Finding the Elect

So Mom, I just want to start off by telling you that as soon as I read that someones birthday happened (in last weeks email) I knew it was yours! I forgot to write it down in my planner. I loose track of everything if I don't put it in my planner; my mind is always focused elsewhere. Like when I hit my sixth month mark, I didn't realize it till like a few days later... so much for celebrating it, haha. I would forget my own birthday if I forget to write it down. It's crazy how dependent I am upon my planner though. I guess it's because my life is a series of appointments with different people on different dates and times. There's just no way I could remember it all.

Well this week was a pretty good one. Yesterday my companion and I went to pickup our dinner and the lady who made it for us offered the prayer. She'd also said the prayer in sacrament, but she said one thing twice - please protect the missionaries. Then she commented and told us to be careful. I thought nothing of it - hahaha. (I don't worry because I know the Lord is on our side.) Anyways, a member in our ward needed us to go and install a lock on her son-in-law's house because the door got kicked in a while ago and the son-in-law got arrested Saturday. She and her grandchildren were concerned about stuff getting stolen by their neighbors. So we were happy to oblige, knowing it would just take a minute....

We went over and started working on the door and all of a sudden one of the less active Members that we had just started visiting came in and was like, "What are you guys doing here?" And I was like "We're changing the lock on this door. Why what's up?" Then she proceeded to tell us how her daughter (who apparently lives on the upper-floor of the home) thought that someone was breaking in, so she called the landlord and the landlord was on their way over to investigate what was going on! I hurried and put the doorknob back in and took the new one and put it in the car. (Apparently the in-law who'd asked us to change it hadn't spoken with the landlord!!!!! And changing the lock, without the express written permission of the landlord, and without the renter present is considered breaking and entering!) I then hastily wiped our prints off everything and closed the door back up.... (No way I'm going to jail for a B&E if I'm not the one who got to kick down the door!) Well eventually the landlord showed up and we just talked it over, got the landlord in contact with the member who asked us to change the lock, and even left our number with the landlord. It all worked out. I'm even kinda thinking that we need to contact that landlord again.... I think she may be one of the elect. Time will tell!!! Long story short - we didn't get arrested, but my poor little companion (who I am pretty sure has never been that close to talking to an officer of the law), was kinda scared.. Hahaha! I guess all those talking-to's that I frequently received in the delinquency of my youth prepared me! Hahaha.

We also were blessed to have an awesome Zone Conference. We had a lesson by Sister Dance in which she asked us to shorten our missionary purpose to one word. (Our purpose is found on page 1 of Preach My Gospel) I was thinking and I though of repentance, Christ, Salvation, and peace, but then the word 'Atonement' popped into my mind. So I said atonement, as we went around the room each spouting off our word... I was the only one who said that. After we'd all said our word, Sister Dance said something profound "I would suggest that the word each of you just said is the purpose that Heavenly Father has defined for your life" or something along those lines. I was floored because then I remembered that is what my patriarchal blessing says................. Sister Dance is Awesome.

Then we had our Zone Conference with Elder Paul B. Piper of the Seventy. It's awesome being around him because even though he is one of the Lord's anointed, he is so easy to talk to. He doesn't have this aura of approachability that seems to surround the apostles and other general authorities. He is just a humble, kind, genuine, meek person.

He went through and had us ask questions at the beginning that we wanted answered. Then he taught us how to answer them and how to teach our investigators to answer them. He taught us how Christ's doctrine is the root of our desire. It answers the questions of 'why'. Why did God send us here? (Because He loves us and he wanted to provide us with bodies like his.) We worked on identifying the many questions that concern everyone, including ourselves. The question that I was struggling with on that particular day was if it was okay to expect miracles and I learned, OF COURSE IT IS! I am a child of God. And the same way that my parents would do anything to help me or my brothers, Heavenly Father would too - in His way. We seek knowledge, a testimony of all things, not just to understand, but to know. (To see the difference, think, I understand how to ride a bike vs. I know how to ride a bike. Get it?)


So my companion and I are cleaning house... It takes a lot of faith to focus our efforts on finding the elect, especially when the consequences of having absolutely nothing at all to do are dire... (TRACTING in the freezing cold!) Hahaha.

Well it was a good week and this week will be even better! I love you guys and miss you. I know the Lord is watching over you.

Much Love!

Britton Winterrose!