Sunday, January 18, 2015
Monday, January 12, 2015
Pray for the Twig!
Well, the moment of truth... what happened this Sunday in the #fredoniatwig ?
Well before I tell you that, I have to tell you that Elder O got emergency transferred. He got the call Tuesday and left Thursday. Because of the large number of missionaries leaving early to begin school, things got crazy this last week. It was something expected, but still disappointing. I loved serving with Elder O! He got transferred to Harrisburg Drive, where he will be a Zone Leader! So that's pretty cool! He'll be right near my old stomping grounds!
Now for the group news. There were three groups that opened yesterday, the Fredonia, Warren, and Corry groups, the last being a split from Erie ward. So we showed up early, just to make sure everything was prepared for the twig to begin at 10:30. Our group leader had set up the old Primary room to be where both meetings would be held, due to small number expected to arrive. We were very unsure about how many people would be there. We had run the ward roster, visiting every inactive member we could and telling them the twig was opening, but this was going to be the moment of truth. I had been hoping and praying for at least 25 in attendance. As the time wore on, I got more and more nervous. At 10 minutes till, there were 7 people there, including us. And then... a miracle happened. People begain arriving en masse. We were scrounging around the church for additional chairs to set up. Active members were there, but so many inactive members as well. We had four investigators in attendance as well. The large primary room was filled to bursting, and after Sunday School our group leader made the executive decision to move to the chapel for the Sacrament meeting. We had 50 people at the church this last Sunday.
As I sat in the pews, I realized how powerfully the Lord has answered the prayers that faithful members have been offering for almost three years. An older inactive sister that we had found and invited was in attendance, just crying as the Spirit bore witness to her spirit that this was where she needed to be. Another less active sister remarked that entering the chapel after these years was "like coming home." The feelings that everyone had were very deep and heartfelt, and there was such a spirit of determination to reach out to others who have not been in attendance. It was such an incredible experience, and I am so grateful that I have been able to be a part of it.
The Lord really took that bit of faith that I had, took it, and magnified it. And made a miracle. How about that!
Pray for the twig!
Love,
Elder Wright
Well before I tell you that, I have to tell you that Elder O got emergency transferred. He got the call Tuesday and left Thursday. Because of the large number of missionaries leaving early to begin school, things got crazy this last week. It was something expected, but still disappointing. I loved serving with Elder O! He got transferred to Harrisburg Drive, where he will be a Zone Leader! So that's pretty cool! He'll be right near my old stomping grounds!
Now for the group news. There were three groups that opened yesterday, the Fredonia, Warren, and Corry groups, the last being a split from Erie ward. So we showed up early, just to make sure everything was prepared for the twig to begin at 10:30. Our group leader had set up the old Primary room to be where both meetings would be held, due to small number expected to arrive. We were very unsure about how many people would be there. We had run the ward roster, visiting every inactive member we could and telling them the twig was opening, but this was going to be the moment of truth. I had been hoping and praying for at least 25 in attendance. As the time wore on, I got more and more nervous. At 10 minutes till, there were 7 people there, including us. And then... a miracle happened. People begain arriving en masse. We were scrounging around the church for additional chairs to set up. Active members were there, but so many inactive members as well. We had four investigators in attendance as well. The large primary room was filled to bursting, and after Sunday School our group leader made the executive decision to move to the chapel for the Sacrament meeting. We had 50 people at the church this last Sunday.
As I sat in the pews, I realized how powerfully the Lord has answered the prayers that faithful members have been offering for almost three years. An older inactive sister that we had found and invited was in attendance, just crying as the Spirit bore witness to her spirit that this was where she needed to be. Another less active sister remarked that entering the chapel after these years was "like coming home." The feelings that everyone had were very deep and heartfelt, and there was such a spirit of determination to reach out to others who have not been in attendance. It was such an incredible experience, and I am so grateful that I have been able to be a part of it.
The Lord really took that bit of faith that I had, took it, and magnified it. And made a miracle. How about that!
Pray for the twig!
Love,
Elder Wright
Friday, January 9, 2015
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Sunday, January 4, 2015
"That's like Yoda!"
Well, let me tell you something I learned this week. Basically, a testimony of the truth is much more powerful than a lie. That may sound trite. Let me explain. We stopped by to try this less active family that hadn't been coming out to church. Sister R was really nice, you could tell she had a testimony of the church. Then Brother R opened his mouth and a freaking torrent rushed out. He told us how he thought he had tricked himself into his testimony to get baptized; that the church just didn't make sense, the whole reason people believe in God is because they are afraid there is nothing there. He unleashes this big long thing, and it really seemed like he was still just trying to convince himself of his own words. Then I just stopped him, and bore my testimony of the reality of the Book of Mormon, that there was a living God who did and does answer the prayers of His children. He just kind of gaped at me. Then started spinning this whole long convoluted argument again, which I let him do for a bit, then just kind of raised my hand, bore testimony, and confounded him again. This happened like two more times. I felt like Alma taking on Korihor or something. It really just made me sad though, because I could tell he was a good guy, that he was really just kind of fighting his own testimony. He had even served in the Fredonia branch presidency and then gone inactive. I really hope he can regain his testimony. But he has built up so many of his own walls that it will be very hard for him. To conclude, his wife was really grateful we stopped by. She came back to church this Sunday, which was really good. She also gave us tons of cheesy potatoes and ham. We are drowning in leftovers ham, everyone gives it to us. I would estimate we still have about 6 pounds to eat.
The exciting thing I got to do yesterday was play piano for primary; they grabbed me right before Priesthood and basically told me they needed someone. So that was a lot of sight-reading and improvisation, thank goodness I paid attention in Primary so I knew the songs. The Sharing time was on the Second Coming, and man, do I love Primary answers. They were talking about the 1000 years and one kid yells out "That's like Yoda!" Another good mention was when we learned Jesus would descend in a red robe. One child was convinced that Jesus was Santa, as the similarities were just too much. Oh, good times.
Love,
Elder Wright
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