The week started with Zone Training Meeting on Tuesday and that was really good. Our Zone Leaders and STLs are incredible missionaries! Then on Wednesday, we had apartment inspections/interviews with President and that was really good. It's always fun to see President and Sister Watkins, but we saw a lot of them this week! Then on Friday we went to the temple with Yvonne and Sister Fitzpatrick, a member from our ward.
It was such a great experience! Since we all fasted for rain last week, it hasn't really stopped raining, so Yvonne was scared that the roads would be bad and she tried to talk us out of going. But we really felt like we would be okay and we felt like she really needed to go up there. She wasn't feeling well, so the entire ride up there, Sister Young and I were praying that Yvonne would be able to feel the Spirit and have a great time. The rain never stopped, but it made for a beautiful foggy view over the bay! When we got there, we had the Visitor's Center to ourselves because their mission's conference was that day. So there was just one senior couple there helping us out. We decided to watch the Joseph Smith movie with her because we knew that her testimony of Joseph Smith was a bit shaky. We found out that they had a new Joseph Smith movie and it's awesome!! It's from his mother's perspective, which was perfect for Yvonne. By the end of the film, we were all crying and we had a really powerful lesson with her when it was over. She told us that her testimony of Joseph Smith was strengthened and that she really loved the movie. To make the day better, there was a Black History Month display in the center and it was perfect because she's black! She told us that her family had said that there were no blacks in the church and so she was really impressed by the display. It was just all-around a perfect day!
Saturday was a crazy and awesome day! We had our mission conference in the morning with Quentin L. Cook! It was so amazing because we all got to shake his hand. The spirit in the room was incredible when we all started singing the opening hymn; I was expecting to see a choir of angels singing with us! The power that comes from 280 missionaries singing is amazing! Then he spoke to us and reminded us of the process in which missionaries are called. It reminded me of how sacred my call is. His wife spoke to us too and she had us all stand and sing Hark All Ye Nations...again, it was so powerful and every sister was crying! It was a really good meeting and when Elder Cook left the room, I felt like the people in the Book of Mormon. Christ told them He had to leave and they all just wanted him to stay. As Elder Cook was walking out, I felt the same way: I just wanted him to stay with us! It was okay though, because he came and spake at our stake conference that night! The rest of the meeting was really good; we heard from President and Sister Watkins and the whole mission presidency.
That night, we had our adult session of stake conference and it was a really good meeting! It was all about Hastening the Work and we had Elder Cook and Elder Sabin of the Seventy there! The power that comes from those men is incredible. Yvonne came to that meeting and she enjoyed hearing from an Apostle of the Lord. He was at our Sunday morning session too! He gave a really good talk about following the prophet. He said that if you have doubts, put them aside and look to the prophet. If you focus on your doubts, they will never be resolved; but if you put them aside and have faith in the Savior, they will be swept away. It was a really good talk. Then he left with us an Apostolic blessing on the mission and on the stake. So I had a really amazing weekend to say the least. (:
Yesterday was full of miracles! Not only did we have an amazing stake conference, but a lot of other awesome things happened as well. We taught 6 lessons yesterday because we were just so pumped and working hard!
Right before dinner, we were contacting and we ran into an angry man. So it takes a lot to make me mad...like really mad. This guy was successful. We contacted him and he proceeded to tell us that we don't know anything and that Joseph Smith and Brigham Young were frauds. He raised his voice and yelled at us. Sister Young and I were so blessed to be able to be calm through all of this. I think the Lord blessed us to be as Christlike as we could to him. While he was yelling at us, I felt prompted to bear my testimony, so I did. I bore a simple testimony of the Savior and that I know that He lives. He scoffed at it and got so angry that he had to storm away. I think he was confounded...
It made me really angry for a long time and later that night we had some extra time to do some contacting. Naturally, neither of us wanted to go because we were still shaken up. Regardless, we went anyway. The Lord saw our faith and He blessed us. We were on our way back to the car to go home for the night and we saw a woman sitting at the bus stop. We went up and started talking to her and we ended up teaching the first lesson and having a prayer with her. We got her number and she seemed interested! Her name is Gwen and she is a really awesome woman! As we were walking away, we felt so happy and blessed that the Lord had taken our efforts and blessed us for diligently working even after our hearts had been broken and trampled on.
The Lord is amazing and he will always bless us when we do our best to keep His commandments. Yesterday was a testimony of that to me. I saw the two extremes of missionary life and was able to end the day feeling the spirit. I feel like we needed to feel low in order for us to see the fruits of our labors later that night. So basically, we can all come to the conclusion that my mission is awesome!
I love this work so much and I'm so grateful for the opportunity that I had to see and meet an Apostle of the Lord. I was edified and strengthened and I feel like I'm truly living the dream!
I love all of you!
Sister Julie Catherine Harris
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