Dear Mom,
I appreciate hearing from you every week. Your words and encouragement always help to lift me up and start out the week. I've definitely learned a lot - even if my language ability is super bad and I have my mom's sense of direction and memory, haha. We help a lot with the ward leadership. The missionaries are both the Relief Society and Priesthood leaders. I don't do much myself (not being able to understand very well), but we are quite involved with teaching every Sunday and with meetings. The branch in Surin has been here for over 20 years now, but there aren't many strong members or people or have stayed around (either moving or going LA) or it's not a ward yet. Right now, there are several people with mental problems that make up a large group in the branch. I drink a lot of water because on days it doesn't rain, it's super hot and I'd hate to have problems from dehydration. We get asked to not invite out side of some places unless we have signed permission or something. The baptism picture was in front of the building, and there are a ton of elephants in Surin. Just yesterday, while inviting, we ran into a ban walking his baby elephant. I did get your package. Thank you so much! I'll make sure to put up all the decorations tomorrow!
Lately, we've been struggling to find people to teach and work with. We've been pretty discouraged and frustrated lately, but I know this is the Lord's workb and He's still leading it. Some of the few members that are strong have truly amazing conversion stories. One person who is super strong that we thought was a member for a long time actually was just baptized last transfer by the other companionship. She rejected the invitation to come to church several times, but then randomly came to church one Sunday with a lot of questions and asked when she could get baptized by the end of the first lesson. Another member also came to church on her own without even being invited. She said she had passed by the church several times and this time felt like something/someone controlled her to go inside. She's only 14 and very strong. Sometimes the Lord leads us to people, and sometimes He leads them to us. I know that He is in His work. Right now we're just trying to figure out how we can be more in His work, too.
Alma 17-26 is probably the best
example of missionary service. Here's a story I read about having love for people. After King Lamoni's conversion, Ammon and King Lamoni ran into King Lamoni's father. Amonth the events that transpired, the old king "saw the great love [Ammon] had for his son Lamoni." This extraordinary love helped preare the old king to also hear the gospel message. How will people know you are a disciple of Christ? WIll it be by your knowledge? Will it be by your command of the sciprtures? Will it be by your public speaking skills? How will people know? Jesus answered that question for us "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" (John 13:35). We can "Pray unto the Father will all the energy of heart, that [they] may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ." (Moroni 7:48)
I really love this talk: https://www.freelists.org/archives/ourlunchgroup/11-2013/pdfdQPoSP5qZl.pdf. Read it.
I appreciate hearing from you every week. Your words and encouragement always help to lift me up and start out the week. I've definitely learned a lot - even if my language ability is super bad and I have my mom's sense of direction and memory, haha. We help a lot with the ward leadership. The missionaries are both the Relief Society and Priesthood leaders. I don't do much myself (not being able to understand very well), but we are quite involved with teaching every Sunday and with meetings. The branch in Surin has been here for over 20 years now, but there aren't many strong members or people or have stayed around (either moving or going LA) or it's not a ward yet. Right now, there are several people with mental problems that make up a large group in the branch. I drink a lot of water because on days it doesn't rain, it's super hot and I'd hate to have problems from dehydration. We get asked to not invite out side of some places unless we have signed permission or something. The baptism picture was in front of the building, and there are a ton of elephants in Surin. Just yesterday, while inviting, we ran into a ban walking his baby elephant. I did get your package. Thank you so much! I'll make sure to put up all the decorations tomorrow!
Lately, we've been struggling to find people to teach and work with. We've been pretty discouraged and frustrated lately, but I know this is the Lord's workb and He's still leading it. Some of the few members that are strong have truly amazing conversion stories. One person who is super strong that we thought was a member for a long time actually was just baptized last transfer by the other companionship. She rejected the invitation to come to church several times, but then randomly came to church one Sunday with a lot of questions and asked when she could get baptized by the end of the first lesson. Another member also came to church on her own without even being invited. She said she had passed by the church several times and this time felt like something/someone controlled her to go inside. She's only 14 and very strong. Sometimes the Lord leads us to people, and sometimes He leads them to us. I know that He is in His work. Right now we're just trying to figure out how we can be more in His work, too.
Alma 17-26 is probably the best
example of missionary service. Here's a story I read about having love for people. After King Lamoni's conversion, Ammon and King Lamoni ran into King Lamoni's father. Amonth the events that transpired, the old king "saw the great love [Ammon] had for his son Lamoni." This extraordinary love helped preare the old king to also hear the gospel message. How will people know you are a disciple of Christ? WIll it be by your knowledge? Will it be by your command of the sciprtures? Will it be by your public speaking skills? How will people know? Jesus answered that question for us "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" (John 13:35). We can "Pray unto the Father will all the energy of heart, that [they] may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ." (Moroni 7:48)
I really love this talk: https://www.freelists.org/archives/ourlunchgroup/11-2013/pdfdQPoSP5qZl.pdf. Read it.
"There is no sacrifice, only consecration"
"Your Life's Greatest Work is You"
"To believe that weaknesses and deficiencies in your character are unchangeable is to reject the central truth of the plan of salvation. You are not cast in stone. You not only can change but you do change all of the time. You are a dynamic, changing, evolving being. You are always changing. You never stay the same. You cannot stand still."
Charity seeketh not her own
"...the good that you do, will do you no good, unless your heart is right. Unless you have charity."
"...the good that you do, will do you no good, unless your heart is right. Unless you have charity."
After a misison, a missionary "...may still go to college and then to medical school; he may still perfect a back flip on a snow board; he may still play on a college athletic team; he may still return and marry his girl friend, but not now. He boxes up all of those plans, wishes, wants and desires and puts them on a shelf in his closet at home with all of his clothes and other things. When he returns he will unpack all of the boxes. He will find that some of the clothes he doesn't want anymore, and he will give them away. When he unpacks the box of his wants, wishes, dreams and desires he may find that there are also some of those he doesn't want anymore either." In our lives, we need to figure out what things our on our shelves that are old and don't want anymore in order to become the best we can be. Just read the talk, it's good.
"Just give it up. Surrender your will to Him. Unconditionally. Withhold nothing. Turn it all over to Him; all of your desires, wishes, dreams and hopes. Be true and faithful in your head and in your heart, not just in your behavior. Trust in Him. Trust Him who knows all things. Trust Him who has all power. Trust Him whose love for you is perfect. Trust Him, who alone suffered, paid and atoned for your sins, and for your weaknesses as well. Trust Him that He will make of you, immeasurably more, than what you will ever, ever, in all eternity, make of yourself. He will create of you a masterpiece. You will create of you only a smudge. You will create an ordinary man. He will create a God."
President David O. McKay once said something like this: "The greatest battles you will ever fight will be within the silent chambers of your heart" That is the battleground between what you want and what the Lord wants. If you surrender, if the Lord wins, you win also. If you win, if your will prevails, you and the Lord both lose. The only way to win is to lose."
Elder Sun
Other thought:
Win hearts, then lead them to believe.
Win hearts, then lead them to believe.
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