Well it has been another interesting week for me in the Kansas Wichita Mission! This week we had transfers and I was sent to Park Hill (10 minutes from my last area.) I’m still working in the office but here is the interesting part! The Hachtels who were in charge of Mission Vehicles & the Mission Secretary got re-assigned to a different mission due to Sister Hachtels health needs. They got their new calling a lot sooner than we expected. And they left within 24 hours of receiving their new call. There was nothing helpful Sister Hachtel left behind to know any of the duties of a mission secretary. So president took me aside and extended the calling of mission secretary to me. Saying I was fully capable of figuring it out and training the new Mission Secretary who is in the MTC getting training there… Training a Senior Sister?!? Going to be interesting. But everything will work out! I have a lot of responsibility now, and I’m praying that I will be able to do all the things asked of me. But anyhow here is my spiritual thought of the week:
“During my studies throughout this week I have come across many stories in the Book of Mormon which talk about how the people’s faith gave them great blessings, and they saw much success in bringing many into the fold of Christ. As I was reading through these stories and accounts I couldn’t help but wonder why do we not have the same thing happening in these days? Why do we not find people who clap their hands and rejoice over the word of God? What makes our day so much more different than theirs? That is when I realized that it is because we as members of the church have become in a sense lazy. We have what we think is faith in the Lord. But the requirements of faith is honesty, effort, commitment, and persistence, as said by Elder Bednar. I have been reading a lot of his talks lately and there is one that really stood out to me. “Ask in Faith” it is a talk based about praying with faith. Some of the things he speaks about are profound. When we pray we need to make them meaningful. “Simply saying prayers is quite a different thing from engaging in meaningful prayer.” We all need to improve on our prayers because through our prayers we can ask for guidance and direction. Just as Joseph Smith did. One thing I realized about Joseph Smith and his story about taking the advice of James 1:5-6 is that he had no doubt in his heart that if he asked with real intent that he would receive an answer. And he did! But how many of us are like Joseph Smith in the aspect where when we pray about an issue or something we have no doubt that an answer is possible? I know that I sometimes have prayed for things half-heartedly because I was unsure if it could happen, I did not have complete faith in my prayers. But as I have worked on it I have been able to make my prayers more meaningful and after I pray I always ‘go and do!’ Because as Elder Bednar says: “Meaningful prayer requires both holy communication and consecrated work.”
I must now speak of all of us. I know that many of us pray for missionaries and other people, but I like how Elder Bednar puts it :
“We properly pray for the safety and success of the full-time missionaries throughout the world. And a common element in many of our prayers is a request that the missionaries will be led to individuals and families who are prepared to receive the message of the Restoration. But ultimately it is my responsibility and your responsibility to find people for the missionaries to teach. Missionaries are full-time teachers; you and I are full-time finders. And you and I as lifelong missionaries should not be praying for the full-time missionaries to do our work!
If you and I would truly pray and ask in faith, as did Joseph Smith – If we would pray with the expectation to act and not just to express – then the work of proclaiming the gospel would move forward in a remarkable way.”
Just imagine! If we used this kind of thinking and prayer we would achieve so many great things and how great our Joy would be!
These things I know to be true and I say them in the name of Jesus Christ amen.
-Sister Cindy Call
P.S these pictures show my success in the office :) the before and after.
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