Following Promptings

Hey Guys! 

     This has been an interesting week. So transfers just recently happened and we lost a set of elders. In our district there were 2 sets of elders and 2 sets of sisters, and we lost the only other set of elders... sad face... lol the upside is that we get to take over teaching a couple of investigators in their old area, yay! This is probably the most tired I have been in a long time. There are times when the spirit is the only thing keeping me going. We recently had stake conference and it was so awesome. Elder Stacey of the Seventy was there and spoke a lot about member missionary work. At the end he extended a challenge and promise to everyone there. He said something to the effect of, 'there are thousands of people in this stake that would accept the gospel and be baptized right now if they simply were asked. I challenge everyone here to pray about someone to share the gospel with, those people are everywhere. I promise that as you act on this invitation, the Lord will bless you for your efforts and will help bring those you talk to closer to our Savior." It was so cool!!! Since then we have gotten several calls from people who want to go on splits with us. I love the members here, they rock. They're so driven and willing to serve others and I am so grateful for that. 

      Last night we had an awesome experience while tracting. Tracting, by the way, is not the most effective method of finding people to teach. Anyways, last night around 9:00 we were driving back home when we decided to knock a few doors. Elder Hannesson and I alternated in picking a door to knock and when it was my turn, I chose a house towards the end of the small street were on. As we passed some houses Elder Hannesson felt strongly that we should knock a different house. As we approached the door we knocked 3 times with no answer. After the third knock we just stood there. I turned to ask a question and my companion looked like he was in deep thought. It was late and we didn't want to ring the doorbell, but he just didn't feel like our job was done. He sort of half reached for the doorbell, and then pulled back. I told him that if the spirit wants us to talk to someone in this house it doesn't matter if they get frustrated. It only matters what our Father in Heaven thinks. After the doorbell was rung a young man named Marcus opened the door. When we introduced ourselves Elder Hannesson told him that we just felt strongly that we needed to talk to someone in his house, that the message we had was meant for them, and that we were simply following a prompting from the Holy Spirit. He said it was a little late but we have an appointment with them later this evening! I love that feeling that is developed when you set aside your fears and let the spirit work through you. I feel like as long as I am worthy and act on those promptings that I am just along for the ride. This truly is the Lord's work. The more we recognize that His opinion is the only one that really matters the closer we get to being a true disciple of Christ. "Are we not all beggars, are we not all looking for the good shepherd?"
     I love this gospel so much, I can't describe it. I know that Christ lives, I know that the Book of Mormon is true, and that anyone can receive the same witness I have received, that it is of God, and that abiding by it's precepts will bring you closer to God than any other text in the world. God loves us, and I am so grateful to know that. 

     Love, 

Elder Phipps

P.S. Elder Baum and Worlton came and visited you guys??? That's so cool!!! I love Elder Baum, he's the best hahaha it's crazy that Falentine is home... Man time is flying by!!  What's up with posing with some of my old stuff? lol that's super funny. Love you all! Hope that this week is better than the last! 

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Tai's trainer and first companion was Elder Baum, who's in the middle in the picture below.  Him and another elder from Tai's mission were recently released and came out this way to be at the homecoming of another elder that was released and came home this last week.  They met Braden, who's on the left, who lives here in Stockton.  The other two former missionaries in the picture live in Utah.  They all came over yesterday for a couple hours and just hung out and talked.  We thought it would be funny to send Tai a picture of them at our house holding some of his stuff.  It was so neat to meet Tai's companion and hear from him that Tai is Tai, the same at home as he is in the mission field, only now, he has learned in such a short amount of time to love the Lord deeper and share his testimony often.  The gospel is true and it brings people together.