Another wonderful week!

I swear time just is flying faster and faster everyday!

 

This week has been quite interesting. The reason for that is Sister Bearnson and I decided that we needed to be talking to more of the people we see everyday on our bikes. Sometimes it is just hard to see people because there is so much sweat in my eyes I can hardly see where I am going... haha Just kidding.. sorta.

 

Anyway, we made that goal and we have been following through! We have talked to all sorts of people and have gotten a ton of new investigators as a result.

 

One of my favorites was this lady who was walking her dogs. Apparently the young puppy had never seen a bike before so when we came up to her she spent a couple mins "explaining" to her puppy what a bike was. At this point we were not sure if we should stay there.. or just leave her with a card, but we ended up talking about the gospel a little. She made a couple other comments to her dogs.. explaining that she was just going to talk to the nice ladies on bikes for a couple minutes and then they could resume their walk. After a few comments it was apparent that she was not really interested in our message. So we talked to her about mormon. org and then asked if she knew of anyone in the area who would benefit from our message. She goes on to explain who lives at each house on the street! She explained who lived there and all kinds of things that they do. It was slightly creepy, but as a missionary trying to get to know everyone is was wonderful! From that conversation we got 3 awesome referrals who we are working with now. :) You never know how you will find more people. It might just be through a crazy dog-loving street roamer. hah

 

The thing that I always hear here in Houston is that "Oh, I have already been saved." What? Who told you that you were already saved! So many people believe that if you accept Jesus Christ then you are automatically saved. I almost wish I could just believe that, but that is not how it works! Accepting Jesus Christ is important, but that is just the beginning. Our Heavenly Father wants us to become LIKE him. He wants us to learn how to be kind, selfless, charitable, thoughtful, a hard worker, faithful, and all the other attributes of Christ. The only way we can attain those things is if we work on them. At the end of our lives when we die we will be the same person we were before we died. We will not all of a sudden be perfect. It is a process. That is why we are here on earth! To learn, to grow, and to be tested. This week I talked to a lady who exclaimed with a huge smile on her face that "We are absolutely saved in this house." Does anyone really have the right to say that? Is anyone "absolutely" saved?

 

Well that question is up to each and every one of us. What we get depents on what we DO with the things we have been given. If we were already perfect I promise you that God would just take us up to heaven right now. If there was nothing else on earth that I could improve on I imagine I would just show up in heaven right? The thing is, I am not perfect. The only person on this earth that was perfect was our Savior.

 

What made our Savior so perfect? He helped people, He never thought of himself before others, He kept all the commandments with exactness, he never judged or made anyone feel down on themselves. He was perfect because He lived the things He was teaching and he was the Son of God.

 

Our goal is to try to improve ourselves.

 

"God is more concerned with growth than geography"

 

All He wants is your best. Pick something to work on and remember that your Heavenly Father is always there. He will never leave you alone.

 

I testify that God lives. That Jesus Christ, his son, is our Savior. God knows what he wants us to become and Jesus Christ is who makes it possible. We can be better. We can be closer to Him. He loves you.

 

The most magnificent being in the universe asks that we individually pray to Him so that He can bless us individually. He is aware of you, I promise. I have never been more sure of anything else in my life.

 

-Sister Earl