Be Still, and know that I am God - Psalms 46:10
Greg Olsen "In His Light"
First of all: HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATIE!!! I just want to take a
moment to brag about the best 17 year old on the Earth. You've been my best
friend and sister since birth, it's crazy to think you are already so old. To
be 17 again.. enjoy it while you can ;)
It's been an interesting week.. lots of ups and downs, BUT I
honestly witness miracles happen every day. Let me tell y'all right now, our
God is a God of miracles and they have not ceased. If I didn't know that or
have that outlook, I would literally go crazy because there are a lot of
disappointments that occur every day as well. I'll start with the hard things
first, then go into the happy parts of my week!
The worst disappointment I believe happened Tuesday. My
companion and I decided we wanted to build Christian unity in the community
because we had been hearing some anti-mormon things. We decided how better to
get rid of those views than go to the source and suggest an inter-faith choir.
So we walked into First Baptist and met with the head pastor. Don't get me
wrong, he was an extremely great and nice person. We told him we wanted to get
this choir going and he very quickly said no because of our differences in
doctrine. He then spent almost an hour sitting with us, explaining how we are
not Christian because of these silly reasons. After a little explaining from
our side, he still concluded that because we don't believe Jesus Christ, God,
and the Spirit are the same being we are not Christian and do not believe in
the same Christ? It was the saddest conversation I've ever had I think. Having
someone tell me I don't believe in the right Jesus Christ did not sit well in
my heart. It really hit me how strongly Satan is working against us. I love my
Christian brothers and sisters, all we wanted was to build unity within the
community. It's incredible how Satan has played with fear and deception to make
people believe we are not Christian. Anyone who strives to follow Christ
deserves the honor of the title of Christian. Jesus Christ does not exclude
anyone and that is what's missing from so many churches. My vision of this
interfaith choir includes baptists, Methodists, protestants, Lutherans, Sikh,
Buddhist, etc. I love praising my God through music and I know many others do
as well. Anyways, I am so excited for when good people can be united no matter
what their beliefs.
The rest of my week was very good compared to that! It was
extremely hot and hard work, but it was so worth it. We saw miracles pour out
from just taking a step out into the sun. My favorite stories from this week
that really did happen are just too great to be true! We were out tracting and
this sweet 4 year old boy with a mohawk ran after us after we left his house to
give us cookies! It seems so insignificant, but that little cookie almost
brought tears to our eyes. The next day we were talking to this lady on her
doorstep and a little girl was listening inside. By the time we were just about
to leave, she brought us these adorable flowers she had made. I love
little kids! Their spirits are still so close to Christ. It's tender mercies
like that that just make my day. We got those cookies and those flowers at just
the right time when we needed them most. One of my favorite scriptures of this
week is
Psalms 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God
If we could all realize the significance of that scripture,
our lives would be so much better. God is our Heavenly Father! He loves us more
than anything. All He wants is our happiness. Hard times are the best for me
to sit and be still and think about my God to really feel His love. And
every time I do, He shows that love in ways that have really touched me.
My favorite last story- because I'm running out of time
today- is this girl we've been trying to get in contact with. Her name is Tori
and she used to date a member in our ward. Her parents haven't allowed her to
meet with us, so we figured there was nothing we could do. But she texted us today
and said she turns 18 in October and will take the lessons then. For now she
has a Book of Mormon and wants us to give her scriptures to read. I love my
mission! I love that I get to meet these incredible people who are so full of
faith and desire. It's amazing to me what the tiniest amount of faith can turn
into.
I love my mission! I love being completely exhausted after a
long day of work because I know God is proud of my effort. Keep us in your
prayers! Even though we have had a lot of success, I can see Satan trying
everything he can to stop us. He can't stop Sister Dalling and Sister Hansen
though.
Sister Dalling
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