To Teach People, Not Lessons
May 14, 2012 email
The only way people learn is through the Spirit, and I have greatly increased my sensitivity to the Spirit. I can tell when we need to leave… and then we spend 30 more minutes there hahaha. I can tell when we aren’t accomplishing our goals. Goals are the only way we can improve. Accomplishing goals is the way we can mark progress. Commandments are for our improvement and safety. If we are obedient, we have access to all blessings promised in the scriptures; and we are closer to fulfilling our important work here on this earth that only WE can do.
I love the earth. It is beautiful here. I love every tree and flower and have yet to find a love for the mosquitoes. I am thankful for bug spray and pummle stones. (Yes, I don’t know how to spell that. I’m lucky I remembered the word.) I’m thankful for clothes and the smell of… that fruit here that looks like a tomato. I seek daily to be like the missionaries of Helaman. Yes, they are missionaries because they fulfilled every command with exactness and “they never had fought, yet they did not fear death.” Two thousand missionaries are the exact amount in the Provo MTC, and they are the products of the sons of Mosiah. I would love to convert a group of people who train their sons and prepare them to be missionaries, too.
Breakthroughs equal miracles. Miracles DO exist. I am a walking example of it. At times, I can’t understand someone; but when I speak, I always speak with the Spirit because it is only through the gift of tongues that I speak and glory in the work and blessings of the Lord. Now, I just need to have faith to open my mouth more. I use every moment to its utmost capacity, and I LOVE IT. However, it is easy to “space out” during conversations; because now that I understand the gist of conversations, I slack off and don’t try to understand the details. When that happens, I lose the Spirit and my mind goes blank when I do have a chance to talk. I understand more than ever how to teach people and not lessons. It’s tough because, here, it’s not about listening to the investigators talk and talk. You could be trapped for HOURS if you do that. It’s about applying their life stories to gospel principles and asking inspired questions that make them think. Mateus (My favorite. Can you tell?) was asked last time, “What do you think God thinks of you?” Way to go, Sister DeOliveira! He was very quiet after that. During that lesson, all we did was read scriptures and ask rhetorical questions. We found out that he hasn’t been reading on his own nor praying. He reads with his girlfriend, but now it’s his time to find out what he wants for himself. It’s tough to decipher when to cut the strings, though, because the people here grow very slowly; and we need more time to find out.
I know more deeply than ever that every person I pass by is MY sibling. If I want an eternal family, then that includes the homeless man on the street whose feet I want to wash. It includes the pro-league soccer goalie, whom I’m teaching about the Sabbath Day. Heaven won’t be a party if the mass capacity of the dance floor isn’t reached. I want all to experience the joy of the Plan of Salvation now here on earth because they won’t be given a “do over” here in mortality. Not only that, but I know that we will become gods and goddesses like our Heavenly Father and Mother. If they one day will reach the title of God, shouldn’t I treat them with reverence now? Teach them how it could be in the future and how it should be if everyone realized the blessed depth of the Plan of Salvation and helped each other reach our destiny. Oh, how we must keep the commandments, and the most important of them all is to love God and love others as we love ourselves!
Faith is the key to happiness. We must remember that God will provide a way to accomplish all commandments. Therefore, have faith to take that leap into the unknown because you want to be obedient. I finally realize now that faith is difficult for me to grasp because—humbly and honestly—it has always been my root, my nourishment. I have lived the commandments my whole life, not needing to question, because I’ve never had hardships that have shaken my faith. 1 Corinthians 10:13, I have faith that I can endure all that God challenges me with, so why should I doubt? I have never had tough challenges because I have never SEEN them as tough challenges. I am rooted in the faith of my Father’s will. I am willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon me, even as a child doth submit to his father. Mosiah 3:19
While teaching Cremelda on Friday, I realized that although Lenne and my companion were there, I was the one with the most amount of years under my belt as being a member of the church. Craziness! Lenne is a member. We call her “Blacky Mama.” The other day, we encountered a miracle with her. We didn’t know, but she and her non-member husband were thinking of separating. The night he was packing some stuff, we picked up Lenne to assist us with Cremelda. Sister DeO started talking to her husband on her way to use the bathroom. Lenne came up, too, and we had a prayer with them. I prayed for the thanks we had for their strength as a family. Before the prayer, Sister DeO had talked to him about marrying Lenne in the temple. After the prayer, Sister DeO and Lenne were crying. Sister DeO then said she felt very strongly that the two needed to pray together that night and work together to get married in the temple.
Cremelda is our investigator who is 40-something and never been married, no kids. She struggles with smoking and some other commandments. We had her down for the 20th to be baptized, but she needs more time to fulfill self-doubts. She is really beautiful in the face… Can I say that? Well, I just did. She has her own decorations shop, where she makes headbands with flowers and beaded stuff. She’s really talented. She made us banana bread, but they call it cake.
Loves you all!
The only way people learn is through the Spirit, and I have greatly increased my sensitivity to the Spirit. I can tell when we need to leave… and then we spend 30 more minutes there hahaha. I can tell when we aren’t accomplishing our goals. Goals are the only way we can improve. Accomplishing goals is the way we can mark progress. Commandments are for our improvement and safety. If we are obedient, we have access to all blessings promised in the scriptures; and we are closer to fulfilling our important work here on this earth that only WE can do.
I love the earth. It is beautiful here. I love every tree and flower and have yet to find a love for the mosquitoes. I am thankful for bug spray and pummle stones. (Yes, I don’t know how to spell that. I’m lucky I remembered the word.) I’m thankful for clothes and the smell of… that fruit here that looks like a tomato. I seek daily to be like the missionaries of Helaman. Yes, they are missionaries because they fulfilled every command with exactness and “they never had fought, yet they did not fear death.” Two thousand missionaries are the exact amount in the Provo MTC, and they are the products of the sons of Mosiah. I would love to convert a group of people who train their sons and prepare them to be missionaries, too.
Breakthroughs equal miracles. Miracles DO exist. I am a walking example of it. At times, I can’t understand someone; but when I speak, I always speak with the Spirit because it is only through the gift of tongues that I speak and glory in the work and blessings of the Lord. Now, I just need to have faith to open my mouth more. I use every moment to its utmost capacity, and I LOVE IT. However, it is easy to “space out” during conversations; because now that I understand the gist of conversations, I slack off and don’t try to understand the details. When that happens, I lose the Spirit and my mind goes blank when I do have a chance to talk. I understand more than ever how to teach people and not lessons. It’s tough because, here, it’s not about listening to the investigators talk and talk. You could be trapped for HOURS if you do that. It’s about applying their life stories to gospel principles and asking inspired questions that make them think. Mateus (My favorite. Can you tell?) was asked last time, “What do you think God thinks of you?” Way to go, Sister DeOliveira! He was very quiet after that. During that lesson, all we did was read scriptures and ask rhetorical questions. We found out that he hasn’t been reading on his own nor praying. He reads with his girlfriend, but now it’s his time to find out what he wants for himself. It’s tough to decipher when to cut the strings, though, because the people here grow very slowly; and we need more time to find out.
I know more deeply than ever that every person I pass by is MY sibling. If I want an eternal family, then that includes the homeless man on the street whose feet I want to wash. It includes the pro-league soccer goalie, whom I’m teaching about the Sabbath Day. Heaven won’t be a party if the mass capacity of the dance floor isn’t reached. I want all to experience the joy of the Plan of Salvation now here on earth because they won’t be given a “do over” here in mortality. Not only that, but I know that we will become gods and goddesses like our Heavenly Father and Mother. If they one day will reach the title of God, shouldn’t I treat them with reverence now? Teach them how it could be in the future and how it should be if everyone realized the blessed depth of the Plan of Salvation and helped each other reach our destiny. Oh, how we must keep the commandments, and the most important of them all is to love God and love others as we love ourselves!
Faith is the key to happiness. We must remember that God will provide a way to accomplish all commandments. Therefore, have faith to take that leap into the unknown because you want to be obedient. I finally realize now that faith is difficult for me to grasp because—humbly and honestly—it has always been my root, my nourishment. I have lived the commandments my whole life, not needing to question, because I’ve never had hardships that have shaken my faith. 1 Corinthians 10:13, I have faith that I can endure all that God challenges me with, so why should I doubt? I have never had tough challenges because I have never SEEN them as tough challenges. I am rooted in the faith of my Father’s will. I am willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon me, even as a child doth submit to his father. Mosiah 3:19
While teaching Cremelda on Friday, I realized that although Lenne and my companion were there, I was the one with the most amount of years under my belt as being a member of the church. Craziness! Lenne is a member. We call her “Blacky Mama.” The other day, we encountered a miracle with her. We didn’t know, but she and her non-member husband were thinking of separating. The night he was packing some stuff, we picked up Lenne to assist us with Cremelda. Sister DeO started talking to her husband on her way to use the bathroom. Lenne came up, too, and we had a prayer with them. I prayed for the thanks we had for their strength as a family. Before the prayer, Sister DeO had talked to him about marrying Lenne in the temple. After the prayer, Sister DeO and Lenne were crying. Sister DeO then said she felt very strongly that the two needed to pray together that night and work together to get married in the temple.
Cremelda is our investigator who is 40-something and never been married, no kids. She struggles with smoking and some other commandments. We had her down for the 20th to be baptized, but she needs more time to fulfill self-doubts. She is really beautiful in the face… Can I say that? Well, I just did. She has her own decorations shop, where she makes headbands with flowers and beaded stuff. She’s really talented. She made us banana bread, but they call it cake.
Loves you all!