Good day everyone!
This is it! My last transfer starting tomorrow! I will be ending my mission in good ole' Zebulon, I will be getting a new companion(I'll find out tomorrow who he is), and I have been called to be district leader. This transfer ended pretty good. The Spirit helped us in getting Keith and Susan Storie to church and also two members! Sister Sparkles and her children, and Sister Snelling. They haven't been to church in years so it was a good feeling seeing them at church. Keith is doing very well and is slowly making progress. Last time we met him he had read up to Helaman chapter 5. We had a really good lesson with him on Thursday and his wife Susan sat in it this time. Keith is starting to believe that the book of Mormon really is true. Hearing from him about it and watching him change has definitely strengthened my own testimony. On Wednesday we had dinner with the McCoy's. They are an awesome family mostly because they remind me of my family haha. Sister McCoy even made the exact same Chicken Enchiladas my mom makes. Same ingredients, same preparation, process, taste, texture, smell, everything. It took me back home for a moment. I guess that was the Lord's way of blessing me after a long day of work and pain. My toes have been giving me problems, but I found out it is a condition called chilblains. And it was hurting like craaazy that day as we were walking around knocking doors, but I just pushed through it more determined to find someone who would listen. I also ended up playing basketball that night which was probably not a good idea haha... My feet have never been in more pain than they were that night, but it was worth it. The mission has changed me so much. There's so many things I like now that I didn't really care much for back home. Basketball is one of them. I'd still much rather play than watch though. Don't worry, that's just one thing that has changed about me. The mission has definitely done a lot more to me than that. I am a much better person than who I used to be, and my testimony is now one of my own. On Friday we had dinner with the Lee's which afterwards we visited Brother Williams. Brother Williams is a young lad, and recent convert, who has had a rough life. A very rough life having to do with drugs and stuff before he became a member. He lost a friend to drugs which scared him to death and brought him to realization that he needed to turn his life around. So he became a member of our church, and his life has completely changed since then. He is a very active ward missionary member now, and clean to. When we visited him, he was super sick and in terrible shape. He couldn't keep anything down, and had the worst nausea he ever had. He asked for a priesthood blessing while coughing, moaning, and shaking. I was terrified, but when we sat him down and laid our hands on his head it became very quiet and peaceful all of a sudden, and he was all of a sudden very calm and still. It was strange, and as soon as the blessing was over he rushed to the bathroom, and we dipped out as we could hear him viciously begin to barf and moan again. Amazingly though he was at church, and he told us that after that last barf sesh he had as we were leaving, he started feeling better and was completely fine by midnight, haha. I love the Priesthood. It's pretty awesome! On Saturday we did service from 10 in the morning to about 5 in the evening. It was a very tiring day. We first helped the Mills who are active move out of their business and than we helped Brother Simpson's friend move. Anyways, I feel like we talked a lot this week with people about trials and afflictions and why we have them. Without them how could we grow? Would we be the person we are now, would we know the things we know now if we didn't have them? They humble us, they strengthen us, they give us experience, and teach us valuable lessons.
-1 Nephi 20:10 " For, behold, I have refined thee, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction."
-2 Nephi 2:2 "Neverthless, Jacob, my firstborn in the wilderness, thou knowest the greatness of God; and he shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain."
-D&C 98:3 "Therefore, he giveth this promise unto you, with an immutable covenant that they shall be fulfilled; and all things wherewith you have been afflicted shall work together for your good, and to my name's glory, saith the Lord."
Love ya'll! The church is true!
Elder Wihongi
