This week has been really great!! We have a mission-wide goal to get 3 new investigators each week to accomplish our standard of excellence. This week we came close but no cigar. However, we did have a pretty awesome miracle or two.
For the last two weeks we have been trying to contact one of our Mormon.org referrals, William. He is a father of two girls(6 years and 1 year) who is looking for the truth. When we first knocked on his door he was wondering if we had brought the study bible we had requested online. We asked if he requested a Book of Mormon and he said he did not. So we talked for a little while and set up an appointment, but that appointment got dogged. So we were skeptical on how much he really was interested and that he might have just wanted a free bible. Later we stopped by, which was this past week, and we saw him outside his home cleaning his car. We approached him and started asking if he would like to hear the rest of our message that we had summarized with him on our first visit. He agreed and stopped cleaning his car and brought us inside. He is a really awesome guy! He had a rough past and did some things that put him in bad situations but now he has realized he needs to change and do what God wants him to do. We were able to share about the differences between other Christian religions and our church. We also taught him the Restoration of the Gospel of Christ and about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. It was a great lesson and the Spirit really guided Elder Rushton and I to say the right things as we taught. At the end we invited him to read and pray about the Book of Mormon and our message to find out for himself to know it what we shared was true. He also accepted to be baptized on the 13th of April when he comes to know that it is true. At the end of our lesson we ended with a prayer and he was willing to offer it. He prayed REALLY sincerely and asked God if Joseph Smith really was a prophet... Elder Rushton and I afterward both agreed that the Spirit was very strong in the lesson and especially as he closed with that remarkable prayer. So we are hoping and praying that he will continue to seek out the truth and that we can teach his wife too! They are both baptists and she is pretty strong/set in her ways.
We currently have 6 people who are on date for baptism including William. We have Sister Ned and her two sons and also Crystal and Christian who is a mother and her son. It is really awesome to be able to find so many people recently who are looking for the truth and have kept their hearts and minds open to the Holy Ghost.
I love preaching the gospel to others. Sometimes I feel tired or nervous, but I always remember that I have a calling from the Lord to go and share HIS gospel with my brothers and sisters. As I pray for courage and strength He has always helped me continue onward and forward to those who are searching for the truth, but don't know where to find it. Sharing the gospel is such a wonderful blessing! We get to present the happiest news on the earth to others and allow them to either accept or deny it. We hope for them to partake in the wonderful blessings that are found in Christ's church, but we cannot force them and neither will God. It is our duty to present the message in a way that they understand what is being shared. In the Preface of the book, "A Marvelous Work and A Wonder" we are encouraged to ask ourselves, "In how many homes have I explained our message in detail and completeness so it could stand as a witness against those who heard it?" Now as Full Time Missionaries, this is our calling and duty. But as members we can be good examples for those around us, invite others to participate in church activities, do service to others, and be prepared for when a missionary opportunity arrises. I think we as members of the church make things too complicated sometimes when all we are really asked to do is be cheerful and friendly and share our happiness with our friends and families.
I love this Gospel so much. I am so grateful for my Savior who has helped me through all the hard times in my life so far and for helping me overcome my weaknesses and struggles. I love the Atonement of Christ and I am so thankful that it is accessible to everyone! Even a dumb kid like me who messes up again and again. Because I have felt such love from The Lord I know that He truly loves us all. I am so glad that we have a Father in Heaven who created a plan for us to be able to come down to earth and receive bodies so that we could learn and grow even more. And even more so, I am SO HAPPY to know that if we do all we can we can live as a family forever with God. What a blessing!
I love you mom, and I am happy that everyone is doing well back at home. Keep up the great work in Farmington and give everyone a hug for me! Happy March!
Love your boy,
Elder Sean B. Farley
P.S. Hope that everyone is getting excited for St. Patty's day!! wohoo!
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