As of this Friday, I will have officially been out on my mission for 6 months! That is insane! There is no way that I have been out that long. And I have loved all of it!
And I've spent that whole time in the same area. But, tomorrow I am getting transferred. I don't know where yet. We don't find out until tomorrow. I'm really excited, but a bit nervous, too. However, I know that it will be great and that I will love that area just as much as I do this one. I have loved serving in the White Oak and Sam Houston 2nd wards. They are so great and full of amazing members who have been so kind and loving and are great examples of true disciples and followers of Jesus Christ who serve everyone.
This last week was really great. Sister Stepp and I stayed very busy. We had one day where we had so many people we had to visit -- including 3 new investigators, that popped up out of nowhere -- that we couldn't visit all of them. Of course, that is the best dilemma that we could ever ask for.
One of the new investigators that we started teaching this week is named Luis. His girlfriend is a member and lives in Kentucky, right now, going to school. He is so sweet and kind and we love him so much. He has such a sincere and genuine desire to find out for himself if the Book of Mormon and Church are true. At the end of our first lesson, he said the prayer, and it was the most sincere prayer I have heard an investigator offer. He loves Christ and wants to follow him and he is already reading the Book of Mormon. He came to church yesterday, and he is going to the YSA's family home evening tonight.
A few weeks ago, we had zone conference and President Pingree mentioned how the Book of Mormon is a "catalyst of the Spirit." Just reading the Book of Mormon will help us feel the Holy Ghost better and quicker than most things. I have thought a lot about this since he said it and I have gained a strong testimony of the power that the Book of Mormon has. A few days ago, we were visiting one of our investigators, and her brother-in-law was there. His name is Michael and he is currently attending a school of Ministers. He joined us for our lesson. We were planning to talk about faith. When we saw Michael there, we instantly were trying to think of the best way to invite and help them feel the Holy Ghost as quickly as possible. And I thought about what President Pingree said. So we decided to read Alma 32. The Spirit was so strong. There was one point, when I was saying something, that I was so overwhelmed with the Spirit that I couldn't form any words. At the end of the lesson, we invited him to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. He eagerly accepted the invitation. Sister Stepp and I left and just looked at each other for a minute and then talked about how powerful that lesson had been. It was a big testimony builder of the power of the Book of Mormon.
The other thing I have grown to love about the Book of Mormon over the last couple of weeks is how simple it is to understand. I think one of the reasons why it is so "plain and simple" is because it is full of stories -- stories of prophets of God and their experiences of living the Gospel of Jesus Christ and keeping His commandments. The prophets are wonderful examples of what we can do to LIVE the Gospel. They don't just spew out a list of things we need to do. They show us what to do, just like Christ did. I love it. I'm so grateful for all of the people that have filled my life that have been examples to me of how to not just preach and study the gospel, but to live it. Please study the Book of Mormon every day. If you do not yet have a testimony of its truthfulness, please read it and pray and ask God if it is true. I know you will receive an answer. All the Book of Mormon tells us to do is to love and follow Jesus Christ and keep His commandments. I know that when we do that, we are so blessed and we can have peace and happiness in this life and in the life to come.
I love you all so much! Thanks for all that you do. I hope you all have a great week.
Love,
Sister Sylvester
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