July 11, 2011

Oh man I love that story about Zekiel. But man I just love being Mormon. That's what I decided this week. This Sunday the Bishop and us made a shoutout for families to help us do this questionare about families, Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon. And it was just 4 questions that the members would ask people as they went out and knocked doors for an hour and a half or an hour. And so we invited them to do this questionaire this Sunday at 4. And It was cool because like 22 people showed up at 4 still dressed in their church clothes and just ready to do missionary work. It was just something really cool to see, that us as missionaries are not the only ones trying to carry out God's work; and that the members were ready to give time out of their day to help the missionary work. We ended up getting 18 new people to go and try to visit this week. As well as some amazing like testimonies/experiences that they had while doing it. One of the moms said, man that was just a huge hurdle for me to walk up to a door and know already who it was that was going to answer, and then ask them questions about the gospel...But it was way fun, and my understanding and testimony of missionary work has grown. A couple of the young women told us how they ran into some spanish people, and how God had blessed them to understand what they were saying; like total gift of tounges. And then other people were just way pumped cause they had found someone that was just way interested and wanted to know a lot more. So ya that was just a way cool thing for me to see. And also we found some really prepared people through nuestros propios esfuerzos tambien, and through inspiracion. But ya we were teaching this guy named Steve and just had a couple questions about the plan of salvation and Adam and Eve. And so we flipped open to 2 Nefi 2 and just read; and then he would ask another question, and we would ask him to read the next verse, and boom there was his answer. Like no joke this happened at least 5 times where he would ask a question and it would be in the next verse. And then he asked about infant baptism and so we went to Moroni 8. And the whole lesson was like question, Book of Mormon, answer and testimony. But man the Book of Mormon just has it all. Any sincere question that anyone has about anything really, there is an answer to it in the Book of Mormon. I also found out this week, that I  have so much to improve on that it is ridiculous. I don't know how many authority arguments that we got into this week. Well I just don't see a difference between your church and mine... Well the difference is that we have a prophet who holds the authority, and you can see here in the bible... Why should I be baptized in your church when I already have been baptized...Well our church has the authority to baptize and where does your churches authority to baptize come from?  Which is true, and also pretty bold, but most definitely boldness without love is equal to offensive and defensive. So I've been thinking a lot about it, and how I can address this concern that so many people have, but do it in a way that they do not become offended or defensive. And I think I have come up with an answer; actually a couple of them, But that is everyones homework this weekend. What is the difference if I join your church or If I stay in my own church? How could we respond to this concern, without trying to convince them intellectually and with a hundred different scriptures on authority? I love yall so much! Have a good week

July 5, 2011

 I want to thank Elder Montagoose, because his insight with his companion about writing daily miracles just completely changed me this week. Well we had a lot of miracles this week. One of them was a guy named Fernando Dominguez. The lesson was a testimony to me that God answers prayers and is helping us everyday to find the prepared. He had prayed the night before to have God help him change his life around and then we showed up. He was way interested, and the spirit was very strong. We invited him to pray right then and there to find out if Joseph Smith was a prophet. He did, and the spirit filled the room. He accepted a baptismal date, and filled out a calendar of what he needed to do to prepare himself to be baptized. It was amazing and such a miracle. Another miracle that I experienced this week was to hear the power of my comps testimony of how the gospel blesses his family and the example his dad was for him. I loved it and I know my comps and I desire to share the gospel just sparked. I've decided that miracles come in all shapes and forms, and if all we think of miracles is that they're this giant manifestation of the extraordinary, then we are missing out on so many of God's little blessings. And miracles truly seem to happen once in a lifetime. And when that happens our faith in miracles is diminished, and with the diminishing of faith, comes the diminishing of miracles. But if we learn to accept little miracles, and we learn to recognize them, then our faith in miracles happening increases, and by small and small increments of faith leads to the ability to witness the ministering of angels, the moving of mountains, and to someone that has full and complete trust in their father in heaven. When we have faith, we trust God. I love in Ether, when it is talking about his sanctifying process, I believe it is in verse 17 it says, how his worries were no more, for he knew it was all in God's hands. I am not there yet, I am not going to lie; but I am working on it and by recognizing the daily miracles and by growing in my faith of God, I know I can get there one day. But ya, its crazy we are meeting just so many awesome people, now they just need to come to church haha. But It will happen this week. Well I love yall so much, and I hope yall have an awesome week!

Some photos and a video!!

June 27, 2011

I really liked that talk mom about the difference between to do and to be. You think that you could send it to me? It was crazy because that is what I studied in my personal study to day. I was reflecting on how come there is always sometime during the week that I will forget my purpose, by either becoming irritated with an individual, or by thinking too much about numbers, by procrastinating doing something or just being complacent about where I am at. And just like everything, if I am not consistently striving for the spirit and trying to build my testimony, then my spiritual awareness and testimony will begin to shrink. And so I started just really pondering on the things that I failed to do this week, that may have impeded me from becoming closer who God wants me to be, and what he wants me to accomplish. So the first things that popped in my head, was my goal to becoming sanctified; i had neglected to check myself on it this whole entire week; my journal, I had missed like four to five days this week; I had failed to read my patriarchal blessing and other things that I had failed to do. And so then I started making goals for this week; a to do list- so that I would be able to have the spirit with me. So I decided to take the advice of Elder Montagoose and just begin by making a list of miracles that happen every day. But then it hit me... the goals or things that I will be doing this week, MUST be more than a check off list too me, or the progress to what I really want; to be sanctified, will be very little. I think that is why the word remember is said to be the most important word in all of scripture. We don't become who God wants us to be by making a to do list, but rather, by making a to do list and remembering each and every day to ask ourselves, is this helping me become who God wants me to become? And so that is definitely something that I learned this week. But man this week we were really just blessed to find some prepared people, and to also use our members to help us. I love it when we can take a member that is somewhat less active in the church and somewhat battling with some testimony issues, and help him see the miracles and spirit of missionary work. And they come up to you on Sunday, and they're just asking about the investigators they taught, how they're doing and if there is anything that they can do to help them out and stuff like that. And I think that is the key to all of missionary work; when the members, get to know the people you are teaching and it ignites a flame in them to have their own missionary experiences. Its an awesome thing. But I got to get going. I love yall so much and have an awesome week!