Do they know you love them?

This week we had branch conference and some really amazing things happened. The week before we had set a goal with the branch to have 150 people come to the conference and then had made plans to try and make it happen. I love working here in Conani because the members are so excited to help and are going to work hard core. They leave and look for people, help our investigators read and come to church, are sharing the gospel with family and neighbors, fulfilling their callings...it is still not perfect but I love the attitude and willingness that everyone demonstrates here. The branch president ordered invitations to take to all the less actives and then throughout the week we distributed them with the leaders of the different organizations. Saturday we did a big activity and left in pairs to go visit and remind the members about the conference the next day. When Sunday came I was amazed at the results. We had 158 people in sacrament meeting! Among those 158 people were 14 of our investigators and 19 of the less actives we visit. There was not enough room to put all the chairs up in the sacrament room and there were people standing in the hall during that hour. It was packed and super hot, but it was also such a beautiful sight.
 

During the meeting we had Sunday morning with the district presidency one of the leaders asked, Do your brothers and sisters know that you love them? When everyone answered yes he quickly told them they were wrong. Then he said, If they knew that you love them, they would be here. That really hit me and made me think of if we are really showing other people our love for them or just doing visits. When we really take the time to show that other people are important to us and share the Lord´s love for them then it is natural for them to have the desire to come back. We saw that to be true as we tried a little harder to make love a little more this week. One less active thanked us for sharing a message with him instead of just inviting him to church. The branch has been passing by and this was our first visit with him. People have been doing the right things, just not showing enough love to him. After our visit he said he would like to come to church on Sunday. Another less active we visited, Vladimir, had a similar reaction. He is a returned missionary and at one point was the branch president here. He has been canceling appointments with us for weeks now but this week we were able to finally stop by his house. We had a nice conversation with him and shared a little about God´s love. We felt prompted to not leave an invitation and at the end he asked us when the activities were during the week. When we take the time to show people that we love them everything changes.
 

I hope that we will each take a little more time to love this week. It is so easy to forget the WHY of the gospel and just live trying to complete the WHAT. Remember that Christ, who was our example in all, lived to love. Every single action that He did, He did out of love for us. Not out of obligation or like a list of things to do. He lived and died because He loves us. Nothing else could motivate a person to do what He did. When we show our love for others we help them experience a small portion of that love that He has for them and we are built in the process. I feel so very blessed to be able to feel a small part of that love for the people that I visit here and to learn more about my Savior during this time. He truly does know and love us and is waiting anxiously for us with arms wide open.
 

I love my mission! I love my companion! I love Conani! I love you all and more than anything else I love the Lord and His gospel!
 

Have a wonderful week,

Sister Ewell