Another week in the mission

          Things are going well in the Zone. It's a tough zone with some tough areas, but we have some great missionaries! I love them all. lol. Even though I don't know them all personally I still love them. I want the best for them and I want them to have success. Transfers went well. Although we were busy as all get out that day. We make a lot of arrangements so that transfers go smoothly and on time. It's a ton of fun ;) 

       I just started doing, this writing things down in sacrament meeting .  I got a lot more out of the talk and I received my own littler revelation. It's neat when you go into a meeting and take notes. The Lord reveals to us things He wants us to do or change. One thing we often fail to do is bind ourselves to act and change afterward. President once said, "Never leave a meeting the same missionary you were when you entered in!  It's amazes me how the Lord has blessed us with certain qualities to be able to help others.  Things are going great! :) I love my mission, pretty soon I'll be hitting 18 months. I know time is thinning down, but I'm going to keep sprinting and working harder. You can't be casual about this work, it's Eternal, it's His. I know the work we do impacts not only our lives but the lives of others. I am grateful to be a part of this work and to help families become eternal. To help those that are lonely to know that God lives and is mindful of them. I know this church is true and that Jesus is the Christ. I know He lives. The Branch is doing well. We have a few less-actives return back to church and are now teaching the Sunday School class! Woohoo! I was really excited to see that. The Branch is getting back up on its feet. Slowly but surely. I keep praying for the Branch. I want to see it grow. Step by Step we're making a great effort to help. I am really excited for General Conference. 4 days after the conference will mark my 6 months left in the mission. I'm going to be praying a lot before the conference to prepare. I'm planning on writing some inspired questions about the next 6 months. I want to know what more I need to do here in the mission.

       Have you ever thought of the words in the phrase on the front cover of the Book of Mormon? "Another Testament of Jesus Christ" Think of the first two words: Another Testament. We have the Old Testament which testifies of the Messiah-Jesus Christ. We have the New Testament, which testifies of the life and ministry of Him. And now today, we have Another Testament of Jesus Christ, another Witness that He is who the Bible says He is. It amazes me how so many people say they have a Faith in Christ, but don't know Him or believe Him. Our Heavenly Father in His love brought to light the Book of Mormon so that we can know that Jesus Christ truly is His Son, and that today He has restored His church. I know it's true! I feel its truthfulness as I read its pages every day. 

Another Great Week

 This last week has been super crazy/amazing. We have a new standard of excellence here and Elder Meza and I are just tearing up Grand Island. We're working hard and have been teaching quite a few lessons. Teaching has been top notch and really cool! Lately we have been focusing on teaching when we find people and finding others while we teach. It's a neat principle. For example, when we go about finding and we meet someone we begin to teach. Usually what would happen is we would set up a return appointment. We're teaching a lot! lol. Also the mission is doing fantastic! New Goals have been set and the mission is working really hard. We're really looking forward to seeing the Zone rise up and smash the goals from the last few years. So Kearney Zone rocks :)

It amazes me time and time again how I am so often reminded of the basics. If we never understand or master the basics, how can we ever progress? I'm still trying to understand the basic principles of the Gospel. But it's neat to see when we understand the basic principles, all of the other things fall right into place. Applying those principles can be easy but constantly applying them is another thing. I'm still working on the constant part. :)

Recently I've been reflecting on the Book of Mormon. How we have it. Why we have it. and why do we need it today? After pondering and studying, my gratitude for the Book of Mormon has been increased. The days will live in are crazy, the future looks even more crazier, I am so grateful to God for bringing the Book of Mormon to light. I love the Book of Mormon. I love how it brightens my hope and strengthens my faith in God and His Son Jesus Christ. I just pray I become who He wants me to be every time I read it. I feel His love and Spirit when I do. That just drives me to read it more. :) Father is so mindful of us and wants us to be happy. One lesson I have learned is there is much power, strength, and comfort, in not only reading the scriptures, but in Feasting Upon them, and Memorizing them. Memorizing the scriptures has brought me friends and extra back up buddies in times of need. Pick a scripture that applies to you personally and memorize it. Whenever you feel lonely or frustrated just recite it, it will bring patience.

Feb means 7 more fast Sundays

Bro. M is doing awesome! He'll be getting baptized soon! He's gone 6 days without smoking! Woot!! :) It's funny he told us when we began teaching him that he is the member in his family that was the rebel and didn't go to church or anything like the rest of his family. His mom would call him and he would always say this to get off the phone, "Mom, I'm learning about the Bible right now I'll call you back." Now that he really is learning about the Gospel with us and reading the Book of Mormon, his mom will call and he'll say, "Mom, I'm with the Hermanos right now I'll call you back." Then she just says,"Nonsense!" haha it's pretty silly. 

We had a Crazy Good Sabbath Yesterday! :) Elder Meza and I have been a little concerned about J our recent convert and of his testimony. Our jaws dropped yesterday when he got up and bore his testimony. He said he knew the church was true and that he was grateful for the restoration of the gospel. I couldn't help but smile! :) I love the Gospel! :D

 Elder M and I are really focusing on letting the Lord know our desires and telling him all that we will do to achieve our inspired goals. We'll be finding a lot this week. Our branch baptismal goal for the year is 10. We're at 7 and it's March. We want to change the goal, but the branch president who has been the president for 11 years has never seen the baptismal goal met. He wants us to meet the goal first. We're planning on shattering that goal real soon! :)

This week I learned that the Lord's desire for me is to do good. To be Me.. I love this scripture now in Doctrine and Covenants now, 58:27

"Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;"

 

I love that thought. I'm more anxious to share the gospel now, and now when I meet people I begin to teach and testify. The Atonement is incredible. His sacrifice touched every living thing. Imagine the majesty of the Savior, that His suffering touched the whole world, and every intelligence.