The weather is starting to get really good! Its sunny and 60 degrees today! It feels like home! haha
I wanted to share a really awesome experience I had a couple of days ago. We went on splits with the priests, and Tyler, our most recent convert, and the young men's president came with me to visit a young man named Noah, who has been meeting with missionaries for about 6 months now. We had been fasting and praying that his mother and grandmother's hearts would be softened enough to allow him to be baptized. We had planned to talk to his mom if she was there, but she wasn't, so plan B was to teach the Restoration. We got to about the second point in the lesson, when Noah sheepishly raised his hand, and said, "I talked to my mom about it, and she said that I should pray about it. I did, and I felt like I should be baptized, and I told my mom, and she said I could." I just about flipped out! I was so excited!! We started talking about it, and Tyler started sharing the experience he had at his baptism, and it was all just awesome! When we left, Tyler saying how cool that was and how much he was feeling the spirit. He commented how he was saying things that he had never even remembered or thought of. He then says, "that made me want to be a missionary." I don't think I stopped smiling the rest of the night. It was one of the strongest testimony building experiences of my life! The spirit really does change the hearts of those who invite him.
Something really cool Elder Yates and I have been doing lately to keep the spirit with us is memorizing a scripture every day while we door knock. We have done that this last week and it actually strengthens our comp unity. He is seriously an awesome missionary. I feel power every time he speaks under the influence of the Holy Ghost. On top of that, we sing songs from Spongebob pretty much everyday. I know that somewhere, Dad is laughing at the both of us ahah
Now for the spiritual thought portion of the email. I have noticed that in times of doubt or unhappiness, I am most often thinking of myself. I can't testify enough that true peace and joy is only found in the service of God, and the service of your fellow men. Lasting peace will never be found in the service of yourself. My feeling is that that is how the Savior managed to to be in a state of peace all the time. All he ever did, he did it for somebody else. When things went wrong, and the natural man turns inward, Jesus turned outward. He always sought to help others. When ever we think to doubt or turn inward,we must always get on our knees and offer a prayer of gratitude, then go do something kind for somebody else. I testify that every doubt and frustration will fly away. I have seen it personally these last two weeks. It is seriously impossible to be unhappy and grateful at the same time. As long as you are keeping the commandments, happiness is honestly a choice. "When you think to groan, choose to laugh." That phrase has not only changed my outlook of my mission but also my outlook on life! God does not intend for anyone to be miserable. "Men are that they might have joy." I just can't help but feel that the enemy of our joy is often ourselves. Choose to smile, choose to be thankful, and choose to serve and no matter how tough life gets, we will be happy.
He lives!!! Jesus Christ lives!! I can never say that enough! Life is good when you have the gospel. The whole world ought to know that, but we are just going to start in Battle Creek!!!
Elder Wheat
 |
| Laboring in the Vineyard!!!! |
 |
| Gym is life! |
No comments:
Post a Comment