Monday, May 5, 2014

Greetings From Sunny South London

Dear everybody,

This week has been great. Not much to report regarding investigators. We are still trying to build up our teaching pool. I was quite impressed with the articles that the Assistants and also the Eastbourne Elders wrote for the Harvester. After reading it on Saturday night, I felt that we could be doing more to increase our teaching pool. As it turns out, the solution seems to be simple planning smarter- ensure there is time for contacting between each and every appointment and keep things interesting by always being on the move! They said something in particular that struck me, "rarely did the Saviour have set appointments, he did most of his work while He was travelling." I thought about that and it is so true! What a wonderful insight! We set goals and made plans to talk to more people (everyone we possibly could, within reason), followed through, and saw miracles. We met several people who seem to be prepared to receive the Gospel.

I also learnt a lesson regarding persistence. Now, usually, I'm quite a persistent person... but when it comes to contacting and a conversation is going on and on and it doesn't seem like it's going anywhere I start to get a bit flustered. My mind starts to wander a bit. I just want the conversation to be over and to talk to any one of the hundreds of people walking by... but that isn't right. We stopped someone and they've stopped and we owe them our time and attention, even if what they have to say isn't quite what we want to hear. Yesterday we were talking to this guy who used to be a Jehovah's Witness but now does NOT like organised religion. We talked and talked and talked... on three seperate occasions I almost just ended the conversation... but for whatever reason, I felt we shouldn't. We kept talking and in the end, he actually was quite interested. If we give these people the time they deserve, we are also giving the Holy Ghost the time HE deserves to work on the hearts of these people.

I am also really grateful for the AUF project. We are finding some great people from it.  the Lord is also softening the hearts of these people and those that live around them. The way things are going, by the end of this week, our teaching pool will be composed almost entirely of people found from the AUF project. What a blessing.

I also love the goal our Zone has set to read the Book of Mormon in a transfer. I feel my testimony of it strengthening even more! I love reading it cover to cover because it allows me to "connect the dots" more, relate one story to another, and simply read it in the way Heavely Father laid it out! When you read Chapter 3 of Preach My Gospel, you get a similar effect. When we read with the Spirit, we can be informed regularly that these things are true and divine in nature. I would invite all of you to join me in beginning the Book of Mormon. It is so powerful and so true. It changes lives. I'm not going to ask all of you to read it by June 1st (which is the deadline I've given myself) but I'd invite you all to start reading!!!

I am really grateful as well to have my wonderful cousin, Sarah, as a member of the Catford Ward for my last few weeks of my mission. Who would've thought that was going to happen? The tender mercies of the Lord are real. It was also awesome to see BOTH Sarahs yesterday at Stake Conference. I feel like I see people from home all the time hahahaha apparently an Apostle once counselled missionaries "if you can't avoid it, enjoy it." I haven't been able to verify that, but I like it haha.

I'd also like to share two talks with all of you that I listened to this week and really struck me. Throughout my mission, I've developed a deep love of the word of the Lord as given through his inspired servants. Often times, throughout my mission, when God wants to communicate directly to me, he does so in the form of a that is sent to me or that I find in a shelf in our flat. Anyways, here a couple that I loved this week. The first is by Neal A. Maxwell and deals with our unique view of "Pre-mortality", the belief that we lived with God before we were born, a doctrine unique to our church. The second is a talk that I love by President Monson because it's just awesome.



This week will be good! We have Zone Conference in Crawley tomorrow. It goes without saying that I am excited.

I love you all so much! Have a wonderful week!!! :)

With love,
Elder Frederickson

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