The feature film of life

SAN DIEGO — Happy Birthday, Juli and Dad, I hope your BBQ/ Birthday party was good.

I can’t believe football season has started. I can’t believe things are cooling off for you. I can’t believe summer is over. This is where time starts getting weird for me, because as the seasons change in Utah, things just stay hot here, and I feel like I am stuck in summer. Time is going by too fast though. I can’t believe it. It honestly makes my stomach hurt sometimes!

There is a song yesterday that Sister Miller and I were listening to. It was just an instrumental song, but one that was upbeat and you could easily feel the story it was trying to express through the notes (Me not being very good at music, I appreciated that I could visualize a story without it having to tell me the words). This tune made me have a flashback through my mission.

You know how in the movies, they have images flashing across the screen during a dramatic part, or when someone is remembering something and they have music playing telling the story instead of the actors saying anything? I felt like if my mission could be made into a feature film, I would want that tune playing while I flashbacked through over a year of experiences.

(Editor's Note: Here's a Church YouTube video with the "flashback" method.)

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FLASH: The first time I went up to a lady in the parking lot all by myself and street contacted her.

HR looking at Sister Nelson and I, after he told us he felt that he had been forgiven

Running away from the scary, frothing, monster of a dog, positive I was going to get my legs chomped off

Sitting in the living room at the Bryant's with Sister Kennington as the Spirit testified to Cameron of the Restoration

Painting sheds with Sister Tanner for a widow in our ward

Finding Ryan at the bus stop and asking if he would let us teach him

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The images kept flooding through my mind. I have a feeling that is what it will be like when we pass from this life.

FLASH: Easy Going years of childhood, playing, and imagining, and laughing

The many hours stuck in the library studying for exams and tests

Becoming parents

Memories of fun and laughs with our little kiddos

Helping the neighbor shovel her walk

Digging down deep and kneeling in prayer to get through yet another trial that life brought your way

Growing old and watching others take the same walk

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I’m grateful for these precious moments. Just the other day, I had one of those memories I am sure would be a flashback during my "feature film of my mission". Sister Miller and I sat in the church teaching Ryan the gospel lesson. It was a rough start, and I started praying that we could ask him the right question. I’m not sure what I asked, but his reply was that he wasn’t sure he wanted to ask if the Book of Mormon was true because he knew he would get an answer.

Sister Miller was so inspired and asked him to pray right then. The room was filled with an intense silence as we knelt in prayer. He started his prayer saying that he would have been too scared later to ask, but that he wanted to know right now if the Book of Mormon was the word of God. He ended the prayer and we sat there, neither of us wanting to move, to breathe, to interfere with the Holy Ghost teaching and answering Ryan’s prayer. 

He got up and started pacing and then sat back down holding his heart. I looked him in the eye and asked him what he felt. He said he didn’t know. I knew that was not true. He did know. He did feel the Spirit. God did answer him. As I told him that he knew the Book of Mormon was true, he shook his head and said, "Yeah, I do."

It was so amazing to see how God has guided Ryan to find the truth.

It is true that God is preparing people in our path who know not where to find the truth. Who is on your path?

Promptings

SAN DIEGO — This week has opened my eyes to how important it is that we follow the Spirit with all of the little promptings he gives us. 

I have had so many times in my life when I have had a thought or a feeling to do something, but just pushed that feeling aside. I realize now, that no matter what, any thought or feeling we have, just do it! As long as we are being good girls and boys, those thoughts are from heaven. Heavenly Father truly does inspire us to be at the right place at the right time, doing the right thing. 

Dad mentioned how hard it is in the world, that anything religion is taboo in the workplace in school, everywhere. Isn’t it interesting how our lives can compare to the people in the Book of Mormon? No wonder we are asked to read, understand and apply its teachings!

Yesterday, Sister Miller and I made our plans for the day. We got halfway through the night and one of our appointments cancelled. During our previous nightly planning, we decided to visit a former [investigator] named Sergio. We have had him in our backup plans for quite a while, and yesterday Sister Miller found a little piece of paper behind the couch with his name on it, from the other sisters who left, so we decided we better go see him. 

We knocked on the door and a Young Single Adult man answered — We thought it was Sergio, but it wasn’t. His name was Xavier. We started talking with him and he expressed that he grew up Christian all his life, and was now trying to look at other religions. He got all excited and couldn’t stop smiling after we set up a return appointment with him. We asked him what he was smiling about and he said, "You two have perfect timing! I was thinking about you Mormons all week. In fact I just saw two of you walking past this morning, I was going to yell for them to come up but I didn’t, and now you two are here!"   

What an incredible example that is to me at being at the right place at the right time doing the right thing.

I think sometimes we feel we have to teach as full time missionaries, or sometimes we are afraid of talking if other people ask questions we may not be able to answer. I am not the one to give advice, I have so much to work on myself, but I do gather my inspiration from a prophet in the Book of Mormon.

(Editor's note: the following part of Sister Newman's letter comes from Alma chapters 17-27)

Picture in your mind Ammon. The Book of Mormon doesn’t give insight to his thoughts or feelings as he starts heading into enemy territory to preach the gospel. I am willing to bet, his heart must have been thumping, he must have felt some anxiousness as he was captured by the Lamanites.
 

"And Ammon went to the land of Ishmael.... and as he entered the land, the Lamanites took him and bound him...."   

Aren't we walking around in enemy territory all day? Just like dad said, the places we work, teach, and study are sometimes places where even the talk of religion seems like "poison" to people. I know that feeling of not knowing what to do, what to say. I know what it is like to be scared. But look at what Ammon does: He doesn’t say anything really. He just asks Lamoni if he can be his servant. 

"And Ammon said, nay, but I will be they servant"  

Isn’t that what we can do? Could you take a cart to the front of the store for a mom? Could you smile or encourage the lady at the grocery store? Could you not participate in a conversation that isn’t appropriate for disciples of Christ at school or the work place or even the home?

People aren’t inspired by what we say, they are inspired by what we do and by who we are.

Later in his ministry, Ammon does something really important:  

"And they went withersoever they were led by the Spirit of the Lord..." 

Just like what happened to me this week, you can be in the right place at the right time doing the right thing. Here is the thing, though: are you listening? I remember so many times that I had a thought, or an urge to do or say something, and I didn’t. I hope that you do better than me. Don’t question anything that comes to your mind — just do it! As long as you are keeping the commandments, it doesn’t matter where the thoughts are coming from, they will be from God :)

I just love you all. I know this world is getting tough, but we can do it! If you don’t know what or how you can shine your light, ask Heavenly Father! He will guide you as long as you are willing to move your feet and open your mouth.

P.S- Casey and Ryan are doing SO GREAT! They are getting baptized Sept 8th and Sept 29th. Yahooooo!