Sister Edholm - week 2

This week has been amazing! I have talked so much about how there is no such thing as coincidences. It isn't coincidence that I got called to Scotland/Ireland, it isn't coincidence that Sister Bair is my companion, it isn't coincidence that Sister Harkness was sick the first week and we were able to teach Brother Robertson's investigator "Eron" instead. There are no coincidences, God knows what challenges and what experiences we need to make us stronger.

Also I had the two most influential lessons this past week. The first lesson was on "How to Begin teaching Part 1" and Sister Harkness and Brother Hunter taught us. I learned so much from them, I learned that we need to plan and then rely on the Spirit in our lessons and RELAX. It's okay if you don't have every answer to a question. That night Sister Bair and I taught probably the best lesson that night after that lesson because we were relaxed and everything went as planned. The lesson before we had asked her to read the Book of Mormon and so this lesson she had some questions for us. She asked us about Nephi killing Laban and she wondered which chapter it was in and I looked down after opening my scriptures and read the first heading I saw and IT WAS IT!! So I said chapter 4 and then she asked us why he did it and I looked down again and I saw verse 6 which says, "And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do." We then talked about how he got the prompting 3 times. Anyway it was such a good lesson and everything went as planned and it is because I applied the doctrine of the lesson. I realize that that's not going to happen every time, but I learned a good lesson that I just need to relax. 

Side note: There was also another lesson that we had the day before with Brother Wilford where we did this role play where our "investigator" (One of the people from our district) picked a question that they were struggling with and then we would pick a scripture to help them in the moment. I was terrified nonetheless. I was of course the missionary and I was paired with Sister Taylor. She asked me why she had to go to church if she was doing the best she could to be good and life was going great. I could not find a scripture and I was searching for a good 2 minutes and finally Brother Wilford came over and helped me. He knew that I couldn't find a scripture and he said that was okay he said, "I don't know that answer right now, but during our next lesson I will have researched it and let you know, but my companion (me) has an experience where she found an answer by a scripture" and then he turned the time over to me and I told her my experience and shared my scripture. From that I realized that your own experiences can be as powerful to the investigator, really no one is a perfect missionary and knows every answer without research, unless your Jesus. It was a stressful situation.

Influential lesson 2: Yesterday we had a part 2 with Brother Wilford on How to Begin Teaching, but we focused more on the last bullet point in the section, where when you meet someone you tell them your purpose as a missionary. I never realized and my purpose never clicked as much as it did then. I know why I am here now. It was such a powerful lesson. The thing that was even more powerful about it was that he had said before that the lesson that the lesson he had prepared was not coming together and so he changed the lesson on the spot of what he was going to teach it and it ended up being the lesson that I needed to realize why am I here and not to be so scared of telling people what our purpose is and that as we talk to them that they will want to be baptized, it doesn't have to be so bold that they get scared away.

Also I have all 42 principles memorized and I am working on memorizing scriptures to go with them!!

xoxo

Sister Edholm