Monday, February 9, 2015

Zion

Greetings!!

This week has been remarkable. A zone fun day Monday, Zone conference Tuesday, Zone Meeting and Exchange Thursday, Temple Saturday and Speaking in church on Sunday. It kinda has felt like a lifetime! :) 

Zone Conference was absolutely fantastic!! We reviewed 2014 and set visions and goals for 2015! This year is going to be epic! Last year we had  the greatest increase in Sacrament attendance in North America Northeast! WOOT WOOT! (Meaning we had the highest retention and reactivation!) My biggest Ah hah moments were as follows:

-The only righteous judgement we can make is "How can I help you?". (Matthew 7:1) That is the ONLY thing we can judge in righteousness. 

-One aspect of our Mission Legacy we have established is to be Zion. One heart, One mind. It has truly transformed how I think. My success comes from the diligence and obedience of others. I can qualify for grace on my own account- create Zion, one mind with God- individually. We can qualify for grace as a companionship- unified together. And as a District-- etc.. SO the principle here is- My behavior directly effects the whole mission. Because a companionship in my district has become more diligent we have seen a GREAT increase in success this transfer. I know its a true principle. SOO- My question was, does this translate to my life after the mission- my future family? YES. One members obedience blesses the rest of the family. For example- my temple attendance enables my child to receive strength (grace) through being bullied. etc. Right now, my missionary service provides grace for my parents finances and Zac's transition into the real world. On the contrary- one members disobedience effects the whole family. We are only as strong as our weakest link. We are welding and bound together to encourage, bless and inspire one another to ALL enter into God's rest. We have the responsibility to look out for each other- to ask that question- "How can I help?" There is no room for judgement. It hinders our progression and destroys Zion.

-Satan desires to divide and isolate. This one hit me real good- whenever we have that urge to "just be alone" it is a red flag of the adversary. BECAUSE Christ only gathers and embraces. So if I get into that mode of being an island- Oh I just need to get away- go to the gym. vs. "Hey Kell- want to come to the gym with me?? It will be a lot of fun!!" There is a huge contrast. Outward vs. inward. We are to gather the isolated and rescue the downtrodden (even if it is ourself)

-God gives us trials to teach us what we're made of!

-We must be the ones that GO! God wants the very thing we do not want to sacrifice/give up. The moment we say No-- We are finished. We are damned. For example. Our friends who did not choose to accept God's invitation to serve him- to serve a mission are stuck. Damned until there time is  up. When we get home they will be playing the same video games, hanging out at that same corner with the same beat up truck. This hit me hard too!! Progression is halted until they don't have the ability to serve God anymore (aged too old). Chew on that one.

As you can clearly see... it was quite the revelatory experience. We must go into every meeting expecting revelation. and you get it. It is quite amazing. Come with questions and you will receive guidance :)

Attending the temple was amazing!!! We had 3 recent converts come down with us- The baptistry was packed! About half the mission was invited to come to the Louisville Temple with their RC that haven't attended on the condition of bringing their own family names. It was a very powerful experience. I SOO want to work in the temple. We dressed in our whites and gave towels out.... to our dear sweet friends. This ward and converts have truly become my family!! It was a choice experience. BUT THEN!! President Porter comes up to several of us sisters and said He would baptize us at the end if there was enough time before the session ended!! Yes. I was able to be baptized for 15+ names. My goodness. It was exhilarating. and an intimate experience. President Porter really is my mission dad. He has taught me so much. It was a privilege. The spirit was so thick. 

This transfer we have put a huge focus on making our Zone a family. Its been kinda tough- haven't tried so hard before hahah! There are some islands in our Zone. BUT during Zone Meeting I finally felt it. All those Elders are my brothers and my sweet sisters are my blood sisters. It really makes the work more enjoyable but also PROGRESS more rapidly. So cool. 

OH! and I spoke in sacrament! The first time I've been nervous to teach in a long while! Pa King called Saturday night at 8:30 and asked me to speak on my favorite new testament hero.... (I dont know the  NT as well as I should.....) We planned and then I had a good half hour to read some things. I woke. I studied for a good.... half hour and was off for 3 hours of meetings before church. SO huge amounts of grace poured down and I actually did alright. My Patriarchal Blessing always keeps me in line "accept every call as it comes, even if you feel inadequate or you don't want to do it." HA HA!!! Everytime we accept a commitment- our faith increases!! :) (it also got our gators to church too ;)

I love you so much family. The work is moving along! Ashley and Trista are going to be baptized on Friday. SO many miracles are happening. They are changing everyday. More light is being introduced everyday. I just wish you could just be a fly on the wall... God is so good. He is so powerful. He has carried me through my weakness and infirmity. Remember: THIS BATTLE WILL MAKE YOU GLORIOUS!

Love,
Sister Watts





No comments:

Post a Comment