Happy Easter! This week was definitely one to remember...for lots of different reasons! Easter weekend was lots of fun. We had a big Easter egg hunt/party for the Bethesda and Potomac wards combined at Brother and Sister Marriotts house. It was really warm and so people were swimming near the end! Miriam and her kids came, and the Meenas did as well. So many people brought their friends and it was a great turnout. The next day at church Miriam came again with her kids!! Sophia and Sebastian (two of her three kids) were a lot happier to be there than last week which was good. The Nirma and the girls came with a family in our ward to church because Lokesh wasn't there at church. He is in Boston running the Boston Marathon today! He is an amazing runner.
So I had quite an interesting experience happen this week....a couple of weeks ago we were going through our contacts and found a guy who didn't have much information about him but wanted to learn more. We called him and he said he would meet up with us on Thursday at Barnes and Nobles. He called back later that week and specifically asked if "sister Haertling was there" and wanted to make sure we were still coming to meet with him. I was a little unsure about going but since we were meeting in a public place with lots of people I felt good about it. Plus he said he really was interested in learning more. So we were walking around waiting for him, hoping he would find us because we had no idea what he looked like. We only knew that he was a 40 year old American guy. So all of the sudden a man walks up to us and asks, "are you sister Haertling"??? And grabs me and starts kissing my whole face!!!! I was caught so off guard and squirmed my way out of his arms. I looked over and Sister Cleaver looked like she had just seen a ghost she was so terrified hahaha. He gave her a hug and luckily that was it. I told him right away what we were there to do as MISSIONARIES and he said he was interested. The lesson lasted about 5 minutes and told him we had to go. He actually wanted to talk about it and we gave him some things to read. He has a couple of challenges and I think that's why he acts a little differently than most people, but we are going to have the elders in our ward teach him from now on. It was definitely a funny experience I will never forget haha!:)
This week we were tracting and knocked on a door that we both felt really strongly we needed to knock on across the street. A girl opened the door named Sarah and said, "sisters!! Come on in, we haven't seen you in forever!" We were really surprised and came to find out that her husband had been meeting with missionaries a long time ago in 2010 or something. He came downstairs and we talked for a long time. He said he had been thinking about the missionaries this week and missed going to church. We are going to meet with him again in a couple of days!
This week I was reading a talk by President Uchtdorf called, Waiting on the Road to Damascus. One of the quotes that really stood out to me was, "There are many others who, for different reasons, find themselves waiting on the road to Damascus. They delay becoming fully engaged as disciples. The truth is, those who diligently seek to learn of Christ eventually will come to know Him. They will personally receive a divine portrait of the Master, although it most often comes in the form of a puzzle--one piece at a time. Each individual piece may not be easily recognizable by itself; it may not be clear how it relates to the whole. Each piece helps us to see the big picture a little more clearly. Eventually, after enough pieces have been put together, we recognize the grand beauty of it all. Then, looking back on our experience, we see that the Savior had indeed come to be with us--not all at once but quietly, gently, almost unnoticed." There is a big production going on at the visitors center right now called Savior of the World. Every night the auditorium is filled and after being able to watch it, I know why. Each year there are auditions from the surrounding stakes in the area and they practice for months to perform this musical on the life of Jesus Christ. It specifically focuses on the last few days of Christ's life and then the resurrection. It is amazing!! The part that really hit me was during the scene where Thomas finally gets to see the Savior and feel the prints in His hands. Then Christ says, "Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed". It reminded me of the quote above from President Uchtdorf. It is by small and gradual times in our life that we come to know the Savior. It's a process and by studying our scriptures, praying, and keeping the covenants we have made, we come to know the Savior. I know that Christ lives and that He gave His life for each one of us. He knows exactly how we feel and that is only possible because He payed the price and because He loves us so much. Love you all!!
This week I was reading a talk by President Uchtdorf called, Waiting on the Road to Damascus. One of the quotes that really stood out to me was, "There are many others who, for different reasons, find themselves waiting on the road to Damascus. They delay becoming fully engaged as disciples. The truth is, those who diligently seek to learn of Christ eventually will come to know Him. They will personally receive a divine portrait of the Master, although it most often comes in the form of a puzzle--one piece at a time. Each individual piece may not be easily recognizable by itself; it may not be clear how it relates to the whole. Each piece helps us to see the big picture a little more clearly. Eventually, after enough pieces have been put together, we recognize the grand beauty of it all. Then, looking back on our experience, we see that the Savior had indeed come to be with us--not all at once but quietly, gently, almost unnoticed." There is a big production going on at the visitors center right now called Savior of the World. Every night the auditorium is filled and after being able to watch it, I know why. Each year there are auditions from the surrounding stakes in the area and they practice for months to perform this musical on the life of Jesus Christ. It specifically focuses on the last few days of Christ's life and then the resurrection. It is amazing!! The part that really hit me was during the scene where Thomas finally gets to see the Savior and feel the prints in His hands. Then Christ says, "Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed". It reminded me of the quote above from President Uchtdorf. It is by small and gradual times in our life that we come to know the Savior. It's a process and by studying our scriptures, praying, and keeping the covenants we have made, we come to know the Savior. I know that Christ lives and that He gave His life for each one of us. He knows exactly how we feel and that is only possible because He payed the price and because He loves us so much. Love you all!!
Love, Sister Haertling
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