The Enabling Power of Jesus Christ - September 24, 2016

This week was a crazy week with all of the changes and recieving new missionaries here. The last weekend we were hurrying to organize everything with changes and get everything ready for the new missionaries to come on Monday. On Monday they got here around 8 and we were with them all day training them about the mission and everything that they needed to know. That is one of the best parts is being able to see all the new missionaries come in and get to know them and see why they are there, and then it is also really weird to think that not that long ago I was in their same position. But the new missionaries that came are awesome and it was fun to see their excitement to be here. Throughout the week we had little time to be able to go to our area and work just with all of the meetings that we had. There were more training meetings for the new trainers, and council meetings with the zone leaders yesterday. They were really uplifting and gave my companion and I a spiritual boost that we needed. We are fighting with everything we have to make sure that we set the example for the mission the way that we are working in our area. The thing that President Madsen stressed the most in these meetings that we had was the faith to exemplify our purpose as missionaries. He reiterated that our purpose is inviting others to come unto Christ through invitations to baptism and repentance. He said that each investegator that we have should have a date to be baptized and that they should know what our purpose is to be there. It was a huge wake up call for us and we knew that President Madsen has the keys and authority to recieve revelation of how we can have the most success. We started out our 3 days of work by going by and teaching Gil and his cousin Daniel again. We were a little dissapointed because they didnt go to church last week. We taught them about Joseph Smith and the Restauration and afterwards testified as strong as we could to put a baptism date with the two of them. They both accepted and realized that it was the thing that they NEEDED to do. It was an awesome lesson that we had with them and we felt like we had done all that we could do. We continued in this pattern as we worked with Eva and her family this week. It was a harder week with them because Eva expressed a lot of concerns and doubts, at times nearly coming to the point that she wanted to tell us that she didnt want to hear us anymore. One of the greatest miracles that happened was on Sunday we stopped by their house to invite them to church. When we got there Eva wasnt ready but her two oldest kids were. They came with us and after sacrament meeting we turned around and there was Eva and her other daughter. It was one of the greatest sights to see and then also to see all the members get up and make a beeline to meet her. It was a testimony to me that she really is a prepared person of the Lord that has been prepared for us to teach, serve, and help. After Sunday we had a hard time finding her. Yesterday we went by her house and found her ready to hear us. She asked us to pray to help her faith and we taught her about Joseph Smith. I dont remember what was said in that lesson. We took a member with us named Miguel and together the three of us testified of everything we know to be true. I had never felt more full of the spirit in any lesson that I have ever taught here in the mission, and talking to my companion afterwards he said he felt the same. We promised her everything that has need of, that we know God will give her to act and be baptized. And afterwards, she was doubtful once again. We had done everything possible, the Spirit was present, yet we couldnt seem to progress with her. Afterwards the spirit touched my heart to remind me of something that I had learned in the MTC, a teaching from Elder Bednar, and something that we saw with Eva at first. It is this from one of my favorite hymns Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed, For I am thy God and will still give thee aid. I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,… Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand. … When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply. The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design … Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine “The enabling power of the Atonement strengthens us to do and be good and to serve beyond our own individual desire and natural capacity.” When we first found her we didnt make any progress, we did all that we could until Heavenly Father put the way for us to make a first step in her life. Once again, she is at that point, and we know that Heavenly Father will put another way forth that we can have the blessing of making an influence on her once again. It is a test of patience and faith, but the greatest tests of patience and faith bring forth the greatest miracles, it is something that I have seen and I know to be true. I know that Heavenly Father will make the way possible for Eva and her family to be baptized someday, and thanks to the enabling power of Jesus Christ, all that we can do is do all that we can, and have faith in the Lord to work miracles in the lives of these people. It has been an amazing journey these past few weeks, they havent been the easiest, but they have been the weeks of the most miracles in my life. I know that the Lord is working wonders among us.

One of the streets here in our area after all the rain

A cool animal that we found, good thing in scouts we learned how to catch them