We had a worldwide missionary broadcast put on by the Quorum of the Twelve and Presidency of the Seventy, and the missionary board. Elder Andersen gave a great talk about our role as missionaries; bear witness of the name of Christ. He said the name of the Savior should always be on our lips. If we don't know what to say or talk about, talk about the Savior. The Savior gave us a promise that if we always taught others of the doctrine of Christ and taught of the Savior, the Savior would speak our name unto the Father. That's incredible. They focused a lot on the basics of missionary work and it was a great opportunity to focus on my purpose and remember why I came on a mission.
The doctrine of Christ is so simple. Have faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repent, be baptized, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end. That is the only way to return to live with Heavenly Father and qualify for eternal life. Not always easy, but simple. Grateful for the Restoration which makes this truth known.
Last Monday for P-Day we went mountain biking. It was pretty cool. We ride a trail called
Brushy Creek trail which takes us over to Walsh Ranch ward, but we always stay on the paved path. We always see other paths that lead off into the middle of no where. We took some of them to see where they went and they were rocky and hilly. I wasn't the best at it, I'm too light. Not enough weight to keep my bike on the ground. But some of the trails I could do better than others. It was good. If you got out of the cities of Texas, it would be a cool place to explore and roam around.
Brushy Creek trail which takes us over to Walsh Ranch ward, but we always stay on the paved path. We always see other paths that lead off into the middle of no where. We took some of them to see where they went and they were rocky and hilly. I wasn't the best at it, I'm too light. Not enough weight to keep my bike on the ground. But some of the trails I could do better than others. It was good. If you got out of the cities of Texas, it would be a cool place to explore and roam around.
We are seeing tons of blessings in the Vista Ridge ward, but really struggling in the Walsh Ranch ward. From our new apartment to the top, main area of Walsh Ranch, it takes an hour and a half to bike. We don't have time to bike there and do some decent work and then bike back. We tried this past week and it was a no go. We are going to have to ask the good ole members for rides. We have such good, supportive members, I am sure they would, all we have to do is ask. They love us and we love them. They are always bringing us food or leaving us treats. Way too nice, but I feel the love and I love them too.
The H family will be baptized this Saturday! The ward and the H family are so excited. The mom came to church yesterday and stayed for all three hours. That was awesome to see. They are such a good family, they will be great kingdom builders. They will get to experience the awesome blessings of keeping the Sabbath day holy and coming to church, which blessing is peace and joy. Good to see.
I can't remember if I have mentioned Maria in past emails, but if I haven't then here you go! Maria is the brother of a member in the WR ward. She isn't a member, but when she lived in Michigan she took the discussions and ever since then has LOVED missionaries. Here is a story of God's perfect golden thread. The first transfer I was in this area we got a phone call from her asking if we could help her load some stuff into a trailer that she was going to donate to people in Mexico. We go and help her, she buys us like 10 bags of groceries and we lose contact for a while until about 2 weeks ago. We were in the area so we stopped by to say hello and see if she needed anything. We chat for a while and then she asks us if we could rake her leaves. We say yes, schedule a time, and then go on our merry way. She loves to feed us so we go back and she made us lunch, we have lunch, and we talk to Maria and her mom. Her mom is probably in her 70-80's but has been meeting with different churches trying to find the truth. She has been meeting with the seventh day Adventist and Jehovah's witnesses. She brings up some odd concerns and things she has been told and I find them amusing at first until I realize how serious she is. She is seriously looking for truth. So we set up an appointment for next week. It is so neat to see how people are led and directed to the gospel and to missionaries. Maria is such a good hearted person, just has some concerns with what we believe. It all started with her brother who joined the church when he was in his 20's, because h joined the church they took the lessons, because they took the lessons they were introduced to missionaries and the church, Maria wants to serve the missionaries and loves them, we come in contact with her again when she moved to Texas, we have an appointment set up. God has such a perfect plan for everyone. I am so convinced of that, even when things are hard and I complain, I know He has a plan.
I had the privilege of going on exchanges with Elder Goeckritz this week. He is a new Elder in our district. We had an Emergency Transfer and he joined the 4 man district. It was a good day! We were able to do a lot. We met a lady named Marty who was almost baptized in the past, but is struggling to see the commandments as a blessing and not a burden. She is open to us coming over though so we will read the BoM with her and try to help her build her faith. We also met with a girl named Mia. She is the daughter of a family in WR but hasn't been to church in a while. She expressed the desire to take the lessons and learn more about what we believe. Hopefully she decides to act on the invitations we extend and experience the blessings of the gospel. It was a fun exchange.
Yesterday was another day of 6 hours of church. I like it, but sometimes I get really tired. We sat next to our ward mission leader and his family. I sat next to his 9 year old daughter and son. They are so funny. The 9 year old boy has no filter.The girl was trying to color but the boy kept wanting her to find words in his crossword. She was being so patient with him, but at one point she leaned over to me and said "he is driving me crazy with his crossword book!" I love little kids. It was also a good Sunday because a lot of random people just showed up because their friends had invited them. We gave an older guy a BoM. He said he wasn't interested in meeting yet but he did want to read the BoM. A girl named Megan also came and we have an appointment with her. This is proof that if you invite your friends to come to church they will probably say yes and be honored that you invited them. If they can tell that you truly love them, it will build your friendship that much more. We had a good discussion in ward council about missionary work and I think one of the thoughts brought up is worth mentioning. We talked about how we often think of missionary work as inviting a certain friend to church and them being baptized. That might happen if we are lucky, but most of the time its not going to. The Lord has a perfect plan for them to be baptized but it is all in His timing. We can best help when we invite. Every church activity should be seen as an opportunity to invite others to experience what brings us the light that we have. In short, if we are truly friends with someone, missionary work isn't hard, all we have to do is invite.
I like being a part of ward council though. Lots of good people that want to move the work forward and help build the kingdom. I get to learn a lot from their examples and who they are. I appreciate the goodness of good people, it makes me feel good inside. I've noticed that the happiest families are the ones that center their lives on the gospel. Grateful for the gospel and the ability it has to bless families.
We are still working with Andy. She is going to be baptized next Saturday. She has cerebral palsy so we weren't sure what to do with the baptismal interview. She is over 8 so she has to have one, but it all worked out and she is good to go. She is so sweet. It will be a great experience for her family.
I find great comfort in the words of the Lord as found in D&C 88:63, "Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." The Lord will come unto us with the same intensity that we come unto Him. What a beautiful promise. Even if you feel like it isn't working, keep pushing forward and keeping the commandments. Continue to exercise faith and you will be grateful you did. I also love the invitation in this scripture to ask questions. We are also given the promise that we shall have our questions answered. It doesn't say immediately or when we want, but we are promised that they will be answered and the door will be opened.
May we all strive to seek the Lord with a burning desire, that He may come unto us in the same manner!
Love you all!
Sincerely,
Elder Christensen
Mosiah 16:9
No comments:
Post a Comment