26 January 2010

I heard that Arizona got rain that has beat records from the last twenty
years. So, in the last twenty years, Florida gets the worst cold front and
Arizona gets the worst rain. That just makes me laugh!

All is well here! A new transfer will begin tomorrow and I am staying in
Boca with Sister Gardner! We're excited to continue the work here because
we have some great investigators we are working with! The Lord has truly
blessed us this past week. Of course not everything is going as planned,
but we are planting the seeds and now we need to have the patience to follow
the Lord's time.

Something silly that I am really excited about is the fact that I just
started my 100th page in my journal!! I feel it's quite a milestone for
me. I'm already halfway done with my first missionary journal! (And this
is the 8 1/2 x 11 journal pages!) Something I am really trying to do is
make worthwhile journal entrees. I'm learning each day how I need to
improve. I'm actually impressed by the fact that I have not gotten behind!
But it helps that I tally my Standard Works reading goal each morning in my
journal so that makes me catch up. (Which, bytheway, I've already read over
750 pages! It's so much fun! I actually will say there are a lot of
interesting things found within the book of Leviticus ... and I love how so
many of the D&C sections apply to missionary work which I can apply straight
to me as a missionary :-D

I just found out my bike will be delivered to me this afternoon, which I am
really excited about (Although we were hoping to get to go to transfer
meeting so we could pick them up at the Mission Home). We won't be on bike
quite yet - as Sis. Gardner's bike hasn't come yet. But I've been tempted
to get a bike since my second year in college so it's just exciting to
finally have one! Now we'll have to find out how to organize our area to
focus more on biking instead of driving. With a new senior companion and a
new driver - we both have gone over our miles - 1200 miles so far this
month! Ooops!

It truly is going great! I love it here! Lots of Love!

Onward

It's interesting how I have so many ideas of what to write home when I'm in bed about to fall asleep, but as soon as I sit down at the computer to start typing, all the ideas escape me ... so I will turn to my journal for ideas ...

We have been truly blessed this week with investigators! So many of our lessons have been amazing and each day we are finding people with such promising fruit. I definitely prefer when people come up to us - or seek us through referrals - than us trying to find that needle in a haystack through tracting. But amazingly enough, we've had new investigators through both ways. Being a missionary, we definitely experience all sorts of personalities. Some people are nice enough to listen to us but not interested in progressing, some just tell us they are not interested, others are down-right rude to us just because we wish to talk about our Savior, Jesus Christ. Thankfully, I am able to just let some remarks run off me like water. I am a collector of opinions, so I don't let other's comments bother me too often. There are times we can laugh off an interesting tracting experience, others we shrug off and continue forth, but every now and again, there is an extremely rude and uncalled for reaction to our desire to share the gospel. It gives us a touch into the life of Jesus Christ. How much sorrow He must have felt to see so many people reject him and persecute him, yet he still had that charity to suffer for their sins. It is truly hard to imagine having to endure that. But then I remember those times of joy when someone is interested in hearing our message, an invite into their home, a desire to learn, a commitment being kept ... then I know our work is truly worth it.

This last summer when I was an EFY counselor, I sat in on a class where the teacher had shared a few scriptures about suffering. One always stands out to me ... John 16:20-21

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.”

I love that! I do not know from personal experience the pain that goes into being pregnant and in labor, but how true it is that even though it can be the most excruciating of pain, all of that is forgotten when a child is born. The joy of bringing a new life in the world overpowers any thought of the past pain. That fits right along with opposition. The more we experience the pain and sorrow and difficulties of life, the greater we will understand the joy and the love and the beauty of those moments of God's tender mercies. How great will be our joy in the next life as we continue to endure the struggles that are thrown at us during this time on earth. We must have faith and trust in the Lord. We must be diligent in following the straight and narrow path. We must turn our desires and knowledge of the gospel into actions so we may become those elect saints, those choice people, those great and noble spirits of God.

TENDER MERCY: I TRULY HAVE A DESIRE TO LEARN AND TO GROW. I WANT TO SEE MY POTENTIAL AND TO OBTAIN IT. ALTHOUGH I HAVE MANY BAD HABITS THAT I NEED TO OVERCOME, I AM GRATEFUL FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE THE LORD. TO HAVE WONDERFUL EXAMPLES OF MISSIONARIES AND MEMBERS AROUND ME TO SHOW ME THE WAY. AND BY HELPING OTHERS COME UNTO CHRIST, I BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW I MYSELF CAN BETTER AND MORE FULLY COME UNTO HIM.

Elect Saints

Wow! This week was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!! In so many ways! And the best part of it was that it all is centered around Personal Priesthood Interviews. Wow! And it didn't start with my interview with President Hale, but with the discussion I had with Elder Olsen while waiting for my interview. From those two discussions - President and Elder - I have a 360 degree perspective change on missionary work. I probably can't fully explain everything that I learned! But I'll share a few things.

This year, we are focusing on the Book of Mormon. Of course we know of its importance, we know it answers questions of the soul, we know it is the keystone of our religion ... but knowing is so hollow. What is important is to understand and do. I need to understand how the Book of Mormon is my own personal keystone and then make the Book of Mormon the keystone in my life. It is true that without the Book of Mormon, we are just like any other religion. If Joseph Smith didn't translate those golden plates, he wouldn't have had the question about how we are to be baptized, therefore he never would have received the Aaronic Priesthood from John the Baptist, therefore there would be authority on this earth to restore Christ's full gospel. Wow, there is a thought to ponder. I believe most, if not all the revelations from the Doctrine and Covenants are answers to questions. The Lord does not just give us what we need. We must first ask for it. Joseph Smith read in James 1:5 that if he lacked wisdom, he needed to ask God. He acted upon that scripture, and the First Vision occurred. How many restored truths of the gospel was received from reading the pages of the Book of Mormon and asking a question to the Lord? What is my life without, that I could receive if I but ask? We need to liken and feast upon the scriptures - which means to do it, not just know it.

Another thing I learned was that we are finding the elect saints. "And ye are called to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect; for mine elect hear my voice and harden not their hearts;" (D&C 29:7). Not only are we finding those people who are ready, but we ourselves must become elect saints. Just because we are born into the church doesn't me we are saved. We much hear the voice of the Lord and act upon it. I see within our ward here in Boca who are the elect saints. Who know their purpose, who share their love of the gospel, who are following the words of the prophets, and who are striving to live as Christ did. I want to be that. I want to make sure I am an elect saint. And then I want to know how I can help others become elect saints.

So, that is two things I learned from my discussion with Elder Olsen. Then, I went into my interview with President Hale. There, I learned something I really needed. I have two personalities: one for when I'm in public - righteous, social, happy, willing to do anything for anyone; then one for when I am at home in private - introvert, stubborn, apathetic. The more I think about it, the more it ticks me off. Why is that? Why does my worst attributes come out around close family and friends? I don't want that! I want to be the same personality no matter the situation. President had told me who he sees me as, what he knows I can do - basically he stated my potential which is something I have been searching for. As he spoke, I realized I may appear to be like that in public, but when I'm in the apartment, I don't act that. I'd rather have the other companion plan everything. I'd rather be to myself and not share anything. But not anymore. I have no excuses to hide now. President sees who I can become and the Lord knows of what my potential is, so now it is time that my companion sees me live my potential no matter where we are.

This week has been amazing! I am being more active in decision making, I am showing that "Mesa Fire" that President describes me as! I am trying to work on having faith that people will invite us in, faith they will keep their commitments, faith that they want to be baptized. With that, the Lord is blessing me with seeing that occur. Right now, we are working a lot with tracting and finding, but each day, the Lord gives us a tender mercy. We begin to see those elect who are ready to hear the gospel. With the new year resolution to focus on the Book of Mormon we are loving talking about it and focusing on it. I am actually finding goals that I can set for myself and the plans necessary to accomplish it! And that is not a skill I have! I am so excited for this year of jubilee! It is going to be amazing! I can feel it! All I need is to continue for with faith and the desire to continue towards my potential and the potential of this mission.

TENDER MERCY: I AM GRATEFUL FOR THE PEOPLE WHO ASK HONEST QUESTIONS. THAT IS THE ONLY WAY WE CAN REALLY KNOW WHERE WE STAND. IF I WANT TO IMPROVE AND GROW, I HAVE TO STOP JUSIFYING AND ASK BRUTALLY HONEST QUESTIONS TO MYSELF. I AM LEARNING DAILY FROM EACH MISSIONARY I MEET HOW I CAN BECOME A MORE CHALLENGING AND TESTIFYING MISSIONARY. TO APPLY THAT TO MYSELF, I HAVE TO ACCEPT THOSE SEEDS ON FERTILE SOIL SO THEY CAN GROW. TO TRY AND JUSTIFY SOMETHING IS TURNING SOIL INTO CONCRETE. I WANT TO CONTINUE TO LEARN AND GROW FROM EVERYTHING I HEAR FROM OTHER MISSIONARIES. I AM GLAD THAT THE LORD IS CONSTANTLY TELLING ME HOW I CAN IMPROVE AND HAVING PATIENCE WITH ME AS I SLOWLY START TO RECOGNIZE AND LEARN THESE THINGS.

Christmas Memory

I am grateful to have a great Christmas memory. I've always been one to just see a holiday as any other day, especially as a missionary as we continue to do the usual work. We had the morning study, an appointment scheduled for the afternoon, tracting planned for the day, and meals with members and part-members. Not being surrounded by the commercial aspect of Christmas, there really wasn't anything to differentiate Christmas from any other day. I don't want to say Christmas isn't important, but it is to be a day to celebrate Christ's birth and life and what that means for us personally. When we work every day to invite people to come unto Christ, we are already celebrating His name every day.

What really helped me feel the blessing of Christmas day was when our lunch in a member's home became a melting pot of many people. We had started out inviting a few of our investigators to come and have a Christmas meal with our members, but everything seemed to have fallen through. Somehow, at the last minute, our investigators and some of their family decided to come and join us. Already at the member's home, we had two wonderful recent converts there. Our Christmas lunch ended up to be a total of nineteen people: the member family, the recent convert family, and two sets of investigator families! We were all gathered together in one home, spread across three tables. It was amazing! I truly felt that Christmas spirit as we gathered together as family and friends. And to top it off, I got my first mission ornament while there (Santa riding an alligator) to remind me of this festive Christmas meal!

Year of Jubilee

We have started a brand new year! I will be a missionary for the full year of 2010 and it is the 50th Anniversary of the Florida Fort Lauderdale Mission!! This is going to be an amazing year! I am so excited to see what it will bring! Everything we do is to celebrate this year of jubilee by being more intune to bringing people unto Christ. We will search for new and better ways to be efficient and effective, we will strive for exact obedience in all we do. We will prepare for the temple by establishing Zion within the hearts of the members.

The year did start out a bit rocky as our planned baptism for Jan 1 fell through because it didn't "feel" like the right day. We continue to pray that we may have success with our investigators that they may be able to push aside their fear and uncertainty and finally take that leap of faith.

We do have changes occuring this week that came to quite a shock! Boca Raton has had a change of missionaries, in the fact that Sis. Eland is being transfered to Hialeah. Sis. Gardner and I will truly miss her, but continue to wish her the best of wishes. We're hoping she goes Spanish speaking - something she simply loves to do!

Working the full city of Boca has been a great adventure, especially since I am the driver. We've taken a couple of scenic routes every now and again as we search for our potentials. One day, we actually drove nearly the full circumference of our area as we went from our apartment to Camino Real east to Military, north to Atlantic, west to the 441, south to SW 18th St, and back to our apartment. Surprisingly, it only took 50 miles. We were shocked the mileage was so little. So I guess Boca really isn't too big of a city. Just comparing it to my old area of East Boca, it's huge. It's been a lot of fun to seek out our potentials and work to gain new investigators and find those people who are ready for the gospel.

A big thing in the mission right now is getting Sisters on bike. We are all excited about that! So now we'll be paying attention to how we can best make Boca into a biking area if that day comes. East will be easy enough, and the southwest corner. We'll have to start doing more finding activities to see if there are any other locations that can become a drive and park - then bike area!

Something I have really been working out this transfer is truly understanding my missionary purpose. We are to invite others to come unto Christ. We are to find those people willing to keep their commitments and progress towards baptism. Therefore, we have had to stop progressively teaching a lot of investigators due to their unwillingness to keep commitments. It was hard for me at first, until I realized that our work as missionaries is to gather those that are ready. As Bro. Wilcox put it, we are all working to gather together the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim so when the Second Coming arrives, the missionary forces will be ready to gather the other ten tribes of Israel. I didn't realize we are working to gather the elite. We are gathering the support system of this church, the souls that are to take part in the building of Zion and preparations for the Second Coming. I am trying to make sure that everything I do is focused on that purpose. Are my words helping them accept the gospel? Are my actions helping them keep their commitments? Is everything I do inviting others to come unto Christ?

One reason why I love to have Sis. Gardner as a companion is the fact that she understands her purpose. Everything she does is geared towards keeping her missionary purpose. It's something I want to do for myself so I will becoming a missionary, not just do missionary actions.

TENDER MERCY: I HAVE BEEN WORKING SO HARD TO FIGURE OUT HOW I CAN GROW WHILE ON MY MISSION. WHAT DO I NEED TO DO? WHAT GOALS DO I NEED TO SET? IT'S ALWAYS BEEN HARD FOR ME TO SET GOALS, BUT I HAVE BEEN ABLE, IN THIS PAST WEEK, TO SET A FEW GOALS FOR MYSELF. IT'S STILL NOT A MISSION VISION OF WHAT I WANT TO BECOME, BUT I AM REALIZING HOW TO MAKE GOALS AND SET PLANS. IT'S SMALL ACCOMPLISHMENTS THAT PROVE TO ME THAT I CAN REACH HIGHER. I AM EXCITED TO CONTINUE ONWARD AND SEE WHAT I CONTINUE TO LEARN EACH DAY, EACH WEEK, EACH TRANSFER, EACH COMPANION. OF COURSE SOME DAYS ARE HARD AND FRUSTRATING, BUT I THINK, WHEN ISN'T LIFE HARD? AND HOW MUCH MORE REWARDING IT IS TO BE HERE ON A MISSION. ALL THE STRUGGLES I MAY EXPERIENCE WILL TURN INTO GROWTH AND BLESSINGS IF I APPROACH THEM IN THE RIGHT WAY AND USE IT FOR MY GOOD. I AM EVER BLESSED TO CONTINUE FORTH AS A SERVANT OF THE LORD HERE IN THE FLORIDA FT LAUDERDALE MISSION!