Dear Fam,
I've learned a lot this week from other missionaries and other people I came in contact with... I've come to realize the beauty of having every day the chance to change, repent, and continue to rely on the Lord. It doesn't matter if you have a calling to be a leader in the mission or not. We all have 1 purpose, and throughout my mission I've gotten the wonderful opportunity to learn from others. I'm excited to share with y'all what I learned this week as a servant of Christ.
On Tuesday I had one of the best exchanges that I've ever had since being a missionary. Man it was so awesome! I worked with Elder Udesike. He's from New Zealand (hes a baller too), he's kind of new and is struggling with the language, but the things I learned from him I'll never forget.
I first want to share with y'all one of the coolest experiences ever that happened to us as we were walking. One random guy came up to us (he was in a rush back home) and said, "Hey elders".. of course we were a little surprised. We eventually found out that he was a less active member (32 yrs old who served a mission! ). Before he ran off we were like, "Hey! Wait we want to come visit you today!" haha. Long story short, we went to his house and had one of the most spiritual lessons I've ever been a part of. This guy (Leo is his name) hadn't opened up his BoM in 2 years. He hadn't prayed in long time too! And guess what? We shared a verse in the BoM that the spirit inspired us to share and he prayed for the first time again with us at the end of the lesson. Man, it was simply awesome. I think the best part was when he told us that he felt like he should stop and talk to the "big white and black foreigners walking " haha. And we know...I know it was the spirit that guided him to us. He felt the spirit and God's love for him again, and I couldn't be more grateful.
I believe that I learned more from the exchange than Elder Udesike. He doesn't have a calling yet but he's a born leader. He gave me advice on what I can do to improve and help the zone. I felt like Heavenly Father again used him (in our evaluation) for me to receive personal revelation. The spirit is the true teacher. We must be willing to humble ourselves and listen!
I think this is the first time that I've mentioned to y'all about the bible bashing here in the Philippines. haha. Let's just say I've done a lot of studying in the Bible the past months. Some guys are ruthless, but I've learned even if we continue to answer their questions, it comes to humility and accepting the fact the God does not cease to work miracles. He called Joseph Smith to be his prophet in the last days and the fullness of the Gospel of the Jesus Christ was restored through him! The Book of Mormon is the word of God. I love testifying of it daily..because of it.. there's no more confusion. This is Christ's true church!
On Friday I experienced my first Missionary Leadership Council! All the Zone Leaders, STL's, AP's and President all meet together in the mission home and discuss the needs of the mission and how we can improve. It's sweet.
I love the question that Sister Koster had us ponder, "Is there anything more i can do?" that applies to us as the leaders. The lord can be pleased but he will never be satisfied! President Koster talked about Faith...it hit me.. how strong is my faith? Of course it needs to continue to grow in strength. I learned the importance of relying on the Savior for everything; especially in knowing how to bless the members of our zone.
President ended with asking, "Why are you happy?" Great question huh...I am happy because I am a full-time missionary, and I know my purpose!
There are many more things from MLC that Elder Vergara and I are excited to apply and share to the missionaries in our zone. We are so excited! (Pasig = best zone in the mission).
Our area is doing okay. We are still weeding out investigators. Luckily we have high hopes for the next week in our work, but as of now we're kind of struggling.
Keep praying for us here. I love y'all!
Love,
Elder Johnson
Selfie after a long day's work!
No comments:
Post a Comment