Heaps of Miracles

So major deja vu at the training meeting. I was just there, right? 6 weeks ago and now I am on the other side getting a new trainee. It was pretty nervous but funny thing is when I went up front to receive my new companion (Sis. Holtz) she said as soon as I went up there she thought "She is mine." #spirituallyintune Also, super awkward moment - during all the new missionaries testimonies, one elder full-on paused, snapped at Sis. Perez's new companion to come play the piano and he sang a solo, then finished his testimony haha

Before heading back to Canberra we stayed at Mission Home again and I didn't break the shower this time- yay! But we were able to sit down and have a planning/expectations thing that night. I made it clear that we will be EXACTLY obedient, work hard, and have fun doing that and see miracles :) She was down. A little bit about her: she is from New Zealand, she is 19, has a boy going on a mission too... and yeah, that’s it for now! haha But we are working really well together with sharing the gospel with HAPPINESS and ENTHUSIASM. Woot woot!

I have also taught her my best tricks:

1. The dog trick, ask to pet their dog, then say you miss your dog cause you are on a mission, "have you heard of missionaries before?" BOOM.

2. Embrace the awkwardness. We are creepy stalkers, we pray about people we hardly know, we are strangers knocking on their door wanting to clean their house, garden their yard, and eventually dunk them for their salvation. Laugh about it with them, admit you know you are weird, laugh some more, gain their trust. BOOM.

Really it works.

We have seen HEAPS of miracles this week. We are asking referrals from everyone, even people at random doors who are not interested. It is great. We have so many new service opportunities for people we have seen on the streets, we have a new pool of people to teach, we have progressing investigators now and Steven came to church again and said it was even better than the first time and wants to keep learning more! We hinted a little bit about Word of Wisdom in our last lesson (which was a member present and his friend sat in on and listened to the whole thing I might add) and we know that will be a challenge. His baptismal date will be pushed back I am sure but the progression he is making is amazing. We have also had some of the best doorsteps lessons. And I love how big of a difference a single word choice can make. So there has been this house I felt really prompted to knock and have been trying multiple times, yesterday we finally we got an answer. The lady was Baptist and not interested. So I said ok, no problem and "Enjoy the rest of your Sabbath" as soon as I said Sabbath she opened the door back up. We had an incredible doorstep lesson about the Sabbath day and keeping it holy, multiple interpretations of the Bible, religion's role in marriage, our belief in eternal families, the temple, missionary work, etc. And to think, what if I didn't follow the spirit in my word choice of saying Sabbath instead of Sunday :)

Miracles this week galore. I know it is because of your prayers. Training is a stressful role to live up to but I love being able to set the standard, and the pace and the example of the work ethic. It pushes me to be the best missionary I can be, to be exactly obedient, and work even harder than I was before. And because of this, our area has seen some of the highest weekly numbers this week and we only got back Thursday night.

I love being in this area. I love being a missionary. I love God and my Savior. I know without a doubt the fullness of the gospel has been restored. I love reading the Bible and the Book of Mormon EVERY DAY. Do it. It will bless your life. Thank you for all the prayers, you are all in mine.

Lots and lots of love!

Sister Rushing :)