This was a week full of meetings. Tuesday all the new missionaries came back together for a meeting in Charlotte. It was a long drive getting there and back, but it was nice to see that everyone had survived. We practiced roleplaying a lot, and Sistr Hill and I did well, even when President Alexander was watching. We also talked about "leaving our fish," which President and Sister Alexander took from the story of Christ calling Peter. Because we love Christ more than anything else, we sometimes have to give up things we like to more fully follow him
On Wednesday we had zone meeting and a zone pancacke breakfast. IT was very fun. Sister Hill and I presented a short training on having a positive attitude, which I have found is extremely important in missionary work and otherwise. It went really well.
Thursday was our weekly planning day, as usual, but we took the afternoon to drive out to King's Mountain and visit a few people there. We were also able to contact someone who had requested a Bible from Mormon.org, which we gave to her. We also talked for quite some time about the Restoration and what we believed, and we were able to give her a Book of Mormon, too! Hopefully we will be able to meet with her again. In other news, while we were not able to visit R this week, he called us of his own free will to schedule and appointment for next week. Yay!
Friday we did missionary work and prepared for
SATURDAY! Which was an especially special day. Elder Quentin L. Cook came to visit the area, and he took the time to have a special meeting with all the missionaries. We travelled up to Charlotte for the second time this week and all gathered in the church building to take a picture. Sister Alexander cried when she saw us all lined up for the picture, since I guess the whole mission hasn't come together ever since they have been called. When we were all in place, Elder Cook came in, took his place, and took a couple of pictures with us. Then he went to go stand at the door of the chapel so everyone could shake his hand as we came in. It went by so fast, but he did tell me "Thank you for your service." So it was nice to have just those few seconds with an apostle.
The meeting started with a member of the Seventy, Elder Klebingat, and his wife. They were both phenomenal speakers, and he had been a mission president in Kiev a few years ago, so they knew just what to say to us. Sister Klebingat talked about how we as missionaries often repeat Alma's plea (Oh, that I were an angel) in our own missionary terms (Oh, that I were in Brazil. Oh, that I had a different companion.) Elder Klebingat talked about giving all that we have to the Lord, using the story of Ananias in the New Testament. Then Sister Cook got up to speak to us. She actually led us in singing "Hark, All Ye Nations," because she loves music. She shared a quote that I thought was really meaningful: "Preach the gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words."
And finally we got to hear from Elder Cook! He talked to us all about missionary work and how we can improve. Since he was one of the people in charge of organizing Preach My Gospel, he shared some insights from the creation of it. One thing that Ithought was important was that he said PMG was designed so that the lessons can't be memorized, but have to be internalized. He also testified that the Lord will help us establish His Church. He also promised blessings to our mission and bore an incredibly powerful testimony of Jesus Christ. It was just amazing.
And to make things even better, we got to hear from him AGAIN (after another drive to Charlotte) on Sunday at a regional conference. Seven stakes got together and met in a sports stadium there. Despite the sudden change in the weather (pictures to follow), we think about 7,000 people showed up. We got to hear from the Klebingats again, as well as the McArthurs, the area authority and his wife. Even though it wasn't quite as personal as the Saturday meeting, it ws still fantastic. Elder and Sister Cook talked about strengthening our families through gospel observance in the home, which doesn't apply to me so much right now, but Iknow it will in the future. I will keep these notes FOREVER!
I think the members of the church kind of take it for granted, but when you think about it, isn't it AMAZING that we have prophets and apostles among us today? Imean, we were able to shake the hand of one of the TWELVE APOSTLES. The more you think about it, the more exciting it is.
Anyway, I hope ya'll are well. We are expecting great things this week and every week!
Love,
Sister Reay
Pictures: Surprise, it's actually still winter! We're lucky the roads were clear, and a member drove us most of the way to Charlotte, because they knew where the icy spots were.
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