Last Transfer

Dear Mother,

My week has been super good! I am getting transfered tomorrow to probably my final area!! I got the package! Thank you so much it was amazing! It was perfect! I will definitely join ya'll in fasting! I am glad that I am good for something and every now and then say something inspired. So this was my last week here in the area and it has been a good one. A less-active family we have been working with for the whole time I have been here came to church yesterday! I love this family. They are the Rosas. Pictures will follow next week. They are the last family we will visit tonight! They are the best! I am doing good and super excited for everything that is going on! I love change! Because change puts us out of our comfort zone and "There is no growth in the comfort zone and no comfort in the  growth zone"! I love that quote.

So lately as I have been studying the scriptures, I have been keeping a dictionary near by and looking up words. Even if I know the meaning. From this I have found new meaning to words and I have been able to see what the author is trying to teach me. I love this verse in Omni. Its verse 26 it says, "And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved." I love this verse for many reasons but one point I want to point out is the, "Come unto him, and offer your WHOLE souls as an offering unto him." Is what I did this time was look up the word whole in the dictionary. Whole means;  having all the parts : not divided or cut into parts or pieces. So I thought about that and what it means to offer up our WHOLE souls. I thought about this an what are all the parts of offering our whole soul. The answer is in doctrine and Covenants 4, "see that ye serve him with all your HEART, MIGHT, MIND and STRENGTH" That is what it means to offer your "WHOLE souls". These four things are the elements or parts that consist our "whole soul" The two hardest to sacrifice is the heart and mind. When we think about how we do our callings we give ALL our strength and Might into it but we hold back part of the whole offering, our mind and heart. We have the bite the bullet approach. 

Do it and do it well, but in my mind and heart, I want to be somewhere else. For example at church:  How often do we think about other things than that which is shared?  Christ or the Gospel? We instead think about the game thats on, whats for dinner, nap time, and what ever thought that crosses our minds. I don't remember which teacher did this but when I was younger we were invited to write every thought that crossed our minds on a note card. I remember at the end of the day the note card was filled but not with things that pertained to church. There were a couple of things but the majority was worthless things. I remember from that day on I tried a lot harder to keep my thoughts in church. It has been such a blessing. I also love this quote, "if you want to know where your heart is, look to where your thoughts wander" That quote is so true. Try it watch where your thoughts wander and you will be amazed!

 I want to finish with a quote by Neal Maxwell, "Real, personal sacrifice never was placing an animal on the altar. Instead, it is a willingness to put the animal in us upon the altar and letting it be consumed!” I know these things are true! Love ya'all!!

Finishing Strong

Dear Mother,

Thank you so much for your email! Thanks for all you do! Mom I am finishing strong! I am not just moving toward the finish but I am sprinting. I am doing my best to not let up! I LOVE serving and being out here! I LOVE teaching others about Christ and helping them receive the ordinance of baptism! We are working hard, its hard, but its not the mission that is hard but the agency of others. 

We had a baptism scheduled for this week with an investigator named Victor! He is so golden and solid. He is scheduled for July 26. This Saturday, he was suppose to have his interview yesterday during 2nd hour of church but he did not show up!!! So we tried to hunt him down but it was to no avail. We could not find him anywhere. We finally got a hold of him and talked to him on the phone. We set up another interview for tonight. If he shows up tonight he will be baptized but if not we will have to push it back and I will not be able to witness it because I will transferred. Story of my mission though! The important thing is that they are baptized though ...that is all that matters! 

So this week as I was studying the word of God. I came across this verse and it struck me a lot. Its the last verse of Alma 5:62, its says, 

"I speak by way of command unto you that belong to the church; and unto those who do not belong to the church I speak by way of invitation, saying: Come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye also may be partakers of the fruit of the tree of life."

As I read that verse and pondered on what Alma is inviting us to do. He is inviting us to come and be baptized unto repentance. Who is he inviting? EVERYONE!! "Those who do not belong to the church" and those that do. I love how he words it though. He invites those that do not and he "speak[s] by way of COMMAND unto you that belong to the church. I find it kinda strange and wonderful that he does not invite but "command . . . you that belong to the church: Come and be baptized unto repentance" As I was pondering that and what all that entails , I realized why he invited and command us to "Come and be baptized unto repentance" and it is so that we can be happy!! In Alma 41:10 it says, "Wickedness never was happiness." 

Everyone wants to be happy but no one wants to abandon their personal wickedness. No one wants to put in the time and effort for everlasting happiness but wants the quick and easy way. What the world has to offer. The quick and happy pill. Do what the world say and be happy while doing it. Do what God say and be happy for ever! So how is it that we become happy? It is easy as Alma taught us we "Come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye also may be partakers of the fruit of the tree of life." So in essence, we get baptized, we repent, and we partake of the sacrament so that we may partake "of the fruit of the tree of life." What is this fruit well its the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the gospel of Jesus Christ is faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. Now what will happen when we partake of this fruit (the gospel)? As Nephi said in 1 Nephi 8, this "fruit was desirable to make one happy."It was most sweet above all that I ever before tasted." And "it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy." This Gospel changes peoples lives! As Ezra Taft Benson said, "“The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature.... Yes, Christ changes men, and changed men can change the world."

“Men changed for Christ will be captained by Christ. Like Paul they will be asking, ‘Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?’ (Acts 9:6). Peter stated, they will ‘follow his steps’ (1 Peter 2:21). John said they will ‘walk, even as he walked’ (1 John 2:6).

“Finally, men captained by Christ will be consumed in Christ. To paraphrase President Harold B. Lee, they set fire in others because they are on fire. (See Stand Ye in Holy Places [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1974], p. 192.)

“Their will is swallowed up in His will. (See John 5:30.)

“They do always those things that please the Lord. (See John 8:29.)

“Not only would they die for the Lord, but more important they want to live for Him."

​I love that Quote so much if we want to be happy we need to embrace the gospel, which can only be found in its fullness with God's authorized permission in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Because it is Christ's church! ​So now I speak as Alma did to all those who do not belong to the church who want never-ending happiness and a "fullness of joy." Come and hear what we have to share. Talk with the missionaries and act on what they have to say and you will be blessed beyond what you can imagine. And now "I speak by way of command to those that belong to the church." Embrace the gospel once again, no matter what stage you are in life, embrace the gospel once again and be "captained by Christ." I know these things are true and I hope ya'll will do what it takes to draw closer to the Savior. Love Ya'll!!!

 

Our BIG Rescue

Dear Mother,

Mom I love you so much!!! I am doing fantastic! Transfers are coming up and I thing Elder Medina is getting transferred and that I am getting a new companion. We don't know yet for sure though. 

We had a super good week though! We taught 18 lessons that is huge for this area!! We have three people who will be baptized in June!! We are super excited! The work is progressing!! 

So this week we were walking back from a family dollar that is down the street from us and we started to hear this loud screaming noise from this bush so I got down and noticed a HUGE snake trying to squeeze the life out of this cute little mouse. So Elder Snell one the missions we live with grabbed the snake and pulled it out and we saved this little mouses life!! So we did our good dead that day! We tried to catch the snake but it was to quick and to much foliage, we were going to eat it. 

Everything is going well and we are blessed to be able to be teaching! I love you hope all is well!!