April 15, 2013
Dear Everyone,
I am doing great thank you for all of the
e-mails and for the support in me serving a mission. If I could ask one thing
though first is that when you right me if you could please include maybe a
spiritual experience or maybe a scripture for me to read so that I can more
focus on the work here in Philly. Like I said I am doing amazing I love it here
and there are so many cool things to see, me and my companion were walking on
the railroad tracks the other day so I made him take of picture of me and so I
will send that next week hopefully. The weather is also pretty crazy here last
week me and my companion were trying to find so people to talk to and then we
look up in the sky and see that is is pitch black to the north of us and that
is moving south fast so we bolt it back to a Walgreens and go inside instantly
after we get it the rain came pouring down it was crazy and then there was
lightning everywhere! It was so cool. Well we finally got furniture in our
apartment and so now I feel like it is real. I know also understand where my
companion kept saying to me you don't even know what a spanish Elder is like
because we usually get fed like 2 meals a night and we have gotten maybe 2 this
whole past week. But then this past Sunday night there it is 2 dinners one
right after the other and I don't really know where the food went to. They are
feeding us tons of food and I hope that I just don't come back super gordo.
Well ya everything is going great we have been finding everything very well and
getting to know the area very well. But I do not want to talk about this stuff
to much and I want to talk about testimonies as I titled this e-mail the power
of you testimony.
The Power Of Your Testimony:
What a profound and amazing subject. I bet I
could ask every single one you you how you use it and you could give 200
examples and they are all amazing and you should thank God for those
times and opportunities. This past week has been rough my trainer is not easy
and I am very grateful for that because he makes me do a lot and wants me to be
able to take over the area if he gets transferred. But we had an experience the
other day when we were doing role plays with each other and I was teaching him
The Restoration. Now I had just studied this the past week and I thought that I
would be able to figure out how to teach it simply and with power. I then go on
to a silent teaching with no words and I was trying to figure out everything
that I was going to say. He then goes on to ask me questions about The
Restoration and I answer them and he goes well okay but what about this? And I
go answering all of his questions. He finally stumps me and I just sit there
then he goes on to pressure me and to give him an example and I am trying so
hard that I literally thought about giving up. But as I was about to give up I
say to him that I guess I don't know The Restoration like I thought I did. What
a humbling experience it was for me to confess to my companion that I do not
know The Restoration of our church as well as I thought I did. My companion
goes on to say to me "Elder you are being way to hard on yourself I know
that you are stressed out with the language and with everything I went through
it also." He then says: " I can't even imagine being out in the field
after only 6 weeks in the field and being asked to do all of this. But I know
that you can do it." He then goes on to bare his testimony to me of trials
and how he has gotten through them and how I need to look at certain things.
His testimony was so strong and I started to second guess my own testimony and
getting more worried. But then he says: "You need to remember why you are
on a mission and why you came here and to be truly converted to this
work." I then go on to think and to pray about what I needed to to do to
figure out and to remember these things and so I can conquer this situation.
It was not till last night and today that I
truly remembered why I came on a mission. I could say I came on a mission
because of the story about my great uncle from Japan but that is not really
why. Last night as me and my companion were knocking doors. We were following a
referral from and english Elder that was here awhile ago and as we are walking
down this street I hesitated a couple of times as we walked down the street
think nothing of it maybe we were just needing to knock on this door and maybe
there is an elect person in there waiting for us. But as we knocked and there
was no one there. I turned and saw a young girl sitting on the curb across the
street. I tell my companion lets go talk to her. We walk over and I start to
talk to her introducing ourselves as missionaries and that we are trying to
find people that need a message of happiness and families and just hope in the
home. She then goes on to ask us well what church are you from. We tell her and
she notices that we are Mormons. We then go onto share with her The Book Of
Mormon and the power it has and how it can bless our lives. I asked her does
she believe in Jesus Christ knowing that she believes in the Trinity because
she said that she went to the Calvary church but does not go anymore. She then
said that she has a hard time believing in Jesus Christ. I then was able to
bare my testimony to her of Jesus Christ and that he truly is the Son of God. I
can not forget her face as we left her at that curb with a smile and just so
happy that we talked to her. She may not call us but atleast I know that
through my testimony she truly was spiritually uplifted. I love this Gospel and
hope that you are all sharing your testimonies with everyone that you meet.
Have a great week you are all in my prayers.
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