Sunday, March 3, 2019

No Emails for 2 weeks!!

Hey everyone! Since the change 2 weeks ago, we have been able to video chat with Elder Collier instead of having to email. So as a result, there haven't been any emails the last 2 weeks. But we did want to share 2 experiences that Elder Collier shared with us and wrote out for us.

Sammy’s Journal entries from Johnstown, Ohio
He had been out on his mission for about 7 months…
“I was reading some of my past journal entries this evening and I found something very interesting. Here are some excerpts from an entry on March 26th 2018 when I was serving in Johnstown: "Rough day to be honest... We went to our lesson with Penny and she dropped us... We tracted for about 2 hours and literally no one was interested. It is hard to stay positive. This is a difficult area. (What he doesn’t say here, is that he was also going through a tough time personally. He was about as low as he could be and some things that he thought were going to be in his future, had been totally changed, but he trusted in the Lord and continued to be faithful) But we are going to have the faith to turn it around." In another excerpt I said this: "I guess now is the time to learn how to more fully rely on the Atonement of Jesus Christ." 

Then here are some excerpts from a few months later:
June 14th 2018: "Johnstown is alive!! Things are happening!!" 
June 27th 2018: "this week has been great! We have experienced miracles like crazy. Three people on date in Johnstown now. That's amazing! It is an awesome feeling to have Johnstown be alive. It was so dead for so long."

I learned SO MUCH from serving in Johnstown. That place was as dead as dead could be. At least, that's what I believed. As soon as Elder Madsen and I decided to put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ things started to pick up. Elder Johnson came in with a ton of optimism and faith and helped out a ton. The Lord transformed a "dead area" into one that was flourishing. I can testify to you that no area is a dead area. Every area can baptize. If you are serving in an area that you or other missionaries have labeled "dead" I invite you to ignore that label and put complete faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is a God of miracles and if you follow Him your area will change.


Sammy’s story he shared with us this Monday when we talked to him. 
SWEET MIRACLE

We were out talking to people and we talked to this one lady who was taking groceries in her house. She recognized who we were and told us that her sister in law is a member of the Church and lives in Rushsylvania. Well, I served in the Bellefontaine Branch so I know the only member family that lives in Rushsylvania! The branch president's family that I was really close to! It was great to make that connection and build that relationship of trust. After talking about that and our faith for a little bit she invited us back tonight to meet the rest of her family! It was a miracle! I am the only missionary left in this mission that served in Bellefontaine (Because Bellefontaine is now in the Indianapolis mission)… So I am the only missionary that could have made that connection. Brothers and Sisters, there is a reason why you are serving wherever you are serving! The Lord has placed you there for a reason!!

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