June 9, 2014

Dear family and friends,

We had a pretty cool week this week. D________ and T_______ came to church which was pretty awesome! We also started meeting with a few part member families so hopefully those go well.

Well, since we have knocked all the houses in our area twice, we have decided to take a different approach. Elder G and I also decided to go through every single name on the ward directory and teach whoever was willing. We had a super cool miracle because of it. We just had a list of names in the area and we got to the next one and went there, and she invited us right in. She said that she was watching something on the TV and it talked about the Elders and the laying on of hands for healing. She decided she needed a blessing to overcome an addiction that she has. So she decided to look for us. After calling different people and using various means to contact us, she decided that she would just walk and look for us. Before she could do that, we knocked on her door looking for her. We were there at just the right time because she was praying and was about to go for a walk to try to find us. So we gave her the blessing and it was a very good one. We set up a return appointment and hopefully, this experience changes her life. It was really cool that God would use us (unaware missionaries) to be an instrument in his hands of blessing (literally) the lives of one of His beloved children.

Lately, I've been trying to read to scripture with real intent, looking for answers to questions. I was reading 2 Nephi 4 (one of my favorites) and came across verse 28-30:

"Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul. Do not anger again because of mine enemies. Do not slacken my strength because of mine afflictions. Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation."

I looked up the word droop in the dictionary and it said, "to languish because of grief." Well, I didn't know what languish meant either so I looked up it and it said, "To become dull or spiritless." So the definition I wrote in my scriptures was to become Spiritless because of the grief. That grief is caused by the effects of sin, so we all need to not beat ourselves because we are not perfect because we have a Savior, one who has suffered for us so that if we have faith in Him and repent, we do not have to droop. Instead, we will rejoice and praise Him who "with wood and nails, built mansions for us all." I love my Savior and am ever grateful for His sacrifice for me, so that one day, I can be like Him and live with God for eternity. I love you all and have a great week!

Love,

Elder Spencer Coleman