted to be called to because it has spread across the mission how great the ward is, and also that the baptisms have gone from below average to more then quadrupling the average for our mission. This is an area and people that I will always love, and hope so much that I get to stay her for a couple more transfers, but I am afraid I might not have many more left here... Every one here has been such a great blessing to me! Oh and I found out that my new comp is Elder. Thatcher. I don't know much about his yet so Ill keep you updated. Its very questionable that he can be better then E. Sumpter though, I have loved this transfer so much!
Well, I didn't get as much written as I had hoped but I need to get going now... I love you guys and hope and pray that all is going well back home!
Love,
Elder Inman
Monday, June 14, 2010
Prodigious
Hola Everyone!
Im not really sure why I used that word as my title, but it sounded fun. This has been another great week as a missionary!
- Ill start off by telling about an event that happened a couple days ago while on an exchange. I was out knocking doors with Elder Cochran trying to get him excited about the work in his area. He has been having a hard time lately, and after our last exchange he was feeling way better so I was hoping for a repeat success with him. We were having a pretty good time and then we got to this road that was particularly difficult with some extremely rude people. We had some angry people close, slam, doors in our faces a couple times but I have gotten much better at controlling my temper out here so I was pretty proud of how well we kept going, without showing our resent at all. Then we knocked on this door when a very angry man came to the door yelling at us that he is catholic and doesn't want our evil practices near his property, but using very colorful language. Then I slipped... For those who know me I sometimes have a hard time just walking away, and this is one of those times. As he walked away I said that its alright because we still love him, and then turned and walked off his door step. It was not a good move because then he stormed back out of his door towards us yelling some extremely profane words and telling us to get off his property, which didn't make sense since we were already walking up the sidewalk. He yelled that he has told us not to knock on his door and that if we do again he will call the cops, and then asked very angrily if we 'understand him'. Again I slipped and instead of just walking away I replied that I don't understand him and would like if he could explain his irrational anger towards two servants of the Lord. This time he got even angrier and grabbed his hose saying that he is calling the cops AND spraying us, and informed us that our 'religion' will never succeed in his town and will die off soon anyway. I smiled and quoted scripture saying that it will cover the entire earth and told him to have a great day and maybe we will see him again some time later. I was half way hoping that he really would call the cops though, because as of yet we had no lessons and I figured that would be an easy way to teach someone, but no one ever showed up so I guess he cooled down or something. I am getting better at controlling my comments to others, I promise, I am just not great at it yet.
- Now with better news. This week was interviews with President Anderson, our last ones since he goes home this transfer. There were so many great things he told me in it, and it further excited me for the rest of my mission. At the end I asked him if it were possible for me to stay for at least one more transfer in Ventana Ranch before I am moved and he surprised me with his answer. I had not actually expected a real answer from him since he doesn't usually let transfer news out yet, and much of the time doesn't know until just a couple days before. He told me that on his transfer board he moved me out of Ventana Ranch and doubled some sisters in instead, which made my heart sink. Then he smiled and said that when he did that the spirit told him that I had to stay so he moved me back and put the sisters elsewhere and said that so far it is looking like I am still needed here. He told me that there is a lot of exciting things happening in my area right now and that I am a major part of that so I need to spend at least one more transfer here, unless the spirit tells him otherwise between now and Saturday. Im so excited to be here :-) My ward is doing so great and I cant help but be proud of them for their hard work. On Sunday the Stake Presidency came up to my companion and I and said that this ward has become the shining light of the stake and that they only have good things to say about it. They even called our ward mission leader and asked him how our ward is succeeding so well with missionary work because they want our fire to catch on to the rest of the stake. Wow!
- We have two baptisms coming up this Thursday! Its Rick Healy and his son Jace, and the whole ward is excited for it. It has been such a blessing to grow so close to this family and see their progress despite major opposition at every step. Even now they are facing financial trouble, and even worse Ricks mom is trying to talk him out of it every day, but they continue to grow stronger and more prepared. He is already saying how excited he is to baptise his younger daughter in a couple months, and then in a year go to the temple and get sealed for eternity with his family. This is especially exciting because just a couple months ago the temple was a concept that scared him and made him second guess our message, but now he has such a strong testimony that I don't think anything could make him second guess. They are a family that I want to be close to for many years to come!
Well this is a long one, and I have to start wrapping things up, and still have to send my weekly letter to President Anderson. Keep the prayers coming, because I know they are helping :-)
Love,
Elder Inman
Im not really sure why I used that word as my title, but it sounded fun. This has been another great week as a missionary!
- Ill start off by telling about an event that happened a couple days ago while on an exchange. I was out knocking doors with Elder Cochran trying to get him excited about the work in his area. He has been having a hard time lately, and after our last exchange he was feeling way better so I was hoping for a repeat success with him. We were having a pretty good time and then we got to this road that was particularly difficult with some extremely rude people. We had some angry people close, slam, doors in our faces a couple times but I have gotten much better at controlling my temper out here so I was pretty proud of how well we kept going, without showing our resent at all. Then we knocked on this door when a very angry man came to the door yelling at us that he is catholic and doesn't want our evil practices near his property, but using very colorful language. Then I slipped... For those who know me I sometimes have a hard time just walking away, and this is one of those times. As he walked away I said that its alright because we still love him, and then turned and walked off his door step. It was not a good move because then he stormed back out of his door towards us yelling some extremely profane words and telling us to get off his property, which didn't make sense since we were already walking up the sidewalk. He yelled that he has told us not to knock on his door and that if we do again he will call the cops, and then asked very angrily if we 'understand him'. Again I slipped and instead of just walking away I replied that I don't understand him and would like if he could explain his irrational anger towards two servants of the Lord. This time he got even angrier and grabbed his hose saying that he is calling the cops AND spraying us, and informed us that our 'religion' will never succeed in his town and will die off soon anyway. I smiled and quoted scripture saying that it will cover the entire earth and told him to have a great day and maybe we will see him again some time later. I was half way hoping that he really would call the cops though, because as of yet we had no lessons and I figured that would be an easy way to teach someone, but no one ever showed up so I guess he cooled down or something. I am getting better at controlling my comments to others, I promise, I am just not great at it yet.
- Now with better news. This week was interviews with President Anderson, our last ones since he goes home this transfer. There were so many great things he told me in it, and it further excited me for the rest of my mission. At the end I asked him if it were possible for me to stay for at least one more transfer in Ventana Ranch before I am moved and he surprised me with his answer. I had not actually expected a real answer from him since he doesn't usually let transfer news out yet, and much of the time doesn't know until just a couple days before. He told me that on his transfer board he moved me out of Ventana Ranch and doubled some sisters in instead, which made my heart sink. Then he smiled and said that when he did that the spirit told him that I had to stay so he moved me back and put the sisters elsewhere and said that so far it is looking like I am still needed here. He told me that there is a lot of exciting things happening in my area right now and that I am a major part of that so I need to spend at least one more transfer here, unless the spirit tells him otherwise between now and Saturday. Im so excited to be here :-) My ward is doing so great and I cant help but be proud of them for their hard work. On Sunday the Stake Presidency came up to my companion and I and said that this ward has become the shining light of the stake and that they only have good things to say about it. They even called our ward mission leader and asked him how our ward is succeeding so well with missionary work because they want our fire to catch on to the rest of the stake. Wow!
- We have two baptisms coming up this Thursday! Its Rick Healy and his son Jace, and the whole ward is excited for it. It has been such a blessing to grow so close to this family and see their progress despite major opposition at every step. Even now they are facing financial trouble, and even worse Ricks mom is trying to talk him out of it every day, but they continue to grow stronger and more prepared. He is already saying how excited he is to baptise his younger daughter in a couple months, and then in a year go to the temple and get sealed for eternity with his family. This is especially exciting because just a couple months ago the temple was a concept that scared him and made him second guess our message, but now he has such a strong testimony that I don't think anything could make him second guess. They are a family that I want to be close to for many years to come!
Well this is a long one, and I have to start wrapping things up, and still have to send my weekly letter to President Anderson. Keep the prayers coming, because I know they are helping :-)
Love,
Elder Inman
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
107 degrees!
Hey everyone :-)
This was a crazy week, a major part of that being because this weekend it hit 107 degrees! It felt like I was knocking doors in an oven, but each time someone answered I felt a great cool breeze pour out. This week has made me so thankful for a car so that I can enjoy a little air conditioning every once in a while, and also for an apartment with great air conditioning so I can come home to a cool place. Well I happen to like the weird bullet point thing I have been doing so I'm going to go ahead and tell you about my week that way again.
- We now have 4 people on date for baptism! Our bishop is so excited because that will make 6 baptisms since I started working in this area, and since this area opened 2 years ago it has only had 7 total. We are being so blessed in our work, and I think even more then that the ward is being blessed for their diligence in inviting people to church and making them feel welcome as soon as they do come. Yesterday I was talking to my companion and told him that I wouldn't mind spending the next year and a half in this ward because it has been so incredible for the past couple months. Seeing these families take steps to becoming an eternal unit through baptism and planning for the temple is bringing more joy to me personally then I could have ever imagined prior to being out here.
- The Heallys are doing incredible right now as well, and I am so excited about them as a family. They are going through so many trials right now, and I can tell Satan is working hard on them, but they are still striving to do what is right. Last week I was on an exchange with one of the Zone Leaders and I had us out knocking doors when I felt prompted to go to the Heallys. I had talked to them the day before and our schedule was pretty packed so I thought about ignoring the prompting, but then quickly decided against it and went directly to their home. Sister Heally invited us in right away and said that she had been praying we would decide to stop by because she needed to talk to us. She broke down pretty quickly as she explained that it feels like as soon as they start taking steps forward they are forced to fall back and lose progress. It turns out that they were doing some work for family on the side because they were having a hard month financially and then that morning the people they were doing the work for decided they didn't want to pay them and told them not to come back, which meant they would most likely lose their home in just a couple days. Brother Heally is an extremely hard working fireman, but the city just cut back their salary so they were having trouble re-adjusting to their new income. I read the story of Alma and his people after they escaped from King Noah and bore testimony that everything they are going through is going to help their family become stronger and closer. Her countenance began to change slowly and then by the end she was smiling non stop and going on and on about how happy she is that her husband and son are getting baptised (their daughter is taking a little longer). She said that the night we asked him to be baptised was the happiest night they have had in months. She said that the morning before we asked they were all at his moms house talking and it came up that he was meeting with the missionaries. I guess his mom told him right away that its fine to meet with us but he better never get baptised, which is part of the reason Sister Heally was so surprised when he said yes to us. Then just a couple days ago their son was talking to the grandma and she told him not to get baptised and he said "to bad, I'm already getting baptised so your just to late". This is a very long run on paragraph but I am just so excited and have so much to say about them! Even though they are going through some really major hardships they constantly tell us how happy they are and that they are excited to be able to go through the temple together.
Well I only have time for two bullet points today because we have to get going. Looking over this letter I guess it is pretty unorganized and random, I will try to work on fixing that next time I am just really pushed for time today. Keep the prayers coming! I know they are helping and the people in Ventana Ranch are being richly blessed from them, as well as myself. I am constantly amazed by how much happiness being a missionary brings to me, and love it so much.
Love,
Elder Inman
This was a crazy week, a major part of that being because this weekend it hit 107 degrees! It felt like I was knocking doors in an oven, but each time someone answered I felt a great cool breeze pour out. This week has made me so thankful for a car so that I can enjoy a little air conditioning every once in a while, and also for an apartment with great air conditioning so I can come home to a cool place. Well I happen to like the weird bullet point thing I have been doing so I'm going to go ahead and tell you about my week that way again.
- We now have 4 people on date for baptism! Our bishop is so excited because that will make 6 baptisms since I started working in this area, and since this area opened 2 years ago it has only had 7 total. We are being so blessed in our work, and I think even more then that the ward is being blessed for their diligence in inviting people to church and making them feel welcome as soon as they do come. Yesterday I was talking to my companion and told him that I wouldn't mind spending the next year and a half in this ward because it has been so incredible for the past couple months. Seeing these families take steps to becoming an eternal unit through baptism and planning for the temple is bringing more joy to me personally then I could have ever imagined prior to being out here.
- The Heallys are doing incredible right now as well, and I am so excited about them as a family. They are going through so many trials right now, and I can tell Satan is working hard on them, but they are still striving to do what is right. Last week I was on an exchange with one of the Zone Leaders and I had us out knocking doors when I felt prompted to go to the Heallys. I had talked to them the day before and our schedule was pretty packed so I thought about ignoring the prompting, but then quickly decided against it and went directly to their home. Sister Heally invited us in right away and said that she had been praying we would decide to stop by because she needed to talk to us. She broke down pretty quickly as she explained that it feels like as soon as they start taking steps forward they are forced to fall back and lose progress. It turns out that they were doing some work for family on the side because they were having a hard month financially and then that morning the people they were doing the work for decided they didn't want to pay them and told them not to come back, which meant they would most likely lose their home in just a couple days. Brother Heally is an extremely hard working fireman, but the city just cut back their salary so they were having trouble re-adjusting to their new income. I read the story of Alma and his people after they escaped from King Noah and bore testimony that everything they are going through is going to help their family become stronger and closer. Her countenance began to change slowly and then by the end she was smiling non stop and going on and on about how happy she is that her husband and son are getting baptised (their daughter is taking a little longer). She said that the night we asked him to be baptised was the happiest night they have had in months. She said that the morning before we asked they were all at his moms house talking and it came up that he was meeting with the missionaries. I guess his mom told him right away that its fine to meet with us but he better never get baptised, which is part of the reason Sister Heally was so surprised when he said yes to us. Then just a couple days ago their son was talking to the grandma and she told him not to get baptised and he said "to bad, I'm already getting baptised so your just to late". This is a very long run on paragraph but I am just so excited and have so much to say about them! Even though they are going through some really major hardships they constantly tell us how happy they are and that they are excited to be able to go through the temple together.
Well I only have time for two bullet points today because we have to get going. Looking over this letter I guess it is pretty unorganized and random, I will try to work on fixing that next time I am just really pushed for time today. Keep the prayers coming! I know they are helping and the people in Ventana Ranch are being richly blessed from them, as well as myself. I am constantly amazed by how much happiness being a missionary brings to me, and love it so much.
Love,
Elder Inman
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Blessings from Heaven
Hola,
This has been a completely incredible week for me as well as the Ventana Ranch area! I was not able to write yesterday due to it being Memorial Day and everything being closed, and today my time on here is limited, so I am going to try using bullet points so I can get everything down here.
I don't know how many of you remember me talking about the Healy family, but there is great things happening in their family right now. They are a part member family, the wife being the only member and her husband and 3 kids are not baptized (2 of the kids are old enough). She has not been active since she moved out at 18, and both her and her husband have been smoking since they were legally old enough to do so. Early last week we started the Stop Smoking Program with them, which includes not drinking coffee, and it worked great. We met with them on Sunday because the program ended on Monday and we were trying to figure out some way to keep him from starting back up on coffee, since he said that was the hardest part of the program. We started the lesson by bearing testimony of the blessings that come from the restored gospel and focused a lot on eternal families. I was overwhelmed by the spirit and teared up as I related how happy I am knowing that my family is going to be together forever, and that I want them to have that same confidence, but it can only come through living the gospel standards and being sealed by priesthood power, which starts with baptism. Then I asked him if he would be willing to prepare to be baptized the week of the 19th of June, and he said YES!! It was one of the most powerful experiences I have ever been a part of, and from then on everyone's eyes were watering. He is already talking about how excited he is for the temple. Needless to say, he has agreed to stop coffee, permanently. (PS, he is wondering what good tasting coffee substitutes there is because he is already having withdraws just because of the taste, lol)
My ward here is starting to feel like a second family and I'm hoping and praying that I can stay here for several more transfers. Last week I had prayer and after wards one of the mothers came up to me and said that she was sitting out on one of the couches at the time I prayed and right away one of her kids looked over and excitedly said that Elder Inman was praying because he recognized my voice. Later that day another parents came up and said that a bunch of the kids were playing hang man and the word everyone had to guess was "INMAN". I love having such a great ward to work with, especially when I know I can bring any investigator here and they will be welcomed and loved the same way I have been.
When I was in my personal study I read a verse that talked about sitting with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and had an impression that has helped me strive to live a more worthy life. I realized that I don't know much about any of them, so I thought of others that mean to me what they meant to the people at that time. Names like Mormon, Joseph Smith, Gordon B. Hinkley, Thomas S. Monson, and others who dedicated their lives to serving god began coming to mind, and I started to wonder if I am worthy to sit with them in the Celestial Kingdom, and that if I'm not that must mean that I am not worthy to be part of the highest degree of that glory. Can I honestly say to myself that I am worthy of the same Kingdom as they are?! It hit me pretty hard when I thought of this and realized that I need to dedicate my life to becoming worthy of returning to Heavenly Father with great people like them.
Oh, and Grandma Williams sent me a great letter this week that had a page for Elder Sumpter. He loved it so much and said to say thank you!
It was great seeing all the pictures from your Memorial Weekend :-) Everyone make sure you tell Tawny how great she is going to do this weekend at her graduation speech thing! I have such an amazing family!!!
I love you all!
Love,
Elder Inman
This has been a completely incredible week for me as well as the Ventana Ranch area! I was not able to write yesterday due to it being Memorial Day and everything being closed, and today my time on here is limited, so I am going to try using bullet points so I can get everything down here.
I don't know how many of you remember me talking about the Healy family, but there is great things happening in their family right now. They are a part member family, the wife being the only member and her husband and 3 kids are not baptized (2 of the kids are old enough). She has not been active since she moved out at 18, and both her and her husband have been smoking since they were legally old enough to do so. Early last week we started the Stop Smoking Program with them, which includes not drinking coffee, and it worked great. We met with them on Sunday because the program ended on Monday and we were trying to figure out some way to keep him from starting back up on coffee, since he said that was the hardest part of the program. We started the lesson by bearing testimony of the blessings that come from the restored gospel and focused a lot on eternal families. I was overwhelmed by the spirit and teared up as I related how happy I am knowing that my family is going to be together forever, and that I want them to have that same confidence, but it can only come through living the gospel standards and being sealed by priesthood power, which starts with baptism. Then I asked him if he would be willing to prepare to be baptized the week of the 19th of June, and he said YES!! It was one of the most powerful experiences I have ever been a part of, and from then on everyone's eyes were watering. He is already talking about how excited he is for the temple. Needless to say, he has agreed to stop coffee, permanently. (PS, he is wondering what good tasting coffee substitutes there is because he is already having withdraws just because of the taste, lol)
My ward here is starting to feel like a second family and I'm hoping and praying that I can stay here for several more transfers. Last week I had prayer and after wards one of the mothers came up to me and said that she was sitting out on one of the couches at the time I prayed and right away one of her kids looked over and excitedly said that Elder Inman was praying because he recognized my voice. Later that day another parents came up and said that a bunch of the kids were playing hang man and the word everyone had to guess was "INMAN". I love having such a great ward to work with, especially when I know I can bring any investigator here and they will be welcomed and loved the same way I have been.
When I was in my personal study I read a verse that talked about sitting with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and had an impression that has helped me strive to live a more worthy life. I realized that I don't know much about any of them, so I thought of others that mean to me what they meant to the people at that time. Names like Mormon, Joseph Smith, Gordon B. Hinkley, Thomas S. Monson, and others who dedicated their lives to serving god began coming to mind, and I started to wonder if I am worthy to sit with them in the Celestial Kingdom, and that if I'm not that must mean that I am not worthy to be part of the highest degree of that glory. Can I honestly say to myself that I am worthy of the same Kingdom as they are?! It hit me pretty hard when I thought of this and realized that I need to dedicate my life to becoming worthy of returning to Heavenly Father with great people like them.
Oh, and Grandma Williams sent me a great letter this week that had a page for Elder Sumpter. He loved it so much and said to say thank you!
It was great seeing all the pictures from your Memorial Weekend :-) Everyone make sure you tell Tawny how great she is going to do this weekend at her graduation speech thing! I have such an amazing family!!!
I love you all!
Love,
Elder Inman
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