This week just kept getting better and better as I piled spiritual layer upon spiritual layer. On Thursday we had zone conference. That is always a spiritual feast, thanks to our amazing mission leaders, the Harknesses, and our young mission leaders who put great care into preparing.
Then on Friday I went to the temple of our God and had a sublime experience there. In the evening all of the senior missionaries met for dinner. There are some seniors in this mission who I have never met in person even though I've been here over a year! After dinner we all helped assemble sack lunches for the young missionaries for Saturday. I am so blessed to work with these covenant keepers. They are serious about the covenants they made with God in the temple!
Saturday we had a very rare visit from an apostle of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Elder Gerrit W. Gong, his wife, Susan, Elder Mathias Held of the seventy, and Bishop L. Todd Budge of the presiding bishopric visited Montreal this weekend. On Saturday morning Elder Gong met with our entire mission for two hours. That is a logistical feat in and of itself because our mission is geographically so large. It takes a LOT of arrangements to bring everyone into Montreal! We were taught important things in this meeting. And our missionaries were fantastic! Respectful, reverent, receptive, joyful. I love these young people and every single chance I get to be near them. Elder Gong and those with him took the time to shake every single missionary's hand. I admire his understanding of ministering in the Savior's way.
Saturday evening I attended a baptism in our Mandarin branch. Our Mandarin missionaries are working super hard! They are having a baptism every month which is difficult when they are only assigned to work with a small population of the community!
Sunday morning we had a special stake conference with Bishop Budge presiding. We heard from him and our stake leaders. Bishop Budge shared amazing stories with us about miracles that happen in building temples, his setting apart as a general authority, and his interactions with President Nelson.
And if that wasn't enough. . . my new friend who I met on the street a few weeks ago came to church on Sunday!! I introduced him to the sister missionaries. They got his number and all 3 of us will meet with him tomorrow night on WhatsApp. They will invite him to be baptized!! He was taught by missionaries for 3 months in Ghana so I feel like he is ready. He will need a review of all the lessons.
I also attended a baptism on Sunday night. I have a small connection with this man who is from Iran. One day, a few months ago, Elder B and I were chatting in the hall before church started about the ban of the priesthood for Black people. A. overheard us from a nearby chair where he was sitting and came to ask if he could join the conversation. I erroneously thought he was a member of the Church. Come to find out later in our conversation, it was his first time to visit our church!!
Elder B told me on Saturday that he thought that man who we talked with a few months ago either got baptized or was getting baptized soon. Elder B said, "You should go since you're the one who taught him his first lesson!" 😂 What a "first lesson"!! I texted the missionaries who are currently teaching him and found out that he was being baptized the very next day.
Have you ever felt that your joy was so full that it overflowed? Too much to take it all in? I have felt sooooooo much love, joy, and peace this weekend! And those are the fruits of the Spirit so I know that He has been present in abundance. Sometimes I am overwhelmed that I have the privilege of having a MEMBER OF THE GODHEAD with me at ALL TIMES! What did I ever do to deserve THAT?!?
That was my weekend.
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