Family and Friends

Dear Family and Friends,
This week was a great week, I am officially down to the less than two week mark until I leave....crazy!  We get our travel plans tomorrow for the time we need to be in the travel office and what time our flight leaves any everything, I can't believe it, it is so exciting.  At times I feel like I am ready to get out there and at times I don't but I don't think anyone is ever really truly ready, because the field will be the biggest learning experience of all. I have seen Sister Wright a couple of times which has been really fun, she seems to be doing great and settling right in to the swing of things. Last Sunday I watched the Mountain of the Lord which is a movie about Willford Woodruff and the building and dedicating of the Salt Lake City temple, really great movie I enjoyed it!  On Tuesday we had devotional, and we all came in to the gym to watch it and it kept not showing who was going to be speaking that night at the fireside, which equals an apostle (as the missionaries say). All of our district was either on the 1,2,3, or 4th row, so pretty close and we were all thinking on who it would be and about five minutes before the speaker came in, the door opened as someone was coming through and I saw Elder Holland talking! I got super excited and one of my Elders next to me refused to let me tell him who it was, the other one wanted me to tell him and he made me tell him like 3 times because he didn't believe me....and do a pinky promise- which sold the deal haha.  Anyway it was a GREAT talk, he is very passionate and tells it like it is which was really good to here.  He told us that we needed to come back with at least one convert on our mission....ourselves, which we hear a lot and is so good to be reminded of.  He also talked about how our greatest conversion tool is going to be the Book of Mormon- and how if the investigator can get a strong testimony of the book of Mormon- they will stay that much stronger within the church the rest of their lives.  It is the missionaries job to figure out what part they need, how they need it, and how to approach it- which is the fun part- and challenging- but once you figure out what rings for that investigator you feel so good! I had an experience this week with that- I was having a hard time connecting with one of our investigators, I really didn't know how to approach what he needed, and as a companionship we hadn't really figured him out.  So I had been praying for a week to help me understand what he needed and how I can better relate to him and find a better way to connect with him.  Our teachers had been giving us advice on letting them tell you about their experience at church, with prayer, with the Book of Mormon- and then apply what you teach to that.  So he started talking about love and charity and how he had learned about that at church the last Sunday, and he really liked that.  One of the Elders pulled up a scripture about Charity, and referenced Christ in it- so I started asking about how Christ showed Charity in his life, and then started applying charity and love for others to the investigator- James- life and he started talking and talking about service and how it is so important to him.  After that lesson I just felt like even though I hadn't prepared a lesson on charity, or really thought about it, I was able to see that, that was an important thing to him, applied it to the gospel and to his life to show him that he has it.  And off of that you can talk about how the Savior can help him become even more charitable and give him more ways to serve others and become a better person by serving others- which applies to me, and my companions and everyone.  We can all through the example of Jesus Christ love others more, we can serve others more through his example.  If we ask him to help us love more he will, if we ask him for more service opportunities he will give them.  It is amazing how teaching a lesson trying to help an investigator, helps you so much more as well- D&C 50:22 and the learner and the teacher are both edified together.  That is how you know you are affecting people you are teaching- is when you are both edified, the spirit is teaching you both at the same time.  As I have been teaching and thinking about the example of Jesus Christ, my teacher pointed out something that really hit me- Christ did us the greatest service of all- he Atoned for us so that we could make it through this life and live with our Heavenly Father again.  That is the greatest service, most selfless service for all mankind ever given.  It is amazing how in any part of our lives we can apply the atonement- and I am learning that every day.  I really am so grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ- and for his example of service that he has given to me, which every day makes me want to get outside of myself and try to serve through the example of Jesus Christ- he is our ultimate example and I am grateful for Him.  This experience is stretching me, and humbling me and making me approach things in new ways everyday- always making me think- which is such a good thing.  I am grateful to be here and for all the support- I love you all!  Make it great week!

Hermana Coleman

P.S. Read 3 Nephi 18 - about the sacrament and the example of Jesus Christ- if it isn't 18 it is 19....haha I read it this morning- So good!