This week was oh so grand. Elder Beard and I went to work and we saw so much fruit.
Started the week off with a nice exchange. Super productive and instructive. We went out and talked to EVERYONE. I thought I had been talking to everyone but I was sorely mistaken. We handed out 7 Books of Mormon, each with a return appointment, in about two hours. So many people are searching for the direction and purpose that comes from the doctrine of Christ. What a joy it is to give them the opportunity to hear it.
We also did another temple tour with Marie, one of the most unique individuals I've met so far. She hails from Spain and is an architect who paints in her free time. I could've talked to her forever, but experiencing the temple grounds always brings a sweet spirit, so I was glad for her in that regard.
We had a fantastic lesson with a family we are teaching about women in the church, to which we brought a Sister of the congregation who is so, so cool. It was very spiritual and a dear experience in my heart.
We stopped by a friend of ours who had received news earlier that day that his niece had unexpectedly passed away in a car accident. We tried our best to mourn with him, comfort him, and be there for him, but I have never seen someone as hysterical as this man was. One of the most difficult experiences of my mission.
It was followed by an amazing miracle. We went to visit a man who we had not seen in months due to some health issues that had left him hospitalized. He had finally made it home and we were overjoyed to see him. As we discussed how he'd been doing, he mentioned many of the challenges he had been recently facing. We taught him about the power and authority that we held to give blessings of guidance, counsel, and healing, just as Christ did during his ministry. After accepting an offer to receive such a blessing, we had the opportunity to administer that sacred power. Afterwards we asked him to describe how he was feeling at that moment. He took time to ponder our question and then simply described a relaxing, calm, and peaceful experience, which he concluded felt "really good." We identified to him that this feeling was the Holy Ghost testifying to him of the reality of what had occurred. We promised him that through the ordinance of Baptism, he could have those feelings with him in any place or circumstance he might find himself in for the remainder of his life.
I am delighted to report that he will be preparing for Baptism on the 9th of June.
The sequence of events poignantly illustrates to me the truth behind the adage, "It's always darkest before the dawn."
In those darkest hours of our lives we may sing,
"Where, when my aching grows, Where, when I languish,
Where, in my need to know, where can I run?
Where is the quiet hand, to calm my anguish
Who, who can understand?"
But as the hymn goes, there is One who understands, "only One." Only One, who understands so perfectly that He knows with an equal measure of perfection how to rescue us.
"He answers privately, Reaches my reaching In my Gethsemane, Savior and Friend. Gentle the peace he finds for my beseeching Constant he is and kind,
Love without end."
I bear you my witness that Christ knows you. And He knows what you're going through. He knows better than anyone else and is focused wholly and completely on your welfare. He lives.
Sedona–Houndmouth
I miss you one and all.
Elder Winegar
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