The Power of Prayer Exists

From Brooklyn Winn

Teaching in Argentina

We taught a homeless man this week. He has had a rough life and he really wants to change his situation.  He baths in the ocean and washes his clothes in the ocean.  He lives in a shack. We taught him how to pray and testified that God lives and that He answers prayers.  We then took the next step and invited him to church.  He looked down at his clothes and said, “I cannot go to church looking like this.”  The clothes that he was wearing that day were the only clothes he owned and he was so worried about wearing those clothes in the house of God.  I helped his fear and told him God does not care what he is wearing, but God does care if he is in the Church Sunday.

After the lesson my heart was touched by this man who did not own much, but still wanted to wear his best on Sundays.  It made me look on my past life on those Sundays when I did not know what to wear, but I opened my closet full of clothes and still I could not choose. Here this man has nothing and still he wants to wear his best.  The people who really teach me are the people who really are humble. We prayed with him and he said nights he is afraid of the cold. I told him to pray. I think it finally clicked in his head that the power of prayer exists. I learned two things from this experience. First,  if you think you have it bad there is someone else who might have it a little worse. Second, the  power of prayer exists. God answers our prayers. 

She Needs the Gospel and She Knows It

From Cambree King

Teaching in Honduras 

... Carmen got confirmed. She got baptized a few weeks ago (Before I came here), but has never made it back to Church. The father of her two children got in an accident the day of her baptism, so he quit helping her pay for their food. She has been working Sundays simply so that her children can eat. We have tried and tried to help her come to church and this week she committed to come. Her little girl didn’t have milk to drink today, but we promised her that the Lord would bless her for her obedience and He understands her situation. We haven’t had the chance to verify with her, but I know that the Lord will provide. It was an incredible example of faith. She needs the gospel and she knows it.

Imagine Heavenly Father Reaching Out To You

From Karsten Hinckley

Teaching in Thailand 

Things are going well here in Chaing Mai. I will start off with a lesson that we had with one of our investigators. This girl has met with us a few times already and she was telling us how she hasn’t really been praying. We tried to really explain how prayer is the way to get answers to anything and the way to really communicate with our Father in Heaven. 

We had a Church member in that lesson and what he told this girl was something I really liked. He told her to pray, but not only to talk the whole time: to wait and listen. He said that when you are done talking to your Heavenly Father, [you should] keep your eyes closed and wait for Heavenly Father’s response to your prayer. He said that sometimes when you get done you will miss out on what is trying to be related to you. As soon as you open your eyes you could miss out on a special answer. Imagine Heavenly Father reaching out to you with an answer right as you open your eyes. I hope that made sense. It really made me think how I will pray from here on out. 

Another miracle this week was a girl from English class. This past Tuesday she came up to me after we gave our spiritual thought and asked, “How or what do I have to do to go to church?” I said just come at 9 or 1. She said, “Okay, I will come at 1.” I said I would call her Saturday and just remind her. Well, she came that Sunday and she said that she felt the Spirit so strong. That isn’t the miracle though. About two to three months ago a spiritual thought was given about the Word of Wisdom and the Law of Chastity. At the beginning of all of our English classes we teach everyone how to pray and we pray together. She was telling us how since the day of that spiritual thought, she has been praying with her friend to know the truth. She has been praying for the last two to three months on her own. Her friend is not a member either. She even skipped her class at school just to come! She only had time for the sacrament. She asked, “What do I have to do?” We said,  “You have to get baptized.” We will be teaching this girl from here on out. The Lord is truly preparing many of Gods children every day! 

The Lord Will Change Their Hearts

From Cambree King

Teaching in Honduras 

We went to bring Jeimy and Astrid and Ivan to church and, after fishing through all of the excuses of no clothes and whatnot, they just said they don’t want to come. They [told us] we can go visit them every day if we want, but they don’t want to come to church. It was pretty hard to listen to, but we can’t change the desires of their hearts. At lunch, we took some time to pray as companions and we just plead that the Lord would let the Spirit touch their hearts and help us to know what we could do so that they understand why they need to go to church. 

At night, we went to teach them and, without even asking, Astrid said that they will never ever miss another Sunday in their lives. They said they promised to be in church no matter what happened. We were super shocked and so I asked Astrid why. She said the whole hour that they would have been at church she just felt something in her heart. Jeimy said the same thing and they said they knew everything we had taught was true. I was literally amazed. That’s the lesson I learned this week: That if we have faith in the Lord and put our trust completely in Him, He will work the change of heart in the people.