Monday, November 10, 2014

November 10, 2014

Mom, Dad, and Family,

Thank you so much for your support and prayers.  They mean a lot to me and I can see them at work.  Thank you for studying in Preach My Gospel and in True to the Faith.  They are awesome resources to find answers and confound false doctrine.  Especially the way True to the Faith is written.  I love those books and cherish them.

This week took a lot of patience, and combined with previous, it has been one of the lowest teaching times of my mission thus far.  But patience is required to see fruit, whereas faith alone can grow it (Alma 32).  We didn't teach, with exception of dinner appointments with members, till Thursday.  Appointment after appointment fell through.  I didn't really ever look at it as a testing period, but I think in a lot of ways it was.  President Monson reminds us in Preach My Gospel Chapter 6 that often times, to combat the world, the heavenly virtue of patience is required.  Most of the time we think that we have to DO something to keep the adversary at bay (for example, when a week isn't going well we evaluate and find our prayers have been lacking in faith or spirituality, and we should then make a course correction).  But sometimes the Lord sees fit to try and chasten His people, and that cannot change with any amount of faith or action.  And so sometimes we have to wait.

Thursday we had 4 appointments fall through.  Splits were late.  And we only had a few scattered back of plans.  4 days of waiting is a long time.  But starting Thursday night, the storm was over.  We taught a less-active part-member family and the non-member husband wants his kids to be there for the next teaching appointment.  God then blessed us with other appointments and lessons that all went so well.  Had it not been for patience, I pretty sure it wouldn't have happened.

We had two investigators at church on Sunday, and two less-active members.  Things are picking up and the Lord is watching out for us.  Thanks for your faithful prayers that also brought the blessings we received.

Thanks for all you do.  This week was awesome and I love being here.  Thanks for your love and support.  I miss you all.  Don't forget to read your scriptures, don't forget to pray, and don't forget to look Up.

ILYMTLI,
Elder Russell

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