No Doubt About It!

From Jonah Bench

Teaching in New York

So I had have had companions for the last six months of my mission who are struggling with obedience and motivation and desire. My current companion also struggles with obedience and diligence and is going home soon. He is my friend and I want him to have a good end to his mission. So the last four companions are struggling missionaries. I have been privileged to become a tool in the Lord's hand to help these missionaries. 

The last six months has been tough, I got sick from stress and that led to me having to go home to get my tonsils out. Now I'm back and the companions I have had are again those who need help. I have really loved seeing them change to become better! I have loved seeing the Atonement of Jesus Christ our Savior work in the lives of the missionaries I have worked with. I can't do squat on my own! I would be faced with concerns they have and things they need to talk about and have no idea how to approach it! But I'd say a quick prayer and then things would become clearer. I would be able to discern what they needed to hear. That is a testimony to me that the Lord will bless us with help and direction and what those around us need. I know this is the Lord's work. No doubt about it! Otherwise a bunch of 18-20 year old kids would have messed it up a long time ago!  

Heavenly Father Will Put Us In All Situations We Need To Be In

From Karsten Hinckley

Teaching in Thailand 

On our way home last night we were walking by this abandoned market. I saw man who was sitting there and felt impressed to go talk to him. As we talked I asked if he wanted to go to church 20 yards away and he said yeah. This man is homeless, but he was willing to come. We showed him around the church and asked if he liked to read. He said he did, so we gave him a Book of Mormon. We invited him to come to church this next Sunday. If he takes some time to read he will come to know that Jesus is the Christ. He was a really humble man from everything he told us. 

Today at church one of our investigators brought her daughter. She came up to us after and asked for the Book of Mormon so she could read it. This little 10 year old girl came up and asked for a Book of Mormon! "I want to read it," she said. Wow! Never had that happen before. She is a really smart! In primary she listened as they read and liked it. She wanted it, so we gave it to her.

We went to this market last P Day. When we were about to head home we went into this gift shop because there was AC [air conditioning]. We were just walking around when a lady asked what we were doing. We told her who we were and so forth. She said, “I haven’t seen the Elders for 20 years now." She is a member of the Chruch. As we talked to her she said she hasn’t been to church in a long time. She didn’t even know about the temple. She said she might not be able to see the temple because of her cancer. I don’t know if she was happy to see us or not.We told the Elders in that area about her and told her she needs to be visited.  Heavenly Father will put us all in situations that we need to be in for whatever reason. 

She Carries a Light With Her

From Brooklyn Winn

Teaching in Argentina

I have been seeing miracles. One day it was raining and we stopped at [a] house and talked to this guy really fast. He said that we could pass by another day. We passed by another day and we met his girlfriend at the door. She let us in and we started talking.

We talked about prayer and how it is so important to pray. Then she asked us a question: Who was Joseph Smith? We started teaching about the restoration and gave her a Book of Mormon. She immediately asked when we were coming back.

So two days after this lesson, we went back started talking and we asked her how her prayers are going. She said, "Good." then we began talking about the Book of Mormon. She was so interested about Nefi [Nephi]. She has read, like, ten chapters and could tell us what exactly happened. She now believes in Joseph Smith and in the Book of Mormon. We taught her about the Plan of Salvation and are teaching her the last lesson tomorrow. This all happened in a week. We saw the first day that she was good, but now she carries a light with her. It is so fun to see the changes in people. Really, that is what touches my heart. I see the light in their faces and that makes me want to change even more. I love the moments like that.

Her Answer Came from a Voice in the Light

From Karsten Hinckley

Teaching in Thailand 

Miracles! When I first got to Bangna I found English referrals in my desk and I almost didn’t call any of them. I was prompted to call them though, and I found one man out of the 10 or 15 that were in my desk. After a 30 minute conversation with this man he asked me, "Do I need to get baptized again?" From that day I prayed for this man. He has had a question whether Joseph Smith was a prophet or not. After 3 months of praying, fasting, and working with this man he got his answer. He was baptized yesterday! During his testimony he said, "The missionaries never gave up on me." I felt a great feeling of satisfaction from that. I had so much joy for him! I gave him such a big hug! 

Another woman was baptized as well. I will tell you a little about her story. Two years ago, she prayed to God. She asked, "Help me feel of your love and to know when I find it." After that she met the sister missionaries. They talked to her about the Book of Mormon, but she rejected it. A few weeks ago she met one of the missionaries in my house. He asked her about baptism and she told him that she had already been baptized. A few days later I guess I met her (I really don’t remember meeting her. We meet a ton of people every day.). She gave me her number. What she thought was, "Oh he will never call, so sure I’ll give him my number." I called her three times and she said no all three times. I then crossed her out of my planner. 

One day we needed to find another new investigator, so Elder Noyce and I looked through our planners. I found that lady I crossed out of my planner. I called her and, after a few minutes of talking, she agreed to meet. We met with her and explained how the Gospel has been restored by a prophet (Joseph Smith). We asked her to pray about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. Between the time she got her answer and our first visit, she went back to her old church. She said," I just felt really bad. I didn’t like what they were talking about at all." One night after praying, she was awakened by a celestial presence. She told us, "I don’t know it if was a dream or real, but I got my answer. A bright light came into my room and I was awakened. I woke up and couldn’t see a thing. I shut my eyes and tried to go back to sleep. A voice from the light said, ‘Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and the Book of Mormon is true.’  Elders I got my answer." She has told us a few times that she feels Gods love when she is here. She was baptized yesterday! I am so happy for her! 

Confirming Miracles

From Cambree King

Teaching in Honduras

On Sunday, we had planned a day of contacting because we are in need of new people. We were knocking doors and we met a family; it’s a mom her daughter and two grand kids. Turns out that on Sunday, they were cleaning their house and they found a book of Mormon that the missionaries gave them. They had read some before and they decided on Sunday that they wanted to know more.

Well, the Lord truly guides us to where we need to be because we showed up just a few minutes afterward to explain the restoration and the importance of the Book of Mormon. It’s one of those miracles that confirms that we are in the work of the Lord and doing what He needs.