It's been another great week here in Abbotsford!
I've been learning so much here in this area with Sister Tapon! We have
so much fun together!
I've been thinking about
the scripture 1 Nephi 4:6 "And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing
before hand the things which I should do." In this scripture it is Nephi
speaking. He and his brothers have been commanded of the Lord to return
to Jerusalem, after having left it a few weeks prior, in order to
retrieve the brass plates-a record of their lineage and their
scriptures. Chapter 3 and 4 of 1 Nephi tell the story of Nephi and his
brothers and their multiple unsuccessful attempts to get the brass
plates. In chapter 4, verse 6 Nephi has made the decision to go back to
Jerusalem, trusting that God would provide a way for him to be
successful.
This scripture story was referred
to in zone conference a few weeks ago and has been weighing on my mind
ever since. Yesterday Sister Tapon and I went to go teach a man named
Gurdeep. The sisters found him the week before I got here and we were
going to his return appointment. I didn't really know what to expect of
this man but I went to the appointment excited to teach someone. When we
got there he warmly received us and welcomed us into his home. We asked
if his wife was home in order to make sure we could come in and still
be obedient and he answered that she was. When we walked through the
door Gurdeep's wife asked what was going on. In Punjabi the man
explained who we were and what we had come to do. They started to argue a
little and his wife asked him to send us away. He looked at us
desperately so I tried to explain more about our purpose and the message
we had come to share. The wife said some more phrases in Punjabi to
Gurdeep and then turned to us and said "actually we're not interested
right now so please go." Gurdeep just looked at her so sadly and said
something along the lines of "please" (I'm not actually entirely sure
what he said) She just shook her head and started to walk away. He
turned back to us, took our number down and said that he was interested
but that he would have to give us a call. Sister Tapon and I left the
house feeling a little defeated. It was so sad! And to make matters
worse as we walked away we realized we didn't even have his phone
number. We stood on the street debating whether or not to go back and
ask him for his phone number. Logically, I didn't want to go back
because we had his address and he had our number and I didn't want to
upset the wife more. But we said a prayer and both felt we needed to go
back and get his phone number. So we walked back to his house, knocked
on his door, and was able to get his phone number. And that was that.
This
story is probably really boring but it's made me think a lot. I don't
really know what's going to happen to Gurdeep and his wife. And I'm not
really sure why we both felt prompted to go and get his phone number.
Ideally, I would love to teach him and his wife but that may or may not
happen. But it made me think a lot about Nephi and his story. As
missionaries, we are constantly striving to have the spirit as our
constant guiding companion. I've learned a lot of what that looks like
but also learned that I have no clue what that means at the same time.
When Nephi was "led by the spirit not knowing before hand" the things
which he should do he didn't just stand there, look up at the sky and
say "ok what should I do now God?" Instead, he made the decision to go
down to Jerusalem. He didn't know what was going to happen as a result
of his decision, but he went anyways. I've found that being led by the
spirit has a lot more to do with making decisions. We pray and ask God
for guidance, and then we act. Most of the time when we act we don't
know what the outcome of our actions will be. I'm someone who likes to
have control over my life, so I don't always like that feeling of not
knowing what's going to happen. But as we act, not knowing before hand
what's going to happen, we're allowing God to guide us.
We
didn't know what would happen if we went back to Gurdeep. But we went
and got his phone number. And now that we have it we still don't know
what's going to happen. But I do know that everything is in God's hands.
As I've looked back on my life it's so clear to me to see how God has
guided me so carefully. I know without a doubt that He has a plan for
each and every one of us. And if we listen to the quiet and subtle
promptings of the spirit, we will be guided. Even if we don't know
before hand the outcome of our decisions, if we listen to God all will
work together for our good.
Well I wasn't planning on writing such a long email, so hopefully someone needed to hear that!
Have a great week!
Sister Bloomfield
