Mothers Day!!! Hope that everyone had an awesome week this week and did awesome things for their mother! It was so awesome getting to skype you guys even though I didn't get to skype the rest of the family because ran out of wifi data! South African problems! This week overall though was awesome! We went to a food place for lunch called Grillers which apparently is South Africa's idea of an American Diner. It was cool though, they had a bunch of license plates from the states all around the diner. Still always in awe at the conversion rate of the money because we ordered a burger meal with chips and onion rings for 26 rand. A full meal for like $2.10 or something like that. INSANE!!! I got to go to the beach again. Well as close to the beach as we are allowed. We cant go on the and so we found this walk way and so yea... got as close to it as we could haha.
This week we have been focusing and praying for new investigators. Since we are having so many baptisms and what not, our investigator pool is lessening. We found a lot this week so I am super excited to get to teach them. One of them, his name is Monde. It is actually pretty odd how we got into contact with him. We were received a referral from I think was from the mission office and it gave us his details. He received a friend request on facebook from some guy in England. I guess he was a missionary and he does online proselyting! How nuts is that! So crazy how this gospel is using technology for good now a days! So they started talking about religion and things like that and so yea! First lesson went awesome with him and then we will be seeing him again later this week!
Our recent convert Jackson (Baptized two weeks ago) Is going to receive the Aaronic priesthood this coming Sunday! I am so excited for him. Seriously the lord has big plans for this guy! It is so cool seeing people that you baptized, and watching them progress in the gospel! I know that he is going to be such a blessing in his home as well. Blessing the lives of his non member family.
So this week we had multi zone training this week and it was awesome! We had David F. Evans come and speak to us and teach us! So Elder Evans has been a General Authority for 10 years now and is the Executive Director of the Missionary Department and so he is over all the missionaries in the world! Now he was a powerful guy! you could just feel the spirit radiate around him which was awesome. It was so strong that when I was giving the opening prayer, I was getting a little teary eyed with the spirit being so strong. 2 other elders and I even sang a special number and honestly it sucked and like the spirit must have been having him hear something else because after he finished he said it was beautiful so I really don't know haha but he was awesome. There were two things that he taught in which the spirit confirmed to me as most important for me to remember.
1) On how we as missionaries need to build up the kingdom of god.
He focused on how Yes, we need to baptize but there is no point in baptizing people whom are going to become less actives. Missionaries get that a lot because every missionary wants to get baptisms but it does not help the Lords Church by baptizing his children into less activity. He taught us on how we need to focus on families. And by families, not just your immediate family, but also the extended families. He talked about how tracting and proselyting is one of the most ineffective tools of finding people to teach. Yes if the spirit guides you to certain people then by all means street contact. But, if that street contact gets baptized and has no friends/family whom are also in the ward and then goes inactive... then what is the use."it would have been better for you that ye had not known me." (2 Nephi 31:12) Missionaries should focus on receiving referrals through everyone the come into contact with because that is building up the kingdom and allowing people to more likely stay in the church and be active if they have friends and family whom attend the church as well.
2) NOW THIS ONE HIT ME THE HARDEST:
Elder Evans was talking about how missionary work, or even anything in general pertaining to bringing people closer to Christ blesses not only us, our family, and also our future family. As he said this the spirit hit me with a question. The question that the spirit had told me was this.
"How bad do you want to bless your family?"
That question hit me so hard. The blessings that come from us not only as missionaries but also as children of God as a whole are very real. We may not understand what blessings we are going to receive from doing something as little as reading just a few more verses out of the Book Of Mormon or adding on that extra blessing to a prayer but it does affect us. Not only you but also, your family, and your future family. Then there comes a second question.
"What blessings am I restricting from giving my family because of my disobedience or lack of diligence?"
"Is watching a movie at 2 am really worth giving up the blessing that Heavenly Father would have given had you not watched the movie?" (Some missionaries do make that mistake)
Now what if that blessing that would have been given was to your mum. Or to your dad or even your sister. Your mum crying at night to feel love from her Heavenly Father or your dad pleading with God to please help him, give him the strength to go through another day in this dreadful hell here on earth. Or even your little sister, praying to Heavenly Father to please bless her with a friend at school. Sometime to just once say hi to her and to play with her. Obviously we do not know what blessing will come exactly, but why risk it. Once again,
" How bad do you want to bless not only your family, but also your future family?"
I think we can all take the advice from Elder Evans and use that in our own lives today regardless of being a missionary or not.
The mission is going great and I am so grateful to be allowing God to shape me the way he wants me. Because I know that He can do so much more with me than I could ever do by myself. I love you all so much and cant wait to hear from you all next week!
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