September 28, 2015
Hey Everybody!
It seems like the more time you start to get on the mission the faster time keeps flying by! This week was no exception, but I think that my companion and I made the most of what we could!
My companion, Elder Juliani, is honestly a blessing. In just these last two weeks that we have been together we have been able to accomplish so much! Never before in my mission have I felt that I have been able to teach with the spirit like I am able to right now. And it is because of the spirit and love for the work that he has.
This week Elder Juliani and I were able got to know many knew people, two of whom were very special. Their names are Lauri and Caio. They are both friends of another investigator of ours. And the reason that we found them is actually kind of a funny story. A less active member of the ward and her husband expressed concern that the friends of their daughter were a bad influence of her. My companion and i recognized their concern and offered to speak more with their daughter to help her know and have a testimony of the truth so that she would also walk the correct path. So one night when we went to talk with her and found her out side talking with some of her friends, Lauri and Caio. As far as first impressions go mine wasn´t so great, I kinda just thought ``oh so this is the problem...``. But fortunately I could not have been farther from the truth. While they may have tattoos and be living a crazy life style after a little bit of conversation it became very evident that they were searching for change. We set up a day to come back and talk more with everyone and explained to them that our message would explain where the truth is and how following Christ example helps us to change our lives for the better.
We came back a few days latter and man was it special. Never before in my mission have i taken part of a lesson where the spirit was so strong. As my companion and i talked about the restoration of the church, we made sure to constantly ask for their thoughts and opinions and as the lesson progressed the spirit only got stronger. By the end of the lesson I was feeling the spirit very strongly and the thought came in to my mind, ``help them recognize this feeling`` I then took a moment to explain the whispers of the Holy Ghost and how he speaks to us. After sharing this they all commented that they were feeling the Holy Ghost speak to them and that they loved the message. It really was a special experience and now i really understand what Nephi meant when he said that when ``when a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men.``
I am so grateful for everyday that i have as a missionary it gives me the opportunity to learn and grow in an incredible way! The holy ghost really is the comforter and a powerful teacher, I am grateful for what he has taught me and what he has helped me to teach others.
I love you all and hope that you all have you own experience with the holy ghost this week!
Love,
Elder Rice
