Jul 14
Well. Today is the start of week five of my eighth transfer. To be honest -- that's dis-gusting! WHERE HAS ALL THE TIME GONE?!! I've literally only got three more transfers left. And okay, nope. Nope. Totally not going to be talking about that anymore. Topic change.
So, my week. Thanks to Elder Fuller's inspired direction as our district leader, we've been doing a lot of member work during the last few weeks. Something finally clicked in his/our brains after reading Chapter 9 in Preach My Gospel, that maybe, just maybe -- working with the members a little more than we had been doing in the past is the key to being able to strengthen our relationship with members and building up their trust in us (keyword: trust!), help teach members how to do missionary work, and to be able to have members entrust us with their precious friends and family members who are open to hearing our message! That's our end goal. We're two weeks into this goal, and so far... no immediate fruits of our labor yet. We actually hit a wall. But something that Elder Fuller shared with us yesterday in a quick, impromptu district meeting, hit me. He shared a verse in Jacob.
And we did magnify our office unto the Lord, taking upon us the responsibility, answering the sins of the people upon our own heads if we did not teach them the word of God with all diligence; wherefore, by laboring with our might their blood might not come upon our garments; otherwise their blood would come upon our garments, and we would not be found spotless at the last day. -- Jacob 1:19
As a missionary, there is a responsibility that comes with wearing a black name tag with Christ's name on it 24/7 for 18 to 24 months. I have this quote written in my Preach My Gospel -- "With great power comes great responsibility." (quoted from Peter Parker's uncle. And if you don't know who Peter Parker is... Google it.) Every person that we walk by on the street, be it if we talk to them or not, or every investigator that we have. As a representative of the Lord in Poltava, Ukraine, I have a sacred duty to teach the people of Poltava the word of God. I took up the responsibility to answer for the sins of the people here, and help them correct the traditions of their fathers. The Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox Church is so strongly deeply rooted in the people and culture here. As the Lord's missionaries in Ukraine, we're having to push and fight against hundreds of -- if not thousands -- of year old traditions and rituals. Satan is real, and his power is real. He's has done a wicked job at twisting sweet, simple doctrine of the Lord's gospel and using it to lead away innocent people from the truth.
But I have a testimony that this is the Lord's only and true church. Through a modern-day prophet, He has restored all of the truths and principles that we need to have in this later day to live and be able to return to live with Heavenly Father in heaven. And I know that the Book of Mormon is evidence of this restoration.
The book is blue and the church is true. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Sister McCrea
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