I'm still doing great. Elder Shill and I really like working together, and we are having a ton of fun. Transfers are not this week actually! We had another 7 week transfer because of something with the MTC again, I'm not sure why, but my mission got extended another week so that's a plus! So transfer calls will be this Saturday, but I think Elder Shill and I will probably be staying together, but you never know! I really hope we stay here because we have a lot of things we have been doing to help the work get moving.
I'm glad that Cali is doing better! I bet it was a crazy couple of weeks. And that is so good that Tyler went back out on his mission! Good for him.
So this transfer I think I've told you how it's been a focus to help others pray with real intent. Well in order for us to help others, it's really helped me to be more mindful of my prayers. It's an uphill battle trying to improve sometimes, but the Lord just wants us to keep moving and be the best we can. But praying with real intent works. There's a promise in the Book of Mormon that if you pray with real intent about the Book of Mormon that you will receive an answer from God that it is true! And I think with any prayer with real intent that that is so true. But Elder Shill and I have been praying a lot more humbly and with real intent and it has payed off. We have just seen the Lord's hand guide and direct us so much. And that real intent means that we just have to humbly submit to do whatever the Lord will send to us. And when we do that, more promptings come, and it becomes easier to recognize the Spirit! We can always pray with Real intent for Missionary opportunities.
Last Monday night we had an appointment set and it was pretty far away in a town called Pollocksville, and the phone number we had didn't work so we were wondering if we should even go there because there was a chance she might not be there. And with all the travel time and the miles used we didn't want to waste anything. But we truly prayed and asked Heavenly Father what we should do, and we felt like we should still go to that appointment. We drive there, 25 minutes drive later, she's not there. So we pray again to see what we need to do. We've started keeping track where we've tracted and who we've talked to, and it was a big help! Because there were a ton of doors that didn't have answers the last time, so we knocked on those again (we call it "retracting), and we met this woman named Sherry! At first she wasn't interested, but somehow (because Elder Shill is brilliant) we ended up giving her a Book of Mormon and she was very interested. We set up a lesson too! When we called to confirm, she had been reading from the Book of Mormon!! That was awesome. She ended up getting called into work so we haven't had a lesson yet, but we will soon!
Friday was a super fun day also. We drove to the other district in our zone's district meeting, and that was an hour away, so we decided to bring our bikes and we drove to another area on the way back and stayed there all day until it was time to go home! It was so fun. This place was about 30 minutes from where we live, so we can't get there very often because of limited miles, but we were able to talk to a lot of people there. Plus we got to have Five Guys, and it was the first time I'd had it since I've been on my mission! I had forgotten how good it was. It was a fun day on Friday.
Elder Shill and I did a musical number in Sacrament Meeting yesterday! the Spirit was so strong in that meeting. We did the EFY arrangement of I know that My Redeemer Lives, I sang and Elder Shill accompanied me. The ward gave us a lot of compliments, but I'm just glad that we could bring the Spirit strong into that meeting. I've never heard our chapel so quiet.
But the work continues to press forward here! And we hope to get every member praying with Real intent for missionary opportunities. I think the hardest part is helping them see that success isn't getting someone baptized necessarily. Success in Missionary work, in the words of Dallin H. Oaks, "is inviting people with love and genuine intent to help them, no matter what their response." And I think when people see that, missionary work won't be as scary. My ponderizing scripture has to do with this same concept as well. In Alma 17:3 it says that Ammon and his brothers to prepare for their missions gave themselves to much fasting and prayer, but then in Alma 17:11 they receive their answer: "And the Lord said unto them also: Go forth among the Lamanites, thy brethren, and establish my word; yet ye shall be patient in long-suffering and afflictions, that ye may show forth good examples unto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls." The thing I love about this is not just the fact that they were told to be good examples, but Ammon received personal revelation on what he was supposed to do! And that personal revelation will come as we ask the Lord what we can do to be better missionaries. Because He will give us the answer as we sincerely ask Him.
Sorry that I wrote so much this week, I just wanted to share some cool insights that I had! I love being on a mission.
Yes Austin told me that he's getting married! That's super exciting! It's super weird at the same time though... Crazy. I think I may want to live in the Dorms now because Austin and I were supposed to room together... I guess not anymore... haha! But I don't know where else I'd live... what do you think is the best idea? I'm just glad I'm on a mission right now! I honestly love it here and I know for a fact that this is the Lord's work.
Thank you for all that you do Mom! I love you so much. You are such a great example! I hope you have a fantastic week this week! I'll talk to you soon.
Elder Collier
PS I'm sorry I've been so bad at taking pictures... I'm going to take more this week I promise! I love you!
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