I love this work!

Posted by Steph's dad 4/12/08

Cello!Sorry last week’s email was so short, we were running low on time so I had to be pretty fast. It’s been a busy week and definitely an adjustment, as it always is around transfers, but it was good nonetheless. We’re still seeing great miracles in this area.With Sister McFarlane leaving, they didn’t know where to put me because the closest sisters were in Tiffin (about 2 hours away). So, lucky me, I got to ride out to Kirtland for transfer meeting. It’s a long drive but I was glad I got to go so I could spend more time with Sister McFarlane and see old companions and friends at transfers. They called a new assistant since one was going home and it was one of my zone leaders from the Toledo zone this past transfer. He’s a great missionary and I’m excited to learn from his example. The other assistant used to be my zone leader in Tallmadge and I have to admit, it's nice to know them both since I still feel like I don't know that many missionaries.After transfer meeting we headed back to Toledo and Sister Webb was, as I said last week, ecstatic. She was so excited to be in the field again because she’d been serving in Kirtland. It’s really been fun to have a companion with such a strong desire to be proselyting. We’ve been able to go out finding since both of us have been in good health, so that’s nice. We’re teaching some really great people and I love it!Ken’s still doing really well. We’ve been able to make a bit of headway with his wife Adrianna so that’s great. They actually had us over for dinner last week and it was fun to sit down and talk with them both about the gospel.Did everyone else think General Conference was amazing?!? I sure thought it was. I loved how there was such a focus on family, the articles of faith, and John 7:17. Esther came to conference on Sunday as well as another investigator, Greg. Greg was found by Sisters Dickson and McFarlane but we were only able to teach him once my first transfer because he was sick and things. Well, he’s read through most of 1 Nephi and was able to hear President Uchtdorf’s talk in the Sunday morning session…perfect for him with his Lutheran background! In our lesson with Greg earlier this week he told us he knows that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that the Book of Mormon is true…but at this point it’s intellectual rather than spiritual knowledge so we’re really working on getting him praying and trying to facilitate learning by the spirit in our lessons. I'm excited to have him come out to church this next Sunday so he can see what our regular Sunday service is like.The past couple weeks I’ve been thinking a great deal about the role of full-time missionaries in any given ward. I was so grateful for the insights Elder Bednar gave; ward members are the principle finders and full-time missionaries are the principle teachers. We as missionaries are here to assist the ward in the missionary work in their ward, their area, their lives; we are not here to force the work upon them. We come and go as missionaries but the people we teach need that stability that comes from a ward family. We currently do not have a ward mission plan and I’ve been prayerfully pondering how we can get that going to not only unify the ward and us as missionaries but so we can support, strengthen, and edify the families of the ward through missionary work. I didn’t fully understand how much proclaiming the gospel affected all parts of the three-fold mission of the church. I know that it is essential for our spiritual progression as well as those that are searching for truth. We all need to assist in establishing Zion and helping others grow closer to our Savior Jesus Christ.One more random thought: just the other morning Sister Webb and I were sitting at the kitchen table during companionship study and I simply said, “I love being a missionary.” I’ve said it and meant it many times before, but for some reason when I said it that morning it really hit home to me just how much I really do love this work. It’s such a blessing to be a part of it—of all of it, whether it’s proselyting all of the time or sharing it simply through our examples, giving a random pass-along card, or whatever it may be. We have such a precious pearl of great price, something that our Heavenly Father longs all of His children to have. I’m grateful that I get to assist in that sacred work.Lots of love to you,Sister CannariatoOh, and p.s. I got asked out by an investigator’s son last night…awkward. Funny. Okay—really, really funny. But awkward.