God Prepares His Children

(Elder Cummings)

It has been another fantastic week in Fresno!  It is starting to warm up again.  Today it was up in the 70s.  It really is a beautiful day, so Elder Knapton and I decided to make to most of our preparation time and went to the zoo.  I've never thought of zoos as a place to go for spiritual enlightenment, but today I found out that they could be.  Seeing all the different animals, all the diversity, from all over the globe just left me in awe of how great our Father is.  All of these things, the elephants, the cobras, the chimpanzees, and cockatoos, testify to me that there is a God.  He is real.  He does have a plan for us.

Elder Knapton and I have been continuing with an incredible streak for finding new investigators.  This week we met six more people who welcomed us into their homes and learn about the message of the Restoration.  Two of them agreed enthusiastically to be baptized and were only a little disappointed when we told them we couldn't do it that weekend. 

Vicky and her daughter Angelina and incredibly prepared for the healing power of the Atonement.  The zone leaders had met Vicky and scheduled a hand-off lesson for Friday morning.  She came home from translating for her family members at the immigration office late, so it ended up just being Elder Knapton and I who were able to meet her.  For missionaries there is a rule that a companionship cannot go into a home without an adult of their same sex in the house.  This was going to be an issue with meeting Vicky, and as I was playing through alternatives in my mind the Spirit told me very directly to not worry and go into the house.  The lesson was incredibly guided by the Spirit and the entire visit felt like we were in an oven.  Vicky has been searching for a church and had almost given up on the whole search, but God was not even close to giving up on her.  Before we left she committed to be baptized with her daughter on the 21st of the month.  She came to church Sunday too.  She was telling us about how much she loved the sacrament and Relief Society and all the new friends she had made.  Some of the sisters had offered to teach her to read Hmong and Vicky herself had volunteered to give one of the members a ride to the Relief Society activity the next Tuesday night.

This week in my studies I have been focusing on chapter 9 of Preach My Gospel, "How Do I Find People to Teach?"  I love how many people Elder Knapton and I are meeting and I've been studying looking for ways to continue the way things are going.  One line that really hit me was "seek to strengthen your faith the God is preparing His children to receive the message of the Restoration" (Preach My Gospel p.167).  I can definitely say that my faith has been strengthened this week.  We found Vicky and I know there are more God would have us find.  As missionaries we represent the Good Shepherd, and it is the lost sheep that we are sent to find.

I know that the Lord God has a work for all of us to do.  He will tell us what that is and how He would have it done if we seek Him in prayer.

With love,

Elder A. Jared Cummings