Monday, March 31, 2014

God is a God of Miracles

Family, friends, and missionaries, if there is one email I would love for you to read...it would be this one!

19.And if there were miracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable Being? And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he
ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles.
20.And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children of men is because that they dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom they should trust. (Mormon 9:19-20)

Oh, what a week! It has been raining on and off for the whole week now, which has discouraged my companion and I a little, especially because we spend a lot of time finding. But we truly saw a HUGE
miracle this week, I hope I can express this experience in a way that you can follow and I pray that the spirit will be able to testify to your heart, as it has to mine, the truth of the church and the power of Gods love in our life. My companion and I have been going through the paper Area Book for the last 4 weeks, contacting EVERY potential and former investigator in the book.. Even if the Elders dropped them fairly recently, we are doing what ever it takes to get a teaching pool. This week we contacted a lady named Investigator "C" on Tuesday and she invited us in, she was as nice as can be. We talked with her for an hour, topics ranging from cooking, to how she is taking a religion class, how she is attending a variety of different churches weekly, to her son's suicide last April. We had the wonderful opportunity to share with her the plan of salvation. She invited us to come listen to her give a talk about suicide awareness, but we weren't able to because it wasn't in our area, but we invited her to come to the General Woman's Broadcast with us this weekend. She agreed to come, but we didn't have the address for the stake center, or the invitation, so we told her we would drop the invitation off. Thursday my companion and I were driving in town, and we felt prompted to take the invitation to Investigtor "C", so we drove to her home, knocked on the door, and she wasn't there. We were confused why God would send us there, but we wrote down our names and number, and the address to the church and we stuck it in her door. We didn't think anything about it...

Saturday---- we were sitting at the dinner before the broadcast, enjoying our time getting to know the ladies who were sitting around us, when the Stake President walks up, and asks if there is a Sister Rever in the mission, we tell him no, that there is a Sister Reber, and he tells my companion and I that there Are 2 ladies who are looking for us, we look at each other all confused and we get up and walk over to the table, not recognizing a single lady who was sitting there... But then I see her... Investigator "C" came..And I was SOOO happy! She brought a friend from her religion class that she has been going to different churches with, Investigator "S"! We make small talk, and tell them we are going to finish eating but that we will save them a seat and find them before the broadcast began..so we left, and found a place to sit and we all began watching the broadcast together. Investigator "S" is telling me how the broadcast is making her want to go to sleep, and I got SOOO sad, I couldn't believe they hated such a sacred and spiritual event!  But I kept a silent prayer in my heart. Pleading with Heavenly Father to allow them to feel something..One of the speakers spoke about the Celestial Kingdom and this caught Investigator "S"'s attention, she looks at me and says with a huge smile on her face.. "Did he just say celestial kingdom?" I said, "Yes, he did:)"  We enjoy the rest of the broadcast and we get up and make our way to the dessert table, in between the dessert table and our seat in the broadcast, " I have the opportunity to talk to Investigator "S" one on one about how she felt about the broadcast. And guess what? SHE LOVED IT! I was blown away, she told me that it was making her so tired, and that only happens when there is too much truth for her spirit to handle.. Then she asks me what the celestial kingdom is and I briefly taught the plan of salvation.. She looks at me and tells me "I've been there in a dream. Do you think that's possible?" I tell her she is entitled to receive revelation for herself, and that if it was Gods will for her to have that experience, then that is exactly what happened.. She told me how she felt there, how she felt Gods love so powerfully she wished she could touch me and give me the feelings she had. She said she has been waiting for a church to teach about the celestial kingdom, she has been waiting for someone to teach her what her dream meant, and we were the first church that was able to do that.she said she was immediately interested..
So we kept talking and I kept answering the questions she had. I was about to talk about the Book of Mormon when she looks at me and says.."I know Jesus Christ saw the Native Americans when he was on the earth". I couldn't believe it..I couldn't believe it, I asked her if she had ever heard about the Book of Mormon before and she told me she had one, at one point in her life. But she never read it. She said that 2 boys would ask her if she read it, but it was always no. So they stopped dropping by. She asked me why the Book of Mormon was so important to our church and what would happen if she read it, so I was able to bear my testimony to her, and go over some of the things it says in the introduction! It was an amazing experience..."
-(experience of Investigator "C" from sister Brewster)
In the meantime----- I am talking to Investigator "C". Less than a year ago, "C" met a lady who was in her math class. They didn't talk much, just saw each other in class a few days a week. Well, Saturday morning  rolls around and they reconnect with each other again while they are both playing tennis at the same place. "C" recognizes her and they start talking when "C" notices a tattoo on her arm. It was a tattoo of a date. "C" asks what is the significance of the date and the lady explains that it was the day her daughter had committed suicide. Unbelievably, "C"'s son had passed away within 2 days of her daughters death.. They talked for a while, and went there separate ways. Well, Saturday night, they see each other AGAIN. The lady with the tattoo comes up to "C", puts her arm around her and they reconnect for the second time, in one day.. They talked about how it was weird they met that morning and then they were seeing each other again at church tonight. A little later "C" says that she believes God places people in our paths for a reason, that there is a reason her and "S" were there, a reason we showed up on her door step, and a reason they decided to come to the activity that night and she thinks this is right. 
So my companion and I walk them to our truck, to give them some pamphlets, and a Book of Mormon. We are standing outside our truck and Sister Brewster is explaining the pamphlets and a group of women from our ward walk passed, we stop them and introduce everyone to our new friends, and the members from our ward invited them to church on Sunday. "S" looks at "C" and asks if they are committed to do this and "C" says she thought they were going to try and go to another church this week. "S" immediately says, "Why look when we have found the right one already??" They committed to come to church.. After a long discussion, we say our goodbyes, and we are about to head out, just then from across the parking lot "S" yells, "I figured it out... I know what this church has that the other churches don't have... You HAVE THE LIGHT IN YOUR EYES.. I CAN SEE  IT.. AND THAT'S THE DIFFERENCE"

Family and friends MIRACLES DO HAPPEN! Things just aren't coincidences! Well to add to the story! Sunday night we are at an older couples home, I decide to tell the story of this miracle. As I start talking about the lady with the tattoo, the man and the dinner table starts to cry and says "that's our daughter!". The spirit was so strong. I told them of "C" experience being with her and how much she felt the love of their daughter. Coincidence? I don't think so!

Family & friends, this Church is true! There is NO doubt in my life that it is! I pray that we can all remember our Heavenly Father's love for us! I know that our Heavenly Father has put you each in my path for a reason!
May you all have a blessed week!

Love,
Sister Reber

No comments:

Post a Comment