The Rock of Our Redeemer

Hello Hello my amazing friends and family!!

What a week it has been in the service of the Lord. How privileged I feel to be one of the 88 thousand missionaries serving around the world. This work is so sacred and it is a complete blessing to be a part of it.

Last week we had a specialized training meeting composed of 4 different zones. There was a large group of us missionaries in attendance and we all sat anxiously wondering what this meeting would be about. President Daines got up to open the meeting and said and I quote, "Remember how we talked about the Movie 'Meet The Mormons' that the church is putting out? Well today we are going to be watching that movie!" There was dead silence for a minute, because never in our wildest dreams did we think we would be able to watch a movie on our mission that wasn't "The Restoration" or "Finding Faith in Christ" let alone a movie that had not even been released into theaters yet! The missionaries went wild! It was the best day ever and I highly recommend if that movie comes to theaters near you, you take the time to go and see it. It is a powerful and uplifting movie and it explains some of the common misconceptions the Mormon religion faces.

This is how we found Clarence when we showed up on his porch for a lesson

Last Sunday, as I wrote about in my previous email, we were able to bring one of our investigators to church named Clarence. He thoroughly enjoyed church and claimed it was different than any other church he had been to since no one was standing up front yelling at him to repent or he was going to hell. We had a good laugh about that. We asked him in a later lesson, what was the deciding factor that made him come to church. He thought for a minute and said, "Well I woke up like any ordinary Sunday and got ready for the Flea market, but something just didn't feel quite right. An impression came to me that I needed to go to church." And Clarence being the stubborn man that he is said, "So I ignored it and went and watched TV. As I was watching TV the impression came again and again each time it came back stronger then before until I could not ignore it any longer so I hopped in my car and drove to church. "What an amazing moment it was to drive into the parking lot of the church and see his old blue pickup truck in the front of the parking lot. The following Monday Clarence had an appointment with the eye doctor. He didn't even want to go to the appointment because he feared what the doctor would tell him. He knew he had a blockage in his eye and if he did not treat it with surgery he would go blind in that eye. He had been praying hard and long for this visit with the doctor, yet he was very nervous. When the doctor examined him, He and Clarence  could not believe it. The blockage in his eye was completely gone. The Lord was so mindful of Clarence and was rewarding him for his obedience to the promptings of the Spirit by providing him with this incredible miracle. Our Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ were saying to Clarence "here I am" and Clarence at that point knew how much he mattered to them.

The other huge miracle and blessing of this last week was Sam and Tabby were interviewed and found worthy to be baptized this coming Saturday! We are so happy to share this special day with them and we know it will be the best decision they have ever made. We had a moving lesson with tears in our eyes about the importance of baptism and how proud their Father in Heaven is with them for making this decision. They know the commitment they are making and although it may not always be easy they know they are making the right decision. Our district leader was blown away by the strength of their testimonies. They have faced many challenges and have climbed many mountains already in their young ages and finally they will have something that no one can take from them, something that will continue to bring them true and lasting happiness. I love these girls and am excited to share Saturday with them.

Lastly I loved general conference. I was amazed at how often this scripture found in Helaman came up during the sessions. I think it is so fitting for our day and age. The scripture reads,

Helaman 5:12 And now, my sons (my friends and my family), remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

We must constantly be building upon that rock who is Jesus Christ.

Love you guys! Thank you for the prayers, the letters and the support in my behalf and in the behalf of all the people out here in Ohio

Love Sister Mathis