Сайн байцгаана уу! This was one of the most emotional rollercoaster weeks I've experienced on the mission haha. Everything this week was great of course! There were simply many perfect days and equally many slow, unproductive days so it felt like a rollercoaster.
First off, we gained 3 amazing investigators this past week. We've been fasting and praying for a while to receive help building up this area and we finally found people ready and eager to learn about Jesus Christ. The best part is that they all came through awesome members in the ward so they already have friends that fellowship them and invite them to all the activities! And all three of them are so eager to build testimonies and learn more...they even ask us when we are meeting next. I really love each of them and am so thankful for the opportunity to work with them. They help me see the joy of the gospel through an outsider's perspective as well. The biggest tender mercy was seeing our sweet investigator Michidmaa run up to us before sacrament and explain how she prayed and received an answer and now she is so excited to learn more about having faith in Jesus. We met with another investigator one night and she took the time to make us some yummy tsuivan despite the fact that she had been at work all day long. I felt her love through her service and I felt her joy deeply. I know that Heavenly Father has prepared people who are ready and willing to seek answers and seek faith. I love missionary work!
Another miracle we experienced this week was growth in our English classes! We were so tired of not having any English students come to our class in New Darkhan, so we made and passed out English flyers left and right and even made some English videos and advertisements on our English Facebook page. After praying and working really hard, we got a whopping 25 people to show up to our class out of no where! Unfortunately the other elders asked us to start teaching the Old Darkhan English classes, so we don't get to continue teaching all the new students but we are happy the class got built up! Now we will work on building up the Old Darkhan classes! Teaching English is so fun and I feel super lucky to have so many English teaching assignments here!
We participated in some fun member visits this week and the APs came all the way up here to do exchanges with the elders so we had a total of 9 missionaries in Darkhan! We got to pick Seabuckthorn berries for this sweet old lady, who then proceeded to give me a bunch of her old pairs of shoes as thanks for the service (the people here are so kind and loving hehe). We also went to one house where they served us tons of big fat chunks. Fat is one of my food weaknesses, and I wasn't feeling super good that night, so when the members left the room, I stuffed all the fat chunks into my jacket pockets. There were definitely better ways to get rid of the fat but my mind was running too fast to think clearly. I also stepped in the member's son's poop on my way to the bathroom so that was a surprise. Also, all the elders and my companion hate tomatoes and at one house we visited, no one would eat the member's homegrown tomatoes, so I took one for the team and ate at least 3 fist sized pickled tomatoes. It was hard but not as bad as eating straight fat.
This week, we were given the opportunity to serve many people and in each of these opportunities, I felt pure joy. I can testify that this is the joy we will feel in Heaven after this life. I have felt charity, the love of God, so much on this mission and I am truly so thankful for this small taste of Heaven on Earth. I testify that service connects us with others and with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Through charity, we can feel closer to Christ because we are following His example through our service. Before the mission, I was very lazy and selfish. I never wanted to do hard work so I didn't see the joy in service. But the mission has taught me just how important and impactful it can be in someone's life. I am eternally grateful for the lessons I have learned through the mission and I know that this one was the most important for me to learn.
Lastly, I want to testify of the importance of hope. This week, I finally finished the Book of Mormon for the first time on my mission! It took a long time because I really wanted to study it indepth and annotate everything I learned throughout my mission. As I was studying the end, I came across two verses that really stood out to me:
Moroni 9: 25
25 My son, be faithful in Christ; and may not the things which I have written grieve thee, to weigh thee down unto death; but may Christ lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death, and the showing his body unto our fathers, and his mercy and long-suffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in your mind forever.
Moroni 10: 22 -23
22 And if ye have no hope ye must needs be in despair; and despair cometh because of iniquity.
23 And Christ truly said unto our fathers: If ye have faith ye can do all things which are expedient unto me.
I love all of these verses that testify of Christ and the hope He gives us. I have felt this hope every day of the mission. I have felt His support and His grace and His strength and He has helped me along the way. I love in verse 22 when it says "despair cometh because of iniquity" because I've learned that our purpose is not to have despair. Our purpose is to feel joy and the only time we should feel sadness is when we make mistakes. But after that, we can feel joy again because Christ gave us the gift of Repentance. I really want to seek this joy and hope more in my life and after the mission. I am thankful for the hope Christ gives me. I love my Savior and I testify that He lives. He loves us and He suffered for us so that we could have this hope. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. Have a wonderful week!
Love,
Sister Potter
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