Called to be Zone Leader and Impressions of the Spirit

Hi Everyone!

 

Well, I'm not really sure what to say today, I'm kind of in shock because I got a call from my mission president on Sunday telling me that he's calling me to be a Zone Leader, and I'm going to be transfered. It was the futhest thing from my mind when I was thinking about transfers, I was set that I was going to stay in Denver 4th, possibly till I ended my mission. It took me off guard pretty well, and I'm just trying to pull myself together to be ready for the challenges it'll present. We're fairly confident I'm going to go to Barnum Park, a small english area inside of the Denver 1st area (so I'm already familiar with the area), because almost all of the spanish Zone Leaders serve there. I don't really know what to think but I'm excited for it, there's a lot of opportunities especially to help other missionaries and I'm looking forward to that. Sometimes I feel like I'm almost better at helping missionaries than investigators, maybe I just relate to them a little better.

 

Something interesting we've been doing with the kids of a family in the ward that kind of came out of the blue is helping them use better language by having them read a verse out loud in the Book of Mormon for every swear word they say, it's pretty funny to watch and it's actually helped a lot! The 13 year old girl, Rachel, has actually seen a lot of improvement and her friends have noticed, it's a cool thing and she's setting an example for her friends! Creative ideas usually work good in missionary work I'm finding, we were able to get a couple less-active kids to church because I promised I'd do a dumb-looking tie knot if they came, it's called the "waterfall" and basically you just don't put the tie through the last loop so it's just flapped over, and it looks pretty bad! It's funny though because it actually worked!

 

I'd like to share a little about a couple experiences I've had recently that have taught me about the power of the Holy Ghost in giving us messages, the first is back in Carbondale where I spent 8 months, at the end of it one day (before I even knew I was leaving) I had the thought to get down on my knees and ask the Lord if He was pleased with my efforts in the area and if my offering was acceptable to Him. It surprized me how fast the answer came, I felt this incredible feeling of warmth, love, and peace come over me and I knew at that moment that God Loved me and was pleased with me. I can't even describe how amazing that feeling is, there's nothing in the world that can bring you down when you feel that acceptance, because you know you're doing the Lord's will and He's happy with you. Again, yesterday after I got the call that I was being transfered, we were sharing a lesson with a couple members where we talk about the atonement, play a hymn while we close our eyes, then ask for referals, and during the hymn I got the same impression: ask. So I sent up the mental petition and got my answer back just as fast, I felt the Lord communicate to me that I'd accomplished the purpose for which He's sent me here. I love this Gospel so much and I know that it's true, it really doesn't matter what anyone else says or does becuase I have a true relationship with my Heavenly Father and as long as I know I'm right with Him, there's nothing that can shake me. I'm so grateful for these experiences, I'm so grateful to be a missionary as well. It's the most incredible thing I've ever done, that's ever happened to me!

 

These next few weeks should be full of new experiences, new people and new cultures, I'm excited for it and hope I can get down some of the stories and write them here in the email! I hope you all have a great week, I love you all!

 

Love,

Elder Damon Janis