WASHINGTON D.C. SOUTH MISSION: WHAT BRINGS PEACE IN OUR LIFES?

Monday, February 22, 2010

WHAT BRINGS PEACE IN OUR LIFES?

Another wonderful letter. This is taken from one of our Elders weekly letters,

"Well a week just passed and it was an amazing one, we had an amazing miracle happen on Thursday. We were knocking doors and this guy, named --------opened the door and we asked him what gives him peace and he said nothing. So he invited us in and we started talking about the importance of feeling peace in our lives. Both of us felt prompted to talk about baptism, so we talked about the difference between happiness and pleasure and then we told him that you obtain happiness by having faith in Christ, repenting, Baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. He read a scripture in Mosiah 2:41 and he loved it. And then my companion, following the prompting asked him if he would like to be baptized. And he accepted. We praised him for that decision he had just made and testified of its truthfulness. Then we asked him to pray and ask Heavenly Father if everything that we had said was true and he did. When he started praying, the spirit felt stronger than it was before and I started to listen to the most sincere prayer I have ever heard from someone we had just met. He recognized us as Heavenly messengers sent by our Father, and that we had just spoken of the things he had to do in order to obtain peace and happiness. He told God about his commitment to baptism and told God that he was willing to do whatever it took in order to follow the teachings he had just received by His 'angels'. He asked for guidance and strength to keep following that path. During the whole prayer (while hearing the most sincere words for guidance and help) I was praying to Heavenly Father in my heart that this man would receive an answer. When he finished praying, we waited for a couple of seconds and we asked him if he had felt something special and he said YES, I JUST FELT LIKE A WEIGHT WAS LIFTED FROM MY SHOULDERS. Then again the spirit testified to his heart. It has been one of the most amazing experiences of my mission I visited him this week and he is still strong. "

What a beautiful story and testimony.

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Stephanie Smith Fireside

Last Sunday evening we were privileged to attend a fireside in the mission. It was held at a beautiful old chapel in McLean. One of the pictures shows the inside of the chapel and the wood beams on the very steep-pitched ceiling of the room. The gym is under the chapel in the basement. I have never seen a floorplan like this one. Very unique. This fireside hosted Sister Stephanie Smith. Her story was in the Ensign sometime in the last year. She has a remarkable conversion story. She has held very high government positions and at one time was 5th in command at the CIA. She said something at the first of her talk that I wrote down: she said, "I've been on some remarkable adventures. But no adventure in my lifetime has been as extraordinary and life-changing as my path to conversion and baptism in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints. She then told about her introduction to the church. She was at a time in her life with tremendous worldly success achieved after clawing her way to the top without any regard for others, and she felt her life was shattering into a million pieces. At this time she turned to a colleague she admired who was a member of the church. He told her two things. That her Heavenly Father knew her by name and loved her and that Heavenly Father had a plan for her success. The next day he sent her a map to the temple visitor center. She told how when the missionary sisters came to her door, she didn't think she could relate to these young women. The first thing they did was ask if they could sing to her. They sang,"I am a Child of God." That was the beginning of her conversion, a long a beautiful story. You can read it on the web at Meridian Magazine. Her testimony was a real inspiration to me. There were over 350 people there and she does a great missionary work speaking to investigators. What a blessing to have heard her and felt her spirit.

Chelsea Our recent Convert

We have met the sweetest young sister. Chelsea is amazing. She joined the church during the last year and has an incredible testimony also. She never misses any missionary function and we were able to take her with us to the Stephanie Smith Fireside. She also came to the mission home a few weeks ago and we had family night. She gave the lesson and is was unbelievable. She is hoping to go on a mission next year. What a great young woman. This is a picture of her with Elders Ganaway and Gifford.