Okay..one of the coolest things I've ever done on the mission so far?
Teach my dad the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ on skype! I feel so so blessed to have been able to do this. As I wrote last week, I received permission from President Pingree (mission president) to skype my dear old dad :) It was so fun to "plan" a lesson and prepare for this moment. I thought I would have to wait until after my mission to be able to teach him but now I get to do it as a full time missionary. President has given us full permission to teach him as frequently as we'd teach any other investigator so...I get to do this a lot now!
This week was just so awesome! On Thursday, we drove down to Houston for a Zone Conference where we learned all about putting God first in our lives. Sometimes, we have the tendency to look for the approval of man before we look for the approval of God. The only person's opinion who truly matters is God's. President used several examples from the scriptures and here's a quote that President Benson said, “The proud stand more in fear of men’s judgment than of God’s judgment. ‘What will men think of me?’ weighs heavier than ‘What will God think of me?’ . . . The proud love ‘the praise of men more than the praise of God’." I never thought that I'd have my standards and beliefs so tested while being a missionary...I was so grateful for this zone conference because it just drilled into my head, "only God's approval matters." At the end of the zone conference, there was some time left over for missionaries to volunteer to share their testimonies of the Savior in front of everyone. I didn't really want to do it because speaking in front of a huge group of missionaries scares me...But when President said, "Does anyone's heart just burn right now? Who needs to share their testimony?" my heart was literally "pricked" like it says in Acts 2:37 and it began to pound. I knew that I needed to share my testimony. Hermana Crandall turned to me and said, "You need to get up there!" So I hesitantly raised my hand and President called me forward. A few missionaries went before me but when it was my turn, I had no idea what I was going to say! I got up there and bore a simple testimony. I know that Jesus Christ lives and through Him, we can live again...As I finished speaking and turned around, President stood up and led me back to the pulpit. He said, "Do you mind if I ask you a question?" Immediately, I knew what he was going to ask. I nodded my head and he said into the mic, "You have a very important appointment tomorrow night, right? Who is it with?" I smiled and said, "My dad." He asked me to explain and as I did, I watched the jaws of many missionaries drop to the floor. After the conference, President came up to me and said, "I thought we were going to keep this as our little secret?" (He had asked me not to tell anyone that I was going to skype my dad because that could cause some issues with other missionaries wanting to skype nonmember friends and family.) I responded, "I know! I was so confused when you did that!" He said that he just felt like he really needed to do that...A lot of missionaries came up to me and asked me more about it and they were so excited for me.. I feel like I had an army of friends and family behind Hermana Crandall and I as we taught my dad..
On Saturday, we drove down to Houston (again) to meet the Huntsville Hermanas, Jo Ann Stanford, and Victor Lopez at the temple! It was Victor's first time going in (he's been a member for like 5 years) and he was so happy and excited! Ah..I love the temple.
I love this work..I read a sweet quote the other day that said something along the lines of, "You've had eternity to prepare for your mission and you'll have an eternity to reflect on it. But you only have 18 months (or two years) to live it." I want to live EVERY second of this mission and not let a second pass me by!
I know that this really is Christ's church and this is the way to eternal, everlasting joy.
Driving to zone conference and my bottle of water decides to leak all over me..
I love you all!
Hermana Emma Seymour
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