General Conference: Coachella for missionaries.‏

Leave a comment

October 7, 2013 by jennaljackson

HIIIIIII!

CONFERENCE WAS SO GOOD. Every part of it! I loved Uchtdorf’s talk, it was basically like tirar ALL the duvidas, (take away all the doubts?) whether they are of investigators or less actives or members. loved the Brazilian GAs talk on meekness. Also something funny…6 months ago I wrote home how hilarious it was that the guy who translated Portuguese for Richard g Scott sounded exactly like him. This time I realize it was because he recorded his own talk in Portuguese hahahhah. It’s incredible how much 6 months can help you understand what’s going on. 

Also, it seemed like every other talk was about application of what we know. It was something I studied a TON this week. I was a part of my first mission leadership council and can I just say, it totally feels like the inside scoop, and we gave two trainings in our zone meeting as well. Through the experience of this calling I’ve truly come to learn what it means to be obedient. Obedience is wayyy more than just the white handbook. Everything our leaders ask us to do can be considered a commandment. I was reading in 1 Nephi and I realized that when he said go and do the things the lord commands, he wasn’t talking about the 10 commandments or anything like that, but whatEVER task the Lord asked of him that day. It’s put my mission in a new perspective. If my president asks me to contact 20 people a day, it’s a commandment. If we get trained on a new way to visit members, it’s not just a nice idea or a time killer in a meeting, it’s a commandment. Learning isn’t worth anything without application. Doers of the word and not hearers only. 

Maria was also baptized this week! What a cool experience. We don’t have a font where we are so we took her about 30 minutes away to the next chapel and the members there totally pulled it out for us. Just goes to show that this part of the country has soooo much potential, just gotta get things started here! Maria was awesome too. She’s a quiet one but it’s obvious the desire she has to follow Christ through fulfilling all the commitments. 

The coolest experience we had this week happened on our way to the first conference session which in Portugal starts at 5pm on Saturday. We were on our way to pick up our investigator and we were talking to a very friendly, very ancient Portuguese lady about God because that’s what we do as missionaries. I said something like ‘God always helps us’ and at that moment, a woman walked past, looked pack, and said, ‘ACHAS que Deus ajuda?’ Or in English, Yeah right God helps. We said yes we know He does. She said, well he’s sure never helped me and I’ve asked so many times. My comp asked her, ‘what’s the last thing you asked from God?’ And at that moment, she broke down crying and sat with us on some random person’s doorstep and just opened her heart to us about how lonely she felt and that God didn’t love her. We were able to testify that we knew God had a plan and that perhaps we were the answer to her prayers. We invited her right then to conference and she came and listened attentively the whole time. (She may have cried during Sunshine in my Soul, which is super sad, but it’ll get better) After I asked her how she felt, and she said, I know that I need to move my life forward. So we said…we know how to help you do that. Taught her the first lesson in the chapel right then and marked her for baptism next week. It was like something you read in the Ensign haha, I didn’t know stuff like that actually happened to real people but it was INCREDIBLE and we can use all the prayers we can get to teach her everything she needs and get her in the fold of the Lord next Sunday! Miiirrraccllleesss

Guys I realized I write too much and no one has time for this so that’s all for this week. Hope you’re all fantastic. Also this keyboard is American and I’m struggling so I guess that means I’m like, OFFICIALLY international, sooooo cultured. Pictures to follow! Love you all!

Sister Jackson