Hello!!!!
I hope you all are having a fantastic week!!! I'm pretty sure I have the best family in the world! Thank you so much for the December package! I'm sure I'll enjoy opening the presents throughout the month! Ya'll are great!
We had a pretty cool experience happen this week. So last week we were going around to less actives homes and trying to get to know people. Well, we went to this one house and knocked on the door and someone said, "Who is it?" So we replied, "The missionaries." They opened the door and it was this girl and we started talking to her as if she was the person we were looking for. She asked us what church we were from so we told her and asked her what her name was and she was not who we were looking for....so we asked if we could share a message with her and she said maybe another time. So we left her a Restoration pamphlet and went on our way. Then this last Tuesday, the day we told her we would come back, we went and knocked on the door and the same thing happened - "Who is it?" - "The missionaries." - an older lady opened the door this time and we said we were looking for Mercedes. She said that she wasn't here and so we asked her to tell her that we stopped by and we would try again later. We turned to go and the lady said, "Wait! Don't go yet! Where is your church located?" She invited us in and it turns out that she is a member that hasn't been to a church in years and was wanting to come back but she didn't know where a church was at. She came home the other day and saw the pamphlet and asked her daughter where she got it and Mercedes told her that some missionaries stopped by. She saw it as a sign that she needed to go back to church! I almost started crying when she was telling us this story. I was so excited and knew that Heavenly Father had a hand in that miracle! What is even greater is at our last district meeting, the zone leaders had promised us that a miracle would happen for us this week if we looked for it. I was lacking a bit of faith because I didn't feel like we were worthy of a miracle happening to us. But it goes to show that Heavenly Father watches out for His children and will do whatever is needed to help them come back to Him!
This week we also found out that James is ready to get baptized! Remember what I shared about him last week? Well, turns out that he saw that as his answer that He knows its true. He said that that wasn't him talking when he told his neighbor to read the book. So he took that as his answer! He wants to be baptized and so now all he needs to do is quit smoking and we'll be good to go! It is really exciting!
This week we also found out that James is ready to get baptized! Remember what I shared about him last week? Well, turns out that he saw that as his answer that He knows its true. He said that that wasn't him talking when he told his neighbor to read the book. So he took that as his answer! He wants to be baptized and so now all he needs to do is quit smoking and we'll be good to go! It is really exciting!
Zone Conference also was this week. I got to go back to the roots of my mission - Bentonville/Bella Vista, Arkansas!!! It was great to go back and see that area again! I miss it there so much! President Shumway had some great insight that I'd like to share. He started with drawing his life on a whiteboard. He started when he was 17 and went on from there. He pointed out how there were many different roads he could have taken due to different choices he could have made. But because of the correct choices, he was now with us in the Oklahoma Tulsa Mission. The point of this demonstration was to show that Heavenly Father has a plan for all of us. BUT ALSO that Satan has a plan for all of us and it is just as written down as Heavenly Father's is. It is up to us to figure out which plan we are going to follow and how we are going to live our lives, according to Satan's plan or Heavenly Father's plan. Who's plan are you going to follow?
He also talked a little bit about the Atonement. He shared three scriptures that I really liked. They all mention what the Atonement covers. 3 Nephi 1:13 - His Atonement covers the WORLD. Isaiah 9:6 - His Atonement covers US. Luke 2:9-12 - His Atonement covers YOU. I love talking about the Atonement and what it can do for us. I've been thinking about it a lot lately and how I would love to know exactly what it covers and what it doesn't. I want to know the boundaries so I don't step out. Then I was thinking about how everybody is different and we all have different trials that we have to get through. There is no way that the Atonement has one set of "rules" for everybody. Since we are all different, I think the Atonement covers different things for everyone. THEREFORE, we need to stop comparing ourselves to other people, whether we are comparing our strengths or weaknesses. Everybody is different and we need to remember that. We need to focus on being our best selves and do what we need to do to be worthy of being in God's presence. Just because somebody else is sinning a certain way, doesn't make it right for us to do that. It's really kind of hard for me to explain this concept. Sorry if it doesn't make sense. It makes sense in my head! So if you don't get it, wait until I come home and then ask me about it! It would be easier to explain in person!
I was going to write about something funny that happened at Zone Conference but I don't have time and ya'll might not think it's funny anyway....so if I remember, I'll try to write about it next week. It was really funny. My abs hurt pretty bad after laughing so hard for like 5 minutes!!! :)
Well, I love you all and hope you are doing great! Thanks for everything you do for me!!!
See you soon then!
Love, Sister Pahl
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