Winslow Week Seven

Hello, friends!! Winslow week 7 was a BLAST. Number one reason? Sister Clement, my new companion.

Let me tell you about Sister Clement. Sister Clement is from Mapleton, Utah. She graduated in 2016. She's SUPER funny. She's a planner and loves cleaning. She loves the Book of Mormon. She has a rock-solid testimony of Jesus Christ, and an INCREDIBLE enthusiasm for missionary work. Oh, and she's fresh out of the MTC. I. Love. Her.

God has seriously blessed me by sending me Sister Clement. I don't know how I got so lucky! Remember how I was all nervous to train a new missionary? Well, no nervousness necessary! Of course I have to help Sister Clement know what some of our special little standards in the New Mexico Farmington Mission are and I have to teach her the missionary schedule, but other than that, it feels like Sister Clement has been a missionary forever! She is teaching me so much already and this is only our 7th day together. Remember how God is good? Yep, He is. I could not imagine a better companion to have right now!!

Something I've been thinking about a lot this week as we've been trying to meet new people is how on earth do we help people understand what we have? So often as missionaries people will tell us, "So how can I help you?" after we talk to them for 10 seconds and SO often we'll say something like, "Oh we're sharing a message about Jesus Christ" and sometimes we say, "We're sharing a message about Jesus Christ's restored gospel". But "restored gospel" doesn't mean anything to them and they already believe in Jesus Christ, so that doesn't give them any reason to listen to what we have to say! And to be completely honest, that does a terrible job at explaining what we're here to share. It is 100% accurate--we are sharing a message about Christ and His restored gospel--but it just scratches the surface so slightly! What I WANT to say is, "Yes, we know you've met missionaries before, but have you ever heard what they have to say? The two of us left our families for 18 months because the message that we share has completely changed our lives. Jesus Christ has completely changed our lives. We know you already know about Jesus Christ, and we're sure that you probably have strong faith in Him, but there is so much more that your Heavenly Father wants you to know! Do you remember how when Jesus was on the earth He called 12 apostles to lead His church and carry His message everywhere? How amazing would it have been to sit in a congregation and listen to Peter or Paul? Incredible. But of course we know that eventually all of those apostles died. But that didn't end Heavenly Father's desire for us to hear Christ's gospel! The people on the earth weren't ready for a long time, but when the timing was right, God called more apostles to lead His church and share His gospel. So the message we share is that there are literal apostles of Jesus Christ on the earth today and they lead the Church of Jesus Christ. They speak to us and help us know how to come closer to God, even in this crazy and sometimes dark world. God speaks to them, just like He did to Peter and gives them the messages that we need today. God is speaking to us through living prophets and apostles! That is amazing! This world is crazy and confusing, but you know what gives me direction every single day? The gospel of Jesus Christ. And I know that it is being taught in it's absolute purity by chosen servants of God on the earth today. Does that all sound pretty incredible? Maybe a little hard to believe? You don't have to take our word for it! Our invitation to you as missionaries is to learn for yourself. God is the source of all truth and you can go to Him and humbly ask Him if these things are true and He will answer your prayer. He's answered mine. And my life will never be the same because of it."

But most people don't want to listen to me talk for that long, and for some reason those words don't all come out of my mouth when someone asks me "How can I help you?" on their doorstep. But do you get what I'm saying? We, as members of the Church in general, do such a bad job at telling people what we have! Ezra Taft Benson said, "Only the gospel will save the world from the calamity of its own self-destruction. Only the gospel will unite men of all races and nationalities in peace. Only the gospel will bring joy, happiness, and salvation to the human family." ONLY THE GOSPEL. We have to share it!

Anyways, sorry for that tangent! The gospel of Jesus Christ is just super amazing and gets me a little fired up. I hope you all have a very merry Christmas!

Love,
Sister Bohman