Captains Log, January 12, 2015

This week was full of spiritual moments that I am so grateful for! I feel like I've really grown in my capacity to feel and recognize the spirit and to also follow it's promptings. Because we listened to the spirit we were able to make a really good contact with a man named Martin. We were out searching for a YSA member and decided to ask Martin if he knew if the person we were looking forward lived there (Martin lives just across the street from the person we were trying to find). He told us he didn't know and then we offered him a card. He was like "Please do" so we asked if we was looking for a church and he told us that he was so I pulled out a restoration pamphlet and told him about it. He said he'd call us. Since we weren't technically in our area at the moment we had to refer him to the Elders who do cover that area. It was just so great to meet him and it really lifted our spirits that day.

On Thursday we had a little dinner get together with the YSA. Felix finally came! He kind of fell off of the radar. He even came to Family Home evening on Monday too which was really awesome. We started to give a lesson on prayer and Felix told us he doesn't really pray and that he only prays when he's mad and just kind of went on to tell us that he feels like he's slipping away more and more. I was able to bear a really powerful testimony of prayer. I've never felt like I've been able to do that, but I could feel the spirit as I was talking and it was really amazing. I'm so proud of the other YSA members who were there as well because they all bore such powerful testimonies. I hope Felix felt the spirit and that one day he'll come back around and be able to feel God's love for him. It's so strange though, I can just tell how important he is to our Heavenly Father and yet he can't see that! I'm sure it's how I made others feel before I came fully back into the gospel and gained my own testimony of it. Thanks for never giving up on me! Because of that I will never give up on Felix or Lucy or Sarah or anyone else that is struggling. I can never give up because that's not what others did for me, and that's definitely not what Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ would do. That's the message that I share, and I'm starting to share it boldly now which I never thought I'd be able to do either. My mission has changed me so much! And I know that it will continue to do so.

Another powerful experience we had was with a less active sister in the ward. We could just feel God's love for her the moment we entered her home. She's been debating a lot about coming back to church and it's been really difficult for her to do so because of things that have gone down in the past. She came though! She's come once or twice in the past few months and I know that as she slowly starts to increase her attendance she will see the blessings and will become an even stronger member because of it. I'm so grateful for the many experiences we have had this week.

We also had the pleasure of teaching a YSA sister's boyfriend who is seriously investigating the church. His name is John. He doesn't have a lot of issues which is refreshing because I feel like I've been blessed to work with a lot of people who are having a lot of life difficulties. We're really excited for him.

We were also finally able to get in contact with Emma. She's had a lot of things going on lately so it has been hard to meet with her. She even came to church yesterday which we were excited about!

Things are really starting to pick up here! We've been working a lot better with both the Branch and Ward leaders which I am super grateful for. Everything just works so much better when we're all on the same page and all aware of the same people. We're going be having zone conference this Friday which I am super excited about. It's going to be a spiritual feast! I'm so grateful to be here in this Copperas Cove area. I've been learning a lot about who I need to be and where I need to grow, but I've also been very blessed to see how far I've come. Because if God had shown me all these weaknesses even just 6 months ago I probably would have had a nervous breakdown. Now I know more about the enabling power of the atonement, and yeah things are really hard sometimes, but I know that the Savior is right there beside me, helping me through. He never leaves us and He never wants us to fail. No trial is too great because he suffered it for us and knows how to succor us. It's truly amazing! I'm so grateful for that knowledge. Have a great week! I love you all!

-Sister Morrill