14.11.2016

Hey!

Another week down.. This past week, the mission office gave me a call and told me that they have bought my plane tickets home! So, that's a sign that I'm getting closer. It's crazy how fast time goes... Anyways...

This week, the weather has actually been pretty dry! It snowed here and there, but that's 10 times better than rain. They called Bornholm the "Sunshine Island," so luckily we've had quite a bit of sunshine. It's sunny today at least! I think the winter here will be much better than how it was in Randers, just because we break freezing point a lot easier and the sun shines more often...so I'm more dry! The problem isn't the temperature, but the wetness.

Anyways, we were able to get in contact with some of our previous potential investigators and we've finally got most of those narrowed down to positive potential investigators. It's tough to find them all home, especially when they won't make a scheduled appointment, nor give us their phone number. So we work by written cards jammed into their door frame. It works better than you would think! So we schedule appointments on the card, show up and hope that they are home! So, that's what we're working with. We actually started doing some finding in smaller towns called Svaneke and Nexø. We found a Satanist who is interested (I'm kinda scared in all honesty for him) and a lady that wants baptized. We had an incredible first lesson with her and she asked herself to be baptized. After explaining that the material can't be learned in one day, we tried scheduling a new appointment. She isn't free until 2017....well, we pushed her, but she insisted. So, we at least start off the new year well. We'll keep regular contact with her though. All in all, we're scratching at the surface, but the surface is made of granite, so it's coming little by little. It'll surely come though! :)


This week, I thought I'd share an interesting scripture. In 1 Nephi 15: 6-11. It's right after Lehi shared his dream about the tree of life. Laman and Lemuel were of course complaining and bickering about what the dream meant. Lehi's dreams prophesied that Laman and Lemuels seed will perish, so it makes sense, anyways, Nephi was tired of all that arguing and complaining, and now we read from Nephi's words, "6 And it came to pass that after I had received strength I spake unto my brethren, desiring to know of them the cause of their disputations. 7 And they said: Behold, we cannot understand the words which our father hath spoken concerning the natural branches of the olive tree, and also concerning the Gentiles. 8 And I said unto them: Have ye inquired of the Lord? 9 And they said unto me: We have not; for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us.10 Behold, I said unto them: How is it that ye do not keep the commandments of the Lord? How is it that ye will perish, because of the hardness of your hearts? 11 Do ye not remember the things which the Lord hath said?—If ye will not harden your hearts, and ask me in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you." It's interesting that Nephi's first question to their response wasn't, "Why don't you think God can make that known unto you," but it was, "why aren't you keeping the commandments?" Keeping the commandments and living the gospel is a way we show our faith unto God, which allows us to be humble enough to receive the spirit of the Lord. We don't receive an answer just by asking in faith...we have to ask in faith, believing we will receive it AND abide by the commandments, allowing the spirit to be with us. After the spirit is with is, then will we receive the answers and guidance we're looking for. We have to take the step forward in faith and allow God to lift us up, carrying us to the next step.

I love and miss you all!

Love,

Æ. Taylor Howes