Monday August 20, 2014
Dear Family,
This past week has
really been a good one. For a few weeks there it seemed like nothing was happening: we couldn't find new investigators, the investigators we had weren't
progressing, etc. But the past couple of weeks the Lord has been pouring down His
blessings on us. I wonder if all He really wanted was to teach me that it is
HIS work, not mine, and that things go according to His plan. And it's
important that I work hard, but even then, it is still in HIS time.
Last Sunday night we
had dinner with a member. At the end of
our share we asked for a referral. The Dad told us about a girl in is Cram
school that he has invited to church before. She is really interested, but her
family owns a breakfast shop, which is opened the same time church is, so she
hasn't been able to come. He said we
could come Monday night to meet her. When we went over on Monday night, not
only did we meet her, but we shared the first lesson, set a baptismal date, and
set up a time for our next visit! I think she was supposed to be doing homework
at that time . . . but I figure that lesson was more important than any
homework she ever has, is or will do. We met with her a few days later, and
she'd already read to I Nephi 10, which was way more than we'd invited her to.
After teaching the Plan of Salvation, we asked her if she believed it was true.
She said yes. When we asked her why, she told us she believed because it was
just so GOOD. The Spirit was simply THERE. It was a neat experience.
This week we had an
incredible experience with a member. She's been struggling lately. We didn't
know that. We asked her to Peike. She didn't want to . . . but decided she'd
better since she has some history with that particular investigator. Then, the
investigator stood us up. We asked our Peike if we could pray for her, and then
shared a scripture with her. She began to open up to us about some of the
spiritual struggles she'd been having lately. As we talked there were tears in
both her eyes and ours. My wonderful companion received pure inspiration. She
invited this member to ask her wonderful and loving husband for a priesthood
blessing, and she agreed to. Sunday morning she and her husband were
assigned to speak. The change in her was obvious. When she first got up she
bore powerful testimony of Priesthood leaders. Later in her talk, she spoke
about meeting with the missionaries, acting on the invitation they (we) had
given her, and about the impact it had made in her life. At that moment I knew
that I was fulfilling my purpose. And oh the joy! God guides us more than we
know.
Missionary work has
been exhausting but so wonderful this past week. And it looks to be another
really busy week this week. I hope to end with a big bang.
Saturday I
finally finished the Old Testament. I had a great sense of accomplishment.
While reading the Old Testament I was struck with several things. One of them
is the sameness of God. Although people tend to talk about the God of the Old
Testament as one of wrath . . . I feel that that is not exactly true. Oh it
definitely talks about His wrath, but I feel that there is much more going on
then what we read on the surface.
I have come to believe
that the ancient laws of sacrifice are essentially the exact same as they are
now. This life is all about sacrificing our wills and turning to God. The Old
Testament CONSTANTLY talks about trusting in the Lord. The gospel then and the
gospel now is the same-- built to turn our hearts to God. And that is the way
to happiness. I feel it, I feel the light that comes, and the understanding and
joy that comes, as I strive to follow Jesus Christ. I fail all the time, but
those moments where I draw closer to Him are so . . . filled with sunshine :)
No matter what the weather outside is there is sunshine in my soul! I love you!
Thank you so much for all of your support and love and prayers!
Sister Rachel Caroline
Edwards
Dear friends and family,
This will be Rachel's last blog as a missionary. She is coming home Saturday October 25. Her homecoming is November 9th at 12:30.Our church house address is :
1834 East Creek Road
Sandy, Ut
We would love to see you all there. Just give our family a few days, maybe 48-60 hours to get reacquainted and Rach get her feet back on the ground. Any more time then that and we will probably be ready to strangle each other. It has been quite an adventure, and even though everyone tells me how quickly it has passed, it still seems to me that she has been gone forever. I can't wait till Saturday afternoon. Teresa
