McKenna's Mission Moments in Alaska: Monday, January 30, 2018

Earthquakes, crazy snow storms, and a baptism!

Hello,
It has been an exciting week, filled with earthquakes, crazy snow storms, and a baptism! Many of you probably heard about the earthquake that happened in Alaska this last week...I slept through it! Haha!! We woke to a bunch of texts, and we were really confused as to what was going on. We were so tired, though, that we slept right through it! We did feel a pretty good quake on Friday during planning, though!

Gerard was baptized on Saturday, and it was truly incredible. The spirit was SO strong. He just sat there with the biggest smile on his face, and after he was baptized, there was just this peace about him. It was such an amazing evening, and one he has been looking forward to

for a long time. We stopped by the next day and the first things he said was, "That was incredible. When do I get to go to the temple and do baptisms for the dead?" So cool to see how he wanted to share that joy he felt with his ancestors. We were able to do some family history work with him and some members this week, and he just lit up when he realized and saw that many of his ancestors are waiting for the saving ordinances he will be able to do on their behalf. Such a special day, and always a testimony builder to me that this is Christ's church restored to the earth. I surely do love being a missionary and being able to witness how the Gospel can truly change someone's life completely, and fill them with so much joy!

GERARD'S BAPTISM!!!

Brother Love and Gerard before Gerard's baptism

We also had an awesome experience with out investigator, C. It's been a slow process, but we had a lesson earlier in the week, and then later in the week she texted us asking for a blessing for her daughter. Some of the ward members came over and gave her daughter a blessing, and, once again, the spirit was so strong. She truly is exercising her faith so much. It's amazing to see how the spirit prepared these people all around us. We are having FHE with them tonight and are so excited.

We had so many tracting/finding miracles!

We took one of the Laurels out with us on Saturday (one of my favorite things to do!) and stopped by some potentials, people we had tracted into and said to come back. We stopped by one man named Dwayne. We had tracted into him about six weeks ago, and he didn't even tell us to come back, but Sister Spencer felt like we needed to go back about four weeks ago, so we did. He was really appreciative that we came back again but we just never could catch him at a good time. We once again felt super prompted to stop to see him on Saturday, and he let us right in. We had an amazing lesson! We talked about his faith in Jesus Christ and who our Savior means to him. We then shared with him the Book of Mormon and explained that it truly is another testament of Jesus Christ, and so forth. He was SO excited to read it! We left him with some awesome chapters to read, and he said to come back next week. He is looking for a church and is excited to come this week to ours! Miracles!!! It's been cool to see the role the spirit plays in this wonderful work!

We also were going through some lists we had and people the Ward Council asked us to stop by and visit. I swear EVERYONE has moved, which means lots of opportunities to share the Gospel. We had some amazing experiences, and were able to teach so many different people and find so many potentials. So awesome!

It has been one stellar week, and we know another awesome week to come! I really love being a missionary. I love the opportunity we have to bring the Gospel to so many that are truly searching for more. I have come to realize that a lot of these miracles we see don't result in a baptism, but instead result in another seed planted that will continue to grow. Each person we meet and teach has had multiple encounters with missionaries or members before they are ready to receive the Gospel. It just goes to show that no effort is wasted. If you're ever feeling like you're not doing enough, or nothing seems to be happening the way it should, just remember that every seed counts, and one day you will see the wonderful fruits of your labors. We have been able to witness the fruits of thousands of people labor each and every day. It's incredible!

We had a regional conference yesterday and had the privilege of hearing so many amazing talks. One of my favorite talks was from Elder Nastress. He talked about a simple calculation, 3 + 1. He talked about three things we can do daily, plus one thing we can do weekly, equals that no matter what life throws at us we will be able to withstand the punches. The three things are prayer, scripture study, and service, and the plus one is Sacrament Meeting weekly. He talked about each of these things individually and if we make them a priority we will truly feel the joy the Gospel brings into our lives and find the strength and faith to stay on the straight and narrow path. I can testify that this is true. It has helped me each and every day to follow this calculation and has helped so many of those I love each and every day as well. This is a Gospel of joy and peace and happiness, and as we do these things daily, we will feel that in our everyday lives! I love this Gospel and I love being a missionary, if you haven't heard me say this 1000 times already!

Love, Sister Lake
Anchorage Alaska Mission