Man, Sister Brey and I had such an amazing week! It was one of the busiest weeks we've had in a while! It was awesome just running from appointment to appointment. The members are getting so excited for Christmas, too, and are doing lots of missionary work, so it's super great!
We had a really cool experience with a guy from Ukraine this week. On Wednesday or Thursday we were headed home from an appointment on a train. I was sitting across from this guy; he was staring at my companion and I so I told him that we were missionaries from the Church. He just smiled and said, "Okay," but I wasn't finished (haha). I asked him if he was religious and he said he was Greek Orthodox. It was then that I noticed his none-German accent. I found out that he was from Ukraine. He started asking about why were were here and what we were doing here. It was a very loud train and hard to hear because it was underground, and we both had to get off at the same stop to catch other trains. I told him we would love to talk to him about what we believe. I gave him our card, invited him to the Christmas devotional that Sunday and we went on our way(s). Never thought I'd see him again because normally that's how it happens ... But, then two days later I get a call from a man who I didn't recognize the name or number, but he wanted to come to the Christmas devotional! So, Sister Brey and I headed back to the church that Sunday night. I honestly was lacking faith thinking he wouldn't show, but we called him to see where he was ... and low and behold he was in the Church! We hustled a little faster and got into the chapel, and it was this man I talked to only two days earlier!! I'm still kinda shocked. But, he had such a great experience in the devotional and really enjoyed it. After, we all were walking back to our bus and he asked all sorts of questions and then listened to what we said, but also shared his thoughts. It was super nice that he didn't try to shoot us down and say we were wrong. Then he had to catch his train, but told us to call him because he wanted to learn more. Man, it is so cool when you just run into amazing mission experiences that make you realize exactly why you were here that day.
This week we also had Zone Conference and it was fantastic. They focused a lot on Christlike attributes. They talked about a few other things, and we were having s sort of discussion and repentance was brought up. One missionary explained something about repentance that I really liked. It's super simple but he said, "Repentance SHOULDN'T be easy!" How true is that phrase. If it was easy then we would sin on purpose, knowing we could always fix it later. But, when you have to fix something that was super difficult to fix, you probably won't want to make that mistake again, if you truly fixed it.
This email is kinda random and all over the place (kinda like my brain today), but I also wanted to share a quote that I found when I was studying 1 Peter, because a great friend of mine recommended it. The quote was about difficulties and it says:
“Peter later encouraged others: ‘Think it not strange,’ he said, ‘concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you’ [1 Peter 4:12; italics added]. “These fiery trials are designed to make you stronger, but they have the potential to diminish or even destroy your trust in the Son of God and to weaken your resolve to keep your promises to Him ... “How do you remain ‘steadfast and immovable’ [Alma 1:25] during a trial of faith? You immerse yourself in the very things that helped build your core of faith: you exercise faith in Christ, you pray, you ponder the scriptures, you repent, you keep the commandments, and you serve others. “When faced with a trial of faith--whatever you do, you don’t step away from the Church! Distancing yourself from the kingdom of God during a trial of faith is like leaving the safety of a secure storm cellar just as the tornado comes into view.” -- Found in the Liahona
I will let that be the close to this entry, but I just want to say how much I know that God is there for each of us. He knows EXACTLY how to help us. I know that with all my heart. I know that He loves us. I hope you all have an amazing week! Stay safe!
Liebe
Sister Jordan Brown
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