Week 29; Prayers Answered 🙏🏻

Photo Album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/QuW5JQQJL6emqhb68 We had an exchange with the Zone Leaders on tuesday and I was with Elder Ridgwell. We were in Northside and we pretty much just went downtown for most of the day talking to people. I've had a few exchanges with Elder Ridgwell in the past and so it was nice to be with him again. During our time downtime we encountered some cool people. This one guy had read the whole Book of Mormon and was citing scriptures from it. During our conversation with this elect guy, a random dude walks up who we've never seen before and puts down his bag, pulls out a Book of Mormon, hands it to the guy we were talking with, and just walks away while saying absolutely nothing the whole time. Might be John the Beloved. During our knocking block at the end of our day we knocked into this elect lady named Breonna who talked to us from her balcony. I knew she was cool when we asked her if she thinks there's more word of god out there and she said, "Well then show it to me." We didn't have any copies of the book of mormon on us and fortunately she lives 4 minutes from the church and so we drove to the church, grabbed a Book of mormon, and drove back within 10 minutes. She was waiting for us and opened the door and we got to give her a copy. She was awesome. Me and Elder Ridgwell had an amazing day. We had an exchange with Southside on Thursday and I was with Elder Williams. He's so funny and nonchalant. I was in Northside again and we had a good day. I was in his district when I was over in Hershey and so it's good to see him again. We had no lessons go through and so it was just a day of finding. During our referral knocking block we went to stop by Ke'na who had sent in a referral to meet with us. She lived in these ginormous apartment towers and we walked up and saw these people bumping rap music and sitting on these benches. We invited them to church and this lady said that she'd talked with missionaries before, it was Ke'na! What a coincidence to see her there. We got to give her a Book of mormon and she wants to be baptized aswell. Unfortunately her financial and living situation is pretty bad and so it's gonna be hard to work with her. Elder Williams is so awesome, we had a great day together. We've been teaching this 15yr old girl Isabella and she's so elect. She had sent in a referral and just wanted to check out our church. She lives with her mom and they all go to church but not necessarily together. During our lesson with Isabella for the first time the mom was just chilling on the couch doom scrolling on TikTok on full blast and she just doesn't care where Isabella goes to church. We had another lesson where we talked about the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with her. It was so good and we brought up her being baptized in 3 weeks and she's so excited. So we were able to put her on date for April 12th when she came church on sunday for our special palm sunday service. During that lesson aswell we taught her how to pray and she's been praying with people and inviting them to our church. She's already a missionary. She loved church since we had our easter service and it was some very spiritually edifying music, she was crying the whole time. Believing blood. We've also been teaching this awesome guy named Louis who's from the Ivory Coast in Africa. We had a lesson with him on Wednesday morning and it was powerful. He's been to a few of our services in Africa and he had some words about the mormons. We cleared up some misconceptions he had about mormons and he didn't know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the same thing as the mormons. We talked to him about the Book of Mormon and baptism and he took it so well. He used to hate mormons but the spirit really touched him. I felt impressed to extend him the date of April 19th for baptism and he accepted! We asked him to say a prayer at the end and refused because he felt he sinned against god for denying the mormons all his life. He's such an amazing guy. Ether 12:4 "Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God." Ether 12:4 is an amazing scripture that speaks directly to the heart of what it means to have faith in God and the transformative power of hope. It encapsulates the idea that believing in God isn't just an intellectual assent; it's an anchor that changes how we navigate life. The phrase "might with surety hope for a better world" suggests that our faith isn't just about escaping the troubles of this world but about gaining a perspective that's rooted in something greater. It's like having a GPS that recalibrates our journey, reminding us there's a destination beyond our immediate struggles. This hope isn't wishful thinking; it's a confident expectation grounded in God's promises. The imagery of being at the "right hand of God" gives a sense of intimacy and privilege. It's a place of honor, where we're not just servants but heirs, welcomed into a relationship with the Divine. This isn't about earning a spot; it's about the generosity of God extending an invitation. The verse highlights that this hope "cometh of faith" and acts as an "anchor to the souls of men." An anchor stabilizes a ship in somtimes treacherous waters, and similarly, our faith in God stabilizes us amid life's storms. It's not about avoiding the waves but about being secure despite them. This anchor doesn't just hold us steady; it enables us to "abound in good works." When we're anchored in God's love, our actions reflect that security. The end goal isn't just personal salvation but glorifying God. It's a beautiful cycle: faith leads to hope, hope anchors us, and that anchored life overflows into actions that reflect God's goodness. With Love, Elder Batman