I love being a missionary!!
Hey, everyone! Hope all is well with you!
So to start this email off I wanted to give a update on some technical things for a minute so bear with me.
In our church different congregations are split up into groups called wards, or branches depending on the size. Then a group of usually about 6-9 wards or branches then make up a Stake. Sorry if this is confusing but it is important to what I have to say! :)
So in our Stake, the South St.Louis Stake, they created a new ward. They announced the boundary changes about a week ago. That new ward took parts of three different wards including Webster Groves Ward, the ward I have been serving in.
So us missionaries were wondering who would be covering the new ward because they needed missionaries. Elder Johnson and I actually live just inside the new ward boundaries so we thought we would be a likely candidate. But we had no further details until about a day later.
Monday night we get a call from our Zone Leaders informing us that we would be the new missionaries covering the new ward! The wards name is the Meramec River ward. At first I was kinda bummed, I loved serving in Webster Groves, I developed some great relationships with ward members and the friends we are teaching so I'm sad we will be losing them. After a few days of feeling kinda sad though, I started to get really excited!
I mean getting to be the first missionaries in a ward ever that is kinda cool!! So I was really excited to go to our new ward on Sunday. Also we are staying in our same apartment which is really nice!
So Sunday rolls around, we show up to church. Everyone is excited and kinda nervous. It is everyone's first Sunday!
When we sat in our seats after greeting ward members I looked up and saw more people on the stand than was normal. Oh, I thought we have some visitors. I recognized some. Our area 70 and his wife. But then there was another couple that looked super familiar but I couldn't put a name to their faces.
Our Bishop gets up and introduces the visitors. Turns out the couple I couldn't recognize were President and Brother Bingham! President Jean B. Bingham is our general Relief Society President!!
It was so cool to be in the same sacrament meeting as them. They both gave some short remarks. President Bingham focused her remarks on Charity, the pure love of Christ.
After that awesome meeting and second hour we had like 3 families come up to us and offer to feed us! We really want to work with the members in this new ward to get the work moving forward and that was an answer to prayers!!
I am super pumped to get to work in this new ward, teach new people and get to know so many others! It will be awesome!
To end I'd like to share a quick spiritual thought. I don't have a quote or scripture to reference today, just wanted to share some thoughts I've been having recently.
So I've been focusing on making my prayers more meaningful and sincere. Really trying to communicate with Heavenly Father rather than just dump my problems on Him and end the conversation.
I have found that slowing down and thinking while praying has helped. Also trying to visualize what I am praying about. The faces of those in our teaching pool. Family back home, the work. Just trying to picture things helps it become more real to me and makes my prayers more real and heartfelt! As I have tried to do this, and I'm still working on it, I have a long ways to go. But I've noticed a difference in my prayers, even if it's not a whole lot I've noticed a difference. I know you can to if you make that effort and I invite you to do so!!
Hope you are all staying safe and happy. Remember to trust in the Lord and like a punny sign I saw today on our way to Walmart says:
"Fall for the Lord, He will never Leave"
Haha :) God won't give up on us so don't give up on him!! Love, Elder Spencer
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