D&C 20:10-12

10 And thy brother Oliver shall continue in bearing my name before the world, and also to the church. And he shall not suppose that he can say enough in my cause; and lo, I am with him to the end.

11 In me he shall have glory, and not of himself, whether in weakness or in strength, whether in bonds or free;

12 And at all times, and in all places, he shall open his mouth and declare my gospel as with the voice of a trump, both day and night. And I will give unto him strength such as is not known among men.

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

June 30 Letter

Well in some ways, this week wasn't nearly as interesting as last week, and in other ways, this week will be one of the most memorable weeks of my mission.

I will fill you in on the miracles first. This week I fasted, even though it wasn't Fast Sunday. Why did I fast? Was it because I wanted to deprive my body of nutrients under the hot desert sun, or show everybody how Spiritual I am? Nope. Neither one of those. 

I'll tell you, at least partially. I have way too many weakness. I am stubborn, prideful of the things I do well, lazy (sometimes), disorganized, blah blah blah, you get it. I am Hayden. I fasted this week to ask the Lord if he would help qualify me to be a better servant. Be stronger. Place the clay into the furnace. The ore into the melting pot. 

Then, after church we had a meeting as missionaries. At first I thought to myself, rather sarcastically, so this is the blessing I get for fasting? Another meeting before I get to eat? But, I was really touched. The things that were said there helped me to focus on what I need to do better to help every person I come in contact with to come unto Christ. 

So, results from the fast? Yesterday evening we went to visit an investigator family that came to church for the first time in many many weeks, and we watched Finding Faith in Christ. I think I was the one most captivated by the video out of the whole group, haha, and at the end I almost cried--- This whole mission thing has made me a really emotional person... I cry over all sorts of stuff now, but never because I am sad.--- Anyways, I gained a deeper understanding of what Christ's relationship is to me.  I truly felt his love. I felt a whole lot lighted, like a load had been lifted from my shoulders, which, physically didn't happen, because I weigh more now than in just about any other time of my life:/

But, wow. I felt the spirit!  Then, we vistited a member who has one of the most amazing conversions I have ever seen. He recounted his story of conversion and repentance, and brought me to tears... big surprise there... But we talked of Christ. And we rejoiced in Christ. Then, after reading a few scriptures we left, and headed outside, not exactly knowing where we were going to go. It was late, so we thought about going home a little early, because at 10:00 at night nobody really wants you to talk to them in the street or knock on their door, however, I realized that I had just finished fasting to become a better missionary, and had better not spoil it so quickly, so we went to another family nearby.  

As we arrived at their apartment, I saw the parents sitting on the sidewalk outside the building. I motioned to Elder S and we headed over to talk to them, and then to our great surprise, they were holding cigarettes in their hands. Elder S let out a blasting whistle, which startled them, to say the least, and they hurriedly stamped out the cigs and hid the butts. But, we knew what we saw. We sat down and talked to them, and we read 1 Nephi 3:7 and Mosiah 26:19-20 and talked about Christ's love, repentance and the atonement. They finally admitted that they smoked, and then told us the situation. The stress they were under, and how they got a hold of some smokes. 

And instead of thinking, 'oh great, another couple of moochers that just got baptized to recieve assistance' I thought, 'wow. This breaks my heart'.  And it did, but rather as a seed is broken to give way to the tender bud. In that moment, I really felt the love that Jesus Christ has for every one of us. I truly felt it. You could say, my heart grew three sizes that day.  I love that family. I know that they have such a bright future ahead of them, if they stay strong and fight harder against the temptations that Satan pushes into their lives. And that Satan guy? He's such a jerk. He's always making everybodies lives so much harder.

But, I testify that the power of Christ will always overcome the power of Satan, because Evil Never Wins.    
Asides from that not much happened.   Hey! Do any of you guys actually watch the World Cup? Who do you think will win? I'm hoping that the energy of Independence Day will carry us to a World victory!!!   WHOOO    


USA!!
USA!!!
USA!!!!

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