Called to Serve Him: Ups, downs, and in-betweens 8/14/2017

Hello friends, family and loves ones!

This has been a quite a week. We have seen some trials and disappointments. But through it all I have been reminded again and again of God's great love for each of us.

    Our investigator Judy dropped us this week. We'd had 2 wonderful lessons with her. She was just glowing as she prepared for her baptism. Then on Thursday evening she texted and said no more and she couldn't follow through with baptism. It was completely out of nowhere! We were able to see her that night and we tried to resolve her concerns but she was closed to us and the spirit. It was sad, mostly because we know what she is walking away from. We tired unsuccessful to help her hold onto the spirit she has felt and the truth she has found... but she has her agency and she walked away. We were both pretty upset by this so we decided to fast. The spirit was so strong and it really reassured and comforted us. I know that God loves Judy so much and he is going to do all he can to bring her home.

   Sister Beecher is so powerful! But she's been struggled a bit this week. We've talked a lot about the gospel and agency. We've talked about the plan of salvation. And faith in Jesus Christ. She has a testimony and she has been sharing it without fear this week. In every opportunity she has open her mouth and the spirit has taken her testimony to their hearts. She is incredible and I love her dearly. I wouldn't have been able to get through this trial without her love and support.

   We were able to teach our investigator Solvek this week. He is outstanding! He's really preparing for the gospel. And he loves visiting with us. We taught him the Plan of Salvation and his eyes just lit up. He's been reading the Book of Mormon and loves it. He believes his father was a member in Japan, but it's a bit unclear. We are going to get him to church this week to try and find his father's membership record. Hopefully baptism will be in his near future, but it all depends on his health. So pray for him!! :)

   We had an incredible experience on Saturday night. After our dinner and a discussion with the Bishop we went and tried a less-active brother in the ward. Brother Smith, we didn't really know much about him but we felt it would be good to stop by. We were able to visit with him for a few minutes and then we felt prompted to get a little bold with him so we taught the restoration and committed him to read the Book of Mormon and attend church. He said that something had touched him and that he would do it. It was a very powerful lesson. He's a young father and has a daughter who is unbaptized, which we didn't realize until after the lesson. It was great! And to complete the miracle when we walked into church after our ward council meeting he was there with his children. It was so wonderful! :)

    I love being a missionary. Everything is awesome and everyday is a gift, including the hard days and hard weeks. I count my blessings, always!

    This week I had some incredible studies! I wanted to share just a piece of them with you. It was on Saturday after we had officially dropped Judy and I was discouraged and hurting and I went to my closet to pray and study. And I was lovingly reminded of a note a dear friend from home had sent me, I'd liked it so much I'd saved it to my device to read later. And it brought so much comfort and peace into my heart. This was the part that really struck me, she said, "You are by your divine identity, purely by virtue of who you are, no effort required: a blessing." From this I learned 2 important lessons. 1st God knows us, he knows the trials we will face and he loves us. He is answering our prayers even before we say them. It has been said that God does hear and answer our prayers, but it is often through the actions of others that those answers come. I have seen that time and again as a missionary. And it reminded me that each of us may say or do something that seems insignificant but in the life of another person it may be life changing. The 2nd thing was the little reminder of who we are. God loves us because we are his child. No effort required and no matter what we do or say. He loves each and every one of us. He knows us! We are divine beings and his love for us never ends. Our role is not insignificant in the life of another and if we are seeking to serve him, to help others then we are always a blessing and never a burden. So don't give up and don't be discouraged. To quote Elder Holland, "...keep loving. Keep trying. Keep trusting. Keep believing. Keep growing. Heaven is cheering you on today, tomorrow, and forever."

I love you all! I thank you for your prayers and support and the good that each of you do. Have a blessed and miracle filled week.

Xoxoxo, Sister Bryans

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