Transfer 5 Week 3 1-17-12

Hello everyone!

So this week wasn't really super exciting but there were a couple of noteworthy things that happened. 

On Wednesday, when we were out OYM'ing trying to street contact some people, we got a call from a recently reactivated guy in the branch. He sounded terrified and said he needed us to stop by, so we rushed over. It was pretty cold outside but we stood outside of his house for an hour and a half well into our dinner time in the cold trying to help S. S. is 45 and he had his first fight with cancer earlier this year and he was rushed to the ER earlier that day because of pain in his chest. He is terrified that the cancer might be making a come back. So we went over and did the best we could to lift his spirits and offer all the faith building advice we could to him. By the end of talking to him he seemed to be more at peace, and it was a tangible difference that you could tell a burden had been lifted off his shoulders of worrying for the most part. Ever since we talked to him on Wednesday he has been more cheerful and hopeful about his condition, he is learning how to really trust in the Lord more through this trial. One thing he said was that he keeps asking why is this happening to me? I told him that maybe he ought to change his question and perspective into what am I to learn from this experience. The spirit was definitely there helping us help him. I had no idea how to help someone that was fighting a cancer battle, I never really knew anyone close to me that had to fight with it so I know the Lord was helping us lift his spirit. This week he will find out if he has cancer again or not, so please keep him in your prayers. He has had some growth on his pancreas and liver so please, please keep him in your prayers. 

Another thing that happened this week was on Friday. We had a lesson with one of our investigators named D. He is in his 60's I would guess. Some background info about D.;

Our mission president asked the sisters here a few months ago to find D. I guess a former Elder that served here had taught him and that Elders father and D. had been best friends from years ago that had lost touch and were reunited when this Elder found D here in Bennington. That Elder had called to let D. know that his dad had passed away, and ever since then the sisters have been teaching him. He has been re-taught the first two lessons and part of the third. He is very Catholic and doesn't have really a testimony of the Book of Mormon yet even though he has been taught for months now. So this past Friday, we had an appointment scheduled with him to kind of determine whether or not if we should drop him because he wasn't really progressing spiritually. Even though he did keep his reading assignments he wasn't getting anything out of it. I had an impression the morning we were supposed to teach him in my personal study to study, the Book of Mormon talk given by Elder Tad R. Callister in general conference. I figured before we moved on to the next part of the third lesson, which is what we were supposed to do technically, that we needed to help him build that foundation of having a testimony of the Book of Mormon first. So we went and after a few minutes of small talk before the lesson, he told us about his reading in 2 Nephi 5 and said he doesn't understand where the story is going. I asked him how he felt about the Book of Mormon and after discussing that for a few minutes it lead into the prelude of the lesson. I said a heartfelt prayer earnestly hoping that the spirit would be there and a few other things and the lesson began.

We had brought a member with us Sister O (served a mission in Connecticut years ago, so she knows how missionary work goes) and she helped us with asking inspired questions to D. that really made him think and answered his questions as well. The spirit was so strong that Sister H., Sister O. and I were nearly trembling in our seats. He said that he was looking for his answer to see if the Book of Mormon is true. We told him that the feeling he had been searching for was here and that this is what it feels like. We talked about the Book of Mormon, priesthood, and connected that to miracles and we pointed out that receiving an answer that the Book of Mormon is true is a miracle and that it will change his life. Ha, he asked the question, "what does a person need to do in order to be a member of the Church?" I was thrilled when he asked that question! I then told him that a person needs to have Faith in Jesus Christ, Repent (or to change, to discard the bad habits and old ways and embracing the good), Baptism (by immersion through someone holding the proper priesthood authority from God) and receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost. We discerned between what priesthood meant to him (a Catholic) and what priesthood is in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It was an amazing lesson, one of the most spirit filled lessons I have ever been apart of in my entire mission. We almost got him to commit to baptism (totally unexpected) but he said he wasn't ready to make that jump just yet. We definitely made some progress with him though, and gave him a lot of food for thought. It was amazing!! 

I know that the Holy Ghost was helping soften his heart and open his mind to understand what we were saying. I know that Heavenly Father loves each of his children and assists his servants in bringing them back to him. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and it truly does change lives. I know that anyone who thoroughly reads and studies the Book of Mormon will come to know their Savior Jesus Christ on a more personal level and will find the answers to life's most profound questions. I know that this is God's true church restored to the earth!

-Sister Gifford