"Help Wanted"

I am super excited to tell you about this past week because it was one of the best :D

I've decided that missionary work is way more fun if you do it differently. For example, we helped this family move new furniture into their home and they gave us the bubble wrap as payment. The rest of that day we were wrapping Books of Mormon in bubble wrap and offering people "plain" Book's of Mormon, or "Bubble wrapped" Book's of Mormon. We got a positive response! Earlier in the week we saw a sign outside a dry cleaners that said "Help Wanted". I looked at my companion and we agreed that they needed our help. We walked in and told the lady at the counter that we saw the sign asking for help and told her we help people all the time, especially with building and strengthening relationships with Jesus Christ. She was extremely confused.. I gave her a card with a picture of Christ on it and explained our purpose again. She finally understood and accepted the card with a laugh.

One more funny story: There is a family we street contacted a few weeks ago and were able to take through the Gilbert Temple Open House. The family has a daughter in High School who works at a pizza shop near our house and so me and Elder Jolley decided to stop by, get pizza, and convince her to take the missionary lessons. By the end of dinner we went up to the counter to give her a tip. Just before handing it to her we said, "Now wait, to get this tip you have to agree to take the missionary lessons." Not only did she agree to take them but she said she'd get her whole family to take them too! We're setting up a time to have dinner with the family and have the first lesson. Sweeeeet!

One of our members introduced us to her friend this past week who was interested in taking the lessons. We've had 3 lessons with her thus far and in the second lesson she accepted an invitation to be baptized!! She is the most prepared person I have yet taught! In Doctrine and Covenants it talks about who the elect are. It says that the elect are those who hear the voice of God and harden not their hearts. This girl is a huge example to me of hearing and obeying the word of God. There is so much she doesn't know or yet understand but she is humbly doing what the Lord has asked.

This has been a very spiritual week for me. Our mission president challenged each of us to read the Book of Mormon in 9 weeks and I've been making great head way. I have received so many witnesses of the truth of that book as I've been reading through it. It is changing who I am faster than anything else ever has. I love the Book of Mormon.

Make reading the Book of Mormon the highest priority in your day and you will feel a greater peace in your life. You will come to a greater knowledge of who you are and who God is and your relationship with him will grow.

Love Elder Janis