Dear Family and Friends,
Well this week was crazy to say the least and we will be going in backwards order because that is how I remember things.
Yesterday we had a mission conference in Naperville which was solely dedicated to the prophet Joseph Smith. I have never felt such a deep appreciation and love for the prophet Joseph as I did yesterday. The spirit was so strong as we listened to our Mission President and his wife testify of the things they knew to be true. We closed the meeting with a testimony meeting of a whopping three hours and there were about 50-60 testimonies given by the missionaries in the Illinois Chicago West Mission on how they knew that the prophet of the restoration was Joseph Smith. I just want to share with you what I shared with my mission yesterday. 1 Nephi 1:20 reads "...But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance". I know that this scripture is true. As we face the struggles of life, or of a mission, and learn to rely on the Lord, we will become strengthened and fortified to be "mighty even unto the power of deliverance". The power in which we do this is the atonement of Christ. On my mission, I have been blessed with many opportunities to learn how to depend on my Savior and I believe that this is the lesson that I needed to learn the most. I know without a doubt in my heart that the atonement of Jesus Christ has the power to not only heal us spiritually or emotionally, but physically as well. The power of Jesus Christ's atonement is powerful and infinitely so. I am forever grateful for the prophet Joseph Smith because he has provided me and the world with the Book of Mormon and has left a legacy of faith for me to follow. I can think of no man who has shown more faith in the Lord to be healed in every which way as was the prophet Joseph Smith. I know he was chosen by God to be the prophet of this last dispensation, helping all the children of God to come unto Christ and overcome their trials "because of the rock upon which [they] are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they CANNOT fall" (Helaman 5:12). Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and has redeemed us from the depths of hell. He has felt every pain we have ever felt and has experienced the guilt of every sin we could possibly commit. For this exact reason, we can depend on Him, our perfect brother, our redeemer.
Saturday and Sunday were general conference which was amazing and I was able to see how the Lord had guided my companion and mine's studies this past week. We were shocked as the prophet of the Lord and His apostles and other leaders had testified of the exact things that our investigators needed to hear. We received many answers to our prayers as a companionship and I have received many answers to my own personal prayers. I know that the Lord guides us in this life, especially in the mission field. I know that as we seek the guidance of the Lord we will be led to accomplish His will and help the people that He needs us to help that day. It was such an amazing weekend and the perfect close to a week of miracles.
Friday we had an adventure to Sterling, Illinois which is about an hour and a half or so from our house. We were nervous to say the least because we didn't have any investigators there and we only knew of a few less active members and so we truly sought the spirit. We drove home that day with two return appointments and two new investigators, also setting an appointment up for the English elders in that area. The true miracle of the day was Paul. It was getting to be the close of our time in Sterling with only about two hours left. We decided to go to Morrison, which is about 45 minutes past Sterling to go contact a referral. The referral wasn't there and Morrison was creepy and so we left and went back to Sterling thinking that we had just wasted our time. Then Hermana LaBonte got the impression to visit a certain less active family and so we went and they weren't home. So we started to look for doors to knock and started heading to find an address we had. We came to a point where we were debating to go left or right and both of us got the impression to go to the left. So we went. As we went we came to a park where we found a man playing basketball by himself. That was Paul. We showed him the "Because He Lives" video and taught him a lesson and set up an appointment for him and the English elders in the area. What makes it a miracle was about five years ago, Paul had ordered a bible from lds.org and loved it but in the midst of moving, he had lost it. He was determined that when he saw the commercial again he would order another one. Five years later he found the real life commercial and during the time between he has been prepared by the Lord. I know the Lord guided us that day to find him. If we didn't go to Morrison and had just headed to the less active family, the probably would have been home and then we would have been out knocking and had missed Paul. This work is true. I love being a missionary so MUCH!
There were too many other miracles this week to tell them all, this was just our favorite. I love my companion, Hermana LaBonte. We have been praying since we have gotten into the mission field, we came out the same day, for us to be companions in March and March 31st was Transfer day! The Lord loves us. She is such a powerful missionary and I am so excited to see what other miracles we have together these next few weeks.
I love you all, and I wish you the best this week. Remember that the Lord loves you and knows you by name.
Love Always,
Hermana Rebekka Kunz