The Week We Learned About Faith

On this week's episode of Sister Cale in Columbus-the cold decided to
come back (since it never bothered anyone anyway), service was given
in the form of brushing horses and cutting fabric, the sisters worked
on a lunchtime project to make superhero accessories for a
particularly super family, the Sisters started The Book of Mormon
Translation Challenge, Sister Cale hit her fifteen month mark, and
despite the cold the Sisters got things done.

Hey Dear Humans,

So we just got back from a spectacular adventure with Sister Lynch
(that's why I haven't e-mailed until now). We got to go exploring
around Easton for a bit and then we went to a restaurant called The
Melt for lunch. The Melt is the home of gourmet grilled cheese
sandwiches. For this dreary rainy day it was a happy perfection. So
much yum.

So this week was awesome and I learned a lot about the role that faith
plays in missionary work and in life. I realized that I have
frequently denied myself blessings as I have claimed to be rational or
realistic about how things are going to play out. I fully understand
that my doing so was about trying to prevent feeling unnecessarily
upset, but this week I have been shown that even that was misguided.

So here's where it all starts-we're sitting in District Meeting on
Wednesday and we set a goal as a district to help one person be
baptized this month; however, not a single companionship in our
district had someone who had committed to a baptismal date for this
month. We got home from District Meeting and worked through our area
book to see if we had anyone who would be able to meet the necessary
requirements to be baptized. After going through all the names, we had
one person who could qualify to be baptized this month. We prayed and
asked the Lord to help us know if this was his will at this time. We
felt inspired that we should try and trust that the Lord could help
us. So we went back to see Anita. I was amazed at the spirit that
attended us as we sat down in her apartment. I felt very guided to be
direct with her about our purpose in being there. We shared a part of
Sister Oscarson's conference talk, "Do I Believe?" And then told Anita
that we had felt she could be prepared to be baptized this month and
that the Lord wanted to support her in making this choice. Anita was
able to open up about some concerns that she had and we were able to
address them with the guidance of the spirit. As she prayed at the end
of the lesson she was so sincere in her willingness and desire to do
what the Lord would have her do. After she finished praying she
accepted the invitation to be baptized, saying that she felt good
about it. I know that the Lord directed us back to her and then helped
us to teach according to his will. Unfortunately she wasn't able to
make it to church this Sunday and won't be able to be baptized this
month, but I know that this was the way that things needed to happen
in order to get us to reconnect with Anita.

Another thing I learned about faith this week is that as much as it
takes great faith to encourage someone who has stopped meeting with
the missionaries to be baptized, it also takes great faith to let
someone you have grown to love and care about go. Over the course of
my mission I have been incredibly lucky to evade what most
missionaries would term the "break up" talk. Most of the people I have
been blessed to meet have either progressed while I have been working
with them, have been working to keep their commitments, or they have
fallen off the map and I haven't really had to reestablish our purpose
or give any ultimatums. This week I had one of less than a handful of
these conversations with an investigator whom I have grown to love
very dearly. As saddened I was by her admission that she just doesn't
have a desire to read The Book of Mormon or come and see what our
church is like, I was so grateful that she was finally being real with
us about where she was at. I have a testimony that the Lord teaches us
line upon line and precept upon precept and I know that when the time
is right, he will lead missionaries to her or her to missionaries and
she will be more prepared to receive the fullness of the gospel.

We started the Book of Mormon Translation Challenge this week on my
fifteen month mark. It was particularly tender to me to begin reading
at the pace that got me on my mission on the day of my fifteen month
mark. I love the Book of Mormon so much. I know that it is the word of
God and I love all the things that the spirit teaches me as I read.

The church is true, life is good, God's in charge, and Satan hates you.

Love,

Jessica