Hello again my fellow loved ones :) LUIS WAS BAPTIZED!! OODALALLEY!!! I love Luis So much! It really has been such a privilege to be able to witness his conversion, to watch his countenance change completely. There were countless miracles God performed every step of the way. And it was really amazing to see him change. When we first started seeing him, he was into a lot anti-mormon literature and caught up in different things of the world. We could tell when he had spent his time on the internet, for his eyes were dark, they appeared cloudy even. But how great is our Father in Heaven! The power of the Holy Ghost is so incredible, it is penetrating and transforming. As he cleaved to the Book of Mormon, as he cried unto the Father for forgiveness and for strength, as he opened his heart and his mind, letting go of every doubt and gratification, his eyes became brighter and brighter, and this weekend, as he came out of the waters, his entire countenance seemed to be radiating light! He is so happy, so grateful, so excited and eager to serve, to help, to lift, and to love. Our ward is fantastic. I love them so much. I really am so grateful to our Father in Heaven to have been so graciously welcomed into their arms. And not only me, but Luis and Arnold, and Sue, and Binh. They are so kind, so loving, so giving - and surely they have opened their eyes to observe, then serve, offering everything they can to help. I love them. And I love Luis.
Miracle lesson with Sue - our wonderful Chinese friend!! Its been a real struggle teaching her, for reasons that need not be explained. But oh how we love her! She is so great. She is always so excited and eager to come to any and every activity we invite her to. We felt prompted to watch Joseph: Prophet of the Restoration with her (thanks to you Momma for sending it to us via the Starks) and afterward, we taught the Restoration again - but this time using paper and pen, drawing out the things we were teaching her. And she got it!! She didn't get distracted once!!! It really was such a miracle!! She's been very afraid and confused about baptism, but she's getting it and she said in church after watching Luis both be baptized then confirmed - "I need to prepare myself for this!!" haha Heavenly Father knows and loves His children!!
Oh, and I love Arnold. SOOO much!
I wanted to share with you a thought inspired by my former AP, Elder Johnson. When we consider our bodies, our movement, our speech, our minds, our eyes, our hearts - though they appear to function effortlessly and with ease, its marvelous to consider just how complex and incredible they are! Every heart beat is a miracle, and yet so easily overlooked and forgotten. But just because people aren't anxiously awaiting in eager anticipation for the next move a heart will make, is it any less of a miracle? Albert Einstein once said "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." How often do we treat our days like a heartbeat? How often do we overlook the miracles around us because we aren't humble enough to open our eyes and see?
In chapter 29, Alma cries out, saying "O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto EVERY people! Yea, I would declare unto EVERY soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth. But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me." Elder Johnson said, "I sin in my wish to do more than I am able; to expect over bearing miracles at every corner. I have come to realize that every person I talk to and every door I knock is a heartbeat; easily forgotten, but a miracle that keeps me going."
Its sad, that people don't seem to appreciate the quiet, but steady beat their heart makes until it beats no more. One day, my mission will end. One day, Liza, you'll no longer be at home, with the family we love so dearly. One day, Emma, you won't have a wonderful piano teacher - patiently working with you, shaping you into the incredible pianist you have become. One day Ryan, Shelly, you'll no longer be in dental school, no longer with the family. Dad, Mom, one day your house will be empty and your children grown. This doesn't mean we should look to the future with lamenting, but rather the opposite! We should look forward with excitement and with hope, for how great are the miracles and the blessings we have now, how great are the miracles and the blessings to come!
President Riggs is having us rely heavily on the members. With our new and marvelous commandment given us by President from our Father in Heaven, we are sacrificing much of our tracting time in order to visit the members of our ward, following up with them every week to see what revelation they have received as to how we can help them in their efforts to bless the lives of their friends and family with this incredible gospel. Fear and doubt are definitely big factors that keep us from doing the Lord's work. But if you love our Father in Heaven, if you truly appreciate all that our Savior has done for us, we won't hesitate, we won't return to our comfortable and original ways, but we will pray for revelation and go about, doing good and inviting others to learn. We can't let Satan keep us back, we can't let him lull us into a sense of security. Seek for revelation, and act on it! Heavenly Father can't trust us with the eternal salvation of His precious children if we have not the faith or the willingness to act. And its ok if you are rejected, Christ was too. Our beloved Apostle, Elder Holland said, "Don't you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead. Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don't come until heaven. But for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ they come. It will be all right in the end. Trust God and believe in the good things to come..." "So we have neighbors to bless, children to protect, the poor to lift up, and the truth to defend. We have wrongs to make right, truths to share, and good to do. In short we have a life of devoted discipleship to give in demonstrating our love of the Lord. We can't quit and we can't go back. After and encounter with the living Son of the living God, nothing is ever again to be as it was before... Having set our hand to the plough, we will never look back until this work is finished and love of God and neighbor rules the world." This work, missionary work, is the MOST IMPORTANT work we can be doing. Members and missionaries work hand in hand. Cast in your lines everyone as Elder Heffrie Dunn said. And together we will do the work of our Father, bringing in thousands through the net we have formed.
I love you. With all my heart.
LOVE, SISTER JULIA JEPPSEN
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| Its beginning to look a lot like CHRISTMAS!!! ok.. maybe just an extremely cold Halloween |
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| Luis :) |
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| Sister Nanto - the sweetest most wonderful Japanese member :) Her house is basically Japan. She's got the most incredible garden in all of Virginia! Oh and she brings us endless supplies of grapes cuz she's great |
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| Starks and Luis |
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