Hello from UTAH! (: Never thought I would be saying that. Haha. After 12+ hours on the road, and 1 time-zone change (everything is an hour ahead of California time :), we arrived in Utah at 10:30 p.m. The road trip itself was so much fun, as you can tell by the title of this post. We witnessed some very interesting things, and made some fun stops along the way too! A family from our church blessed us with a nice car to use for the drive which was super comfy, and our conversation was mainly focused around Mormons, Christ, His Word, and the Gospel, which always makes for a good car ride (: We learned more about the Mormon religion from our trip leader Jonathan, and how to really get the Mormons thinking about what they truly believe. Lord-willing, we will be able to use these "strategies" to break through the darkness and share the truth about God's grace and love with them, and so much more.
So what's our plan look like for today, you ask? Good question! :) In Utah, they celebrate "Pioneer Day," which is probably bigger than the Fourth of July for these people. As some people put it, the whole state practically "shuts down" to celebrate Joseph Smith and his followers coming to Utah to settle down and pursue their Mormon faith. So we will be heading to Temple Square in Salt Lake City to visit the world headquarters of the Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints. May I say, "Wow! Those buildings are huge!" :) Among these buildings we will be visiting their children's museum, the genealogical library (which is a must for temple baptism), the Joseph Smith memorial, the main Mormon temple, the Mormon Tabernacle,the convention center, and their administrative buildings. We might also get the opportunity to visit the Utah capitol, right near Temple Square.
This trip is quite unique because we will be immersing ourselves in Mormon culture, and trying get "inside their head" if you will, about what it is they believe constitutes salvation, faith, grace, and essentially, the Gospel. However, unlike many "common" forms of evangelizing, we will not be immediately confronting Mormons about their faith and beliefs. Instead, we will sort of "work our ways" into their lives and religion, to speak truth from the inside out.
You can pray for us in a couple of different ways. Pray that we would be able to speak truth in love when witnessing, and that the Lord would grant us the proper words to speak because, after all, we are His mouthpieces. Please pray that if the Lord sees fit He would choose to enlighten the eyes of their hearts so they may be transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. And lastly (for now :), pray for us, that He would continually strengthen us in our faith and our walks with Him, as we fellowship with one another, and stay in His Word. We are in satan's territory, as we pursue the Gospel and truth, so we can be sure that satan will be scheming and affronting our efforts in even the most subtle of ways.
"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places." -Ephesians 6:12
For His Glory,
Emily, Jonathan, Shaun, & Elyse
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