Well hello everyone!
This has been another amazing week here at the MTC... I want to thank everyone who has written me. You have all given me the support and love that I need in order to work hard and remember that I am not here for myself but i am here for the Savior and for the people in Texas that i will be priveldged to meet and share the gospel with.
So, saturday I was able to call Phil! It was wonderful! I hadn't been able to get ahold of him all week and I left a message and everything. I was a little worried that he just wasn't picking up for whatever reason. I called twice on saturday and then I was about to leave because i didnt want to be a stalker... Then i prayed and felt like i should wait a minute and call him again. He picked up and he was so happy to talk to me! He said that he had recieved the book of mormon and he hadn't read it yet but he loved the picture of christ that i sent with it and the picture and poem called "footsteps." I also sent the proclamation to the world about Christ and He loved reading that.
We talked for an hour... he asked questions about life and about the book of mormon and all sorts of things. He then asked that If he wanted it bad enough, did i think that he could find the person that he was supposed to marry. I told him that it was a righteous desire and that as he is faithful i am sure the Lord will continue to bless him. I told him how grateful i am for him, he truly is a man of great faith and his faith in christ has strengthened my faith. He then said that he has always tried to have great faith but it has been lacking recently. He was married for 7 years and it just didn't work out and since then he always questioned God. He felt he was faithful and trying to live a good life and he couldn't understand why his marriage couldn't work out. He then started to tell me that he felt like the reason we were talking on the phone was an answer to his prayers. He told me that he had looked for a potential wife in bars and clubs and just couldn't find someone with faith... (of course!) and then he decided that he would look at an online dating site. He said that every site he went to, the church had an advertisement on the side bar for the lamb of god video... he couldn't help but notice and he felt like it was a sign. so he clicked on it, ordered the video and then i called and we have been having discusions on faith every since. He said that I have answered so many of his questions and he feels that this is good and that god led him here. I re-committed him to read the book of mormon and to pray and i testified that as he dilligently did these things and prayed with a sincere heart that he would recieve an answer. I then taught him a bit about the plan of salvation and he was amazed because it answered many of the questions he has had. He told me a preacher once said that he only needed to say he was saved and then he would be... Phil couldn't believe this was right. He has a strong faith that we need to be faithful and we need to activly be living the principles of christ. What an amazing man. We set an appointment for wed. and i will call him and we will talk about the book of mormon. I am also going to try to get him to meet with the missionaries in NY. He is a little hesitant because he said that he has met so many people who only say that they believe and then don't actually act on their beliefs and he feels something genuine with me when we talk and trusts that i have a true belief in christ.
I have loved our talks, i bear testimony every time and the spirit is so strong. I know that he will feel the spirit and i hope that he reads and feasts upon the book of mormon.
The rest of this week has been amazing.. it has gone by so fast! i can't believe that i have been here for almost 4 weeks. it is amazing. I am almost at my half way mark!
OH MY HECK... QUE EN EL MUNDO!!!!! alyssa is going on a mission? ok you need to give me more details than that! I still haven't heard from her so mom please tell me how that all came about and what is going on! i almost started hyperventilating when i read that! I know she will be a great mish and this will be the best experience in her life. Aunt linda... when you find out where she is going, i will write you a letter because there are a lot of things i wish i would have known before coming to the mtc.
I love you all soo much! I am so happy that families are together forever. Today i was able to do sealings in the temple and the spirit was so strong. I am so grateful for my family and the love we share. I am so grateful for your strength and comfort. I am so grateful that i am an endowed member and that i can go to the temple every week and partake in the blessings that come. I love the gospel. I am so lucky to be set apart from the world and to be a part of a marvelous work and wonder and sharing truth with all those who will listen. THERE IS NOTHING LIKE THIS! Dad you knew it would be hard, and in a sense i knew it would be hard too... but i never thought it would be this hard... and at the same time, i didn't know it would be this worth it. I knew i would be blessed, but the blessings continue to pour over me and i am strengthened in ways i never imagined. It is sad that i only have 17 months left and i will not let a moment go by without relishing it and enjoying the amazing experiences that come from this work and from being a disciple of Christ! I Love being a missionary!
LOVE YOU!
Hermana Osborne
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