Hey Everyone!
How are y’all doing?! So much has happened this week, it has definitely been a week to remember. I guess first things first, we had transfers and Elder Peterson went to a place called Sharpsburg which is just south of Peachtree City, so that’s cool. Elder Harmon, my trainer, finally made it out of Americus and got sent to Griffin Georgia ?. He has been out for a year, and he was in the same zone the entire time, so I think he was happy to leave ??. And my new companion is Elder Fausett! He is from Sacramento California and has been out for about 9 months now.
Last Monday, we had a farewell Pday because 3 people from the district were leaving! We pretty much played our usual ultimate Frisbee and Basketball, so that was fun. After 6:00 time, we made a bunch of contacts with some friends and less active members in the ward. We didn’t have a lesson because our friend who we usually talk to on Mondays said that they have family things they’re going through right now, so they need to focus on family right now. We definitely want to respect them, so we are giving them space right now, but hopefully in the next week or two we can start having lessons again!
Tuesday, we had our last District Council before transfers, so we got to sign each other’s flight journals and take a bunch of pictures, which I will try to remember to share. Tuesday eveningwe had dinner with Brother Ohman and that was super awesome. He is in the middle of moving, so we helped him move a couple of couches and bookshelves which was fun. After dinner, we went to a couple members houses so Elder Peterson could say bye and then packed while I watched the Facebook page and responded to all of the messages and comments.
Wednesday was pretty much a blur! It was transfer day and so we traveled all the way down to Peachtree city for transfers and had lunch at a sub sandwich place, and it was actually really good! ? then, we went to transfer meeting and switched companionships and I was made designated driver, meaning unless we are in exchanges or there’s an emergency, I am the only one allowed to drive the car and am responsible to make sure that it’s all good to go! So, I got to drive on the freeway for the second time ever to get back to the apartment, so that was fun :)! All I can say is Google maps is nice, and there are a LOT of cars in Atlanta ??. But, we survived nonetheless and it was good practice.
Thursday, we had Weekly planning, like normal, and so I got to share all of the peeps we are working with to Elder Fausett and we made goals and plans for each of those people. We had lunch with Brother Farrar and his brother so that was awesome, as always!! 🙂
Friday, we had some more service where we helped someone move their washer downstairs. I thought it was so strange how the washer and water heater were upstairs, but I guess that was just the Floorplan of the house!! We finished up weekly planning for the week, to plan for all of the things we are going to do, so that was good ?.
Saturday, we went to some less active members houses and met some people that I’ve never met before! They were home, and it was super awesome because they seemed like really nice people, which was nice :).
Sunday was a really good day! I had a really good personal study where I studied a section in Preach My Gospel about bearing my testimony more. The power of a testimony is what can really invite the spirit and help those that we are teaching to progress! I somehow made it to a section in Doctrine and Covenants about the plan of Salvstion too, but overall it was a nice study, so that was super good. We made it to church, and unfortunately both of our friends who said they would be there didn’t make it, but their excuses were both reasonable, so I have high hopes for next week!!
For a spiritual thought today is going to be in Enos 1:14. I read this verse this week and it really stood out to me.
The verse reads,
“For at the present our strugglings were vain in restoring them to the true faith. And they swore in their wrath that, if it were possible, they would destroy our records and us, and also all the traditions of our fathers.”
At this time, they were trying to convert all of the lamanites to the true faith in Jesus Christ. They were not having it, and their hearts were completely closed off with no room for the spirit. It was so bad that they swore to destroy all of their records that they had diligently kept so they could forget about the Lord and forget about the things that they knew they needed to be doing.
First, I love how important they thought their records were, even the lamanites knew how important those writings were (otherwise they wouldn’t have wanted to destroy them).
Second, how much more of a miracle is it that we still have these records today, even through the wrath of the Lamanites who said they would destroy them. Verses 15-17 then teach us that Enos prayed for the records to be protected and knew that through his faith, God would make it so.
We see today that God did follow through and keep the covenant that he made with Enos. It might have been almost 3000 years later, but the records were preserved and now we have them so we can learn and come closer to Jesus Christ. What a blessing that is for us!
I do want to bear my testimony again about both prayer and the Book of Mormon. I know that God does hear and answer every one of our prayers. I know that it is not always the way you expect, sometimes the answer is no; but in His time, he will fulfil the promises that he has made in both ancient times, and for us today! God is the same yesterday, today, and forever and he loves His Children. I know that the Book of Mormon is true, the power contained in its pages I am only scratching the surface. It is a miracle that we even have these records, but I am so grateful for them. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
I hope everyone has a great week!! I’ve love hearing from y’all 🙂
-Elder Claussen
