Change

This was a slow week.  Slow in that I couldn’t move very fast.  I screwed my knee up again kicking a ball. How do you do that?  How does kicking a ball put a person in so much pain that they can’t even walk?  I found the answer to that.  I have a bad knee tendon.  Walking so much makes my tendon swell up to the point that any extreme pressure or movement makes it not function right thus not allowing me to straighten out my leg.  I have a little band thing that fixes that . No problems and no early plane ride home. :D

There isn’t much movement with the work right now.  Like I said, it was a slow week.

So I was thinking about change.  2 years.  Mission or no mission, change has happened.  Now what kind of change?  The way I see it, there are 2 kinds of change.  Deep change and shallow change.  You can then take those and separate them into good and bad or you can start with good/bad and then move to deep  and shallow.... but I´m starting with deep/shallow and focusing on good. 

Shallow: Laman and Lemuel. Saw angels and many great miracles.  Helped Nefi built a boat. And then they tried to kill him. Again and again. 

Deep: Alma and the sons of King Mosiah. Saw an angel and they devoted their lives to the Lord. They are the ideal examples of missionaries and priesthood leaders. 

So what was the difference? Why did one group keep falling when the other group reached the top and pulled others up behind them?  When you figure that out let me know. :P

I propose that we cannot just change, but change deeply or there will always be a moment that is described in Ether as ".... dogs returning to their vomit....".  Positive and lasting change can no longer be called "change" but must then be called "Progress".  To move towards a goal.  To be better one day than the last.  To move upwards. People think that they can obey without changing, but that is a shallow change.  We do it for motives contrary to the nature of God.  Therefore it cannot last.  Obedience is not a moment it is a way of life.  Do we need to change then?  Yes.  For a moment?  No. For life.  For time and for all eternity.  Deep and Positive change = Progress. Progress = Salvation.  And we all know what Salvation =´s. :)

Elder Heath

Special Assignment

Well this was an interesting week ! We had a Baptism!!!! Braulio Ponce Perez! He will be in the mission in a year. He rocks. Changed his life to be baptized.  Truly understands the gospel. More than understanding it, he lives it.  Pics included.

Sandra is going well also.  She should be baptized this Saturday if her dad doesn’t interfere too much.  She is already sharing her testimony with us about how the gospel has helped her and how the B.of.M. is the word of God.  She loves praying and she loves reading, so she is just GREAT!!

There is slow movement with other investigators, but nothing really note worthy.

We also did some service for a recent convert.  She has some land that she is having to sell so pay for her husband’s hospital bills and it needed to be cleaned up. They have males in the family but I think they lack men. We tore a fence out that was made of bed springs and moved a TON of rocks.  I wouldn’t be surprised if they really weighed about ton put together. They were some big ol suckers.

Story of my life, I went to the hospital this week! :D Haha. I have been consistently sick for about a month now and the Mission President just sent me to the hospital to see what was going on. They took some blood samples, gave me an IV and took a stool sample. 5 hours later in the familiar white and boring ER, they told me I had a big ol honkin infection in my intestines. Another IV, Antibacterial drop and 2 meds to take for a week and I was OUT!  Funny thing, I never felt sick last week until I got to the bathroom.  I´m all good now though. That just goes to show all that can happen in a week.

SO!!! Changes tomorrow.  Normally, we get a call from the Zone Leaders telling us who changes in the District and we, as DL´s, have to pass them to the rest without anyone knowing who their future comp will be.  Which is exactly what happened.  And then President Christensen called me and told me he had "Special Plans" for me this next change.  He told me that there was a missionary that has had some problems needed a good example and to be taught how to do things right.  He said that I was the perfect missionary to do that.  I don’t entirely agree, but I´ll go with it. Hahaha.  This next change is going to be a challenge.  I know this Elder and I know his attitude.  If there was ANY time to be 100% obedient in the mission, it’s now more than ever.  Ok so each moment in the mission is THE moment for obedience, but you know what I mean.  There is a lot to do and I will be sure to keep you all informed.  I pray that the Lord softens this elder’s heart to repentance. That is what I probably have to teach him.  If I know ANYTHING about the gospel of Christ, I know repentance. Haha. Elder Cortez, here I come.

So I was writing one of my lovely sisters (because they are all my sisters even if not by blood), and the thought came to my mind about the meaning of "Magnifying one´s Calling". I thought, "Well, to magnify is to make something bigger in sight." But I would like to propose that it is not ONLY to grow in sight, but in actual scope.

The Lord gives us commandments and we, as natural men, are not always strong enough to keep them by our own strength.  So we do ALL that we can do and the Lord makes us stronger. But this is not a temporal energy drink strength that He gives us, but a lasting and very real power to overcome temptation. Using that same principle, to magnify one´s calling would be to do ALL that one could do, not holding anything back, and allowing the Lord to fill us with more strength.  Therefore being able to do even more in our callings in the family or the church.  It is an eternal progress . So when I said last week, that I would "Leave it all in the mission field", that was not to say that I would crash up on arrival home, but to put faith in Christ that He would then fill me with more strength to then fulfill all that I have to do in my life. Would we not all want the same?

I love you!! Thanks for the letters and the prayers!!! Till next week!!

Elder Heath

Nice Surprise

August 27, 2012

Well this week was interesting. Everything really happened over the weekend.

We were told on Thursday that we had to be at the stakecenter ALL day on Saturday. Why? A stake missionary activity.  Great!..... Not so great.  Each ward was assigned "A question of the soul" and the ward mission leaders had to do a presentation to answer the question.  Investigators get there and go to learn about which ever question they want an answer to.  We had "How do I find peace and joy in my life".  I had to give the presentation a few times because our mission leader had family matters to attend to and my comp doesn’t speak much Spanish.  I liked it a lot.  I wished more people got there.  Not many did.  It’s a great idea, but it wasn’t well organized.  We didn’t know ANYTHING about it until Thursday.  If they do this every 2 or 3 months it could be really great!  It was just a rough trial run.

Sunday roles around and we get to church with an investigator. Another of our investigators (Braulio) is already there talking to a brother.  The brother calls us over and says, "He wants to be baptized . When are we gonna take care of this?"  "You ok for this Saturday?"  "Yeah!" "Alright then. Saturday at 7."  They announced it in Sacrament meeting and it is going well.  That was a nice surprise . We were going to put the date with him tonight, but it all worked out well.  

He is a lot happier after having left his girlfriend.  They both took it hard at first, but they are seeing how it was a needed step to progress.  Gaby is now officially in her ward and with other missionaries.  We found her on the street and she started YELLING at me!  "IT´S ALL YOUR FAULT!!!!  That ward isn’t the same!  I know it’s the same church so I’ll be baptized next Saturday and I want you both to be there, but I don’t like the ward AND IT´S ALL YOUR FAULT OR SENDING ME THERE!!!"  That was fun.  Haha.  By the way, Braulio and Gaby only have 20 years. Braulio is now warming up to the idea of serving a mission in a year. Gaby still loves him so we will see if she becomes a distraction when she changes houses just to be in this ward...... I sure hope not.

1 Nephi 11-13. Nephi´s vision of the Tree of Life.  I read it this morning in Spanish. I understood it better in Spanish than in English.  There is a meaning in all things. We just have to find it. Nephi tells his brothers that they failed to understand the words of their father because they had not prayed unto the Lord for understanding. They replied by saying that the Lord does not respond to them.  Nephi then goes on the explain that there are two parts to receiving an answer.  Pray and obey.  They were not obedient to the commandments of the Lord therefore they could not receive revelation.  There is a meaning in all things.  What will we do to receive the answer?

12 weeks today.  That just feels weird.  Do I want to go home?  Yes.  Do I want to leave my mission?  No. Both are coming and I don’t like the bitter-sweet taste in my mouth.  I just have to get off that plane with nothing left. Leave it all on the missionary field.  That doesn’t mean it will be time to rest when I get home, but it means that I should be satisfied that there was nothing more that I could do for the salvation of this people.  My comp, Elder Hanson, always says,  "My mission will NOT be the best two years of my life. It will be the best two years FOR my life."  I share the sentiment.

With hope,

Elder Heath

Another Bleh

August 13, 2012

I think the end of a mission is the most expensive because everything is worn out and you need new everything even if it’s for a short amount of time.  I’ll have to pull a bit more out now because I am in DRASTIC need of shoes.  I know I told you on Mother’s Day that it would be ok and I really thought it would be, but I just went through those "new" soles that I thought would last until the end of mission.  That’s right.  I got them back from the shoe guy about 6 weeks ago and I already have holes in the bottoms.  I’ll send pics.

 My other shoes aren´t doing to well either.  I had a hole in one side of my right shoe and I fixed that by asking a guy to put a piece of leather inside and sew it all up. Well, he did, but he sewed it SUPER tight and it knocked my foot out the other side of the shoe.  If I ask for another piece of leather in it my foot won’t fit.  The best part is, out of the 3 pairs of shoes I brought out here (including my sports shoes that are opening up as well), only 1 shoe seems decent enough to take home at the end of the mission.  Very weird. I won’t be buying more athletic shoes though.  Just a pair of black leather Hushpuppies.  I’ve heard a lot of elders buying those at the end of their missions and they love them.

This was a pretty bad week . Both my comp and I were sick . I had a bug that had me in bed ALL day for 2 days and he was hit hard with a cold that also put him on his back for a bit.  We then spent another day to recuperate a bit by order of Sister Christensen and Doctor Kelly.  I’d say mine was harder, and it was, but I talked to the right people and now I’m doing a bit better while he is still coughing up a storm and sneezing out a hurricane.  He refuses to talk to anyone, so I’ll talk to them for him.  Mwhahaha.

The weekly report is short: rough (being sick), not much success (for being sick), and the bap date we had fell through (she didn’t go to church). We did find this one girl knocking doors though.  Her name is Deborah and she had heard from the elders about a year ago, but they never went back.  We are going back.  She is asthmatic and we gave her a blessing. She was really grateful for that.

We are gunna kick it up this week to make up for the sick days, so stay tuned next week for some good stories!!!

Love Y´all!!! (Heeheehee)

Elder Heath

To be, or not to be... without a head?

(Aug 20)

 

This week was a lot better than last week. We have a lot of new people listening to us and they seem pretty excited. For example: Braulio and Gaby. We started teaching them together because they were just that, together. Since then (Tuesday), they have seperated with a big fight. Fortuntely, they both want to keep listening! Braulio is 20 and wants to go on a mission. Gaby is 20 and had series of dreams in which she was told to follow God and read the Book of Mormon. She han´t had religion in her life much and she really wants it.

 

Theresa and Alejandro. They are a couple of catholics who have a daughter that is a member. He is drunk and she just wants to stop fighting. Also, their son Alejandro is listening to us too.

 

Betty. She is a single mother and has a meat shop. She has been looking at all the churches and has been asking, "Which is true?". She liked hearing about Joseph Smith.

 

Adela. She is an elderly woman who already has a TON of faith in Christ. Her son died in Febuary and he taught her almost all she knows about God. I think she saw her son in us when we passed by talkind about salvation. Her son worked a lot with drunks and druggys to help them change their lives. She likes the idea of the Book of Mormon because she doesn´t think that God is silent.

 

Angela. Her son is a member from a loooong time ago, but currently inactive. She has read the Book of Mormon and wants to get baptised. She is fighting diabetes and working long hours during the week. I worry about her.

 

Just a quick thought: Today I read through the book of Ether. That is one crazy book. I like Shiz´s headless pushup and the gasping for breath from the stub of his neck. I don´t know why I read action books before the mission, because none of them have THAT. Besides the gore, there are some serious principles. An entire country rose and fell because of obedience and disobedience. That was the first time that would happen in this continent. Let´s see how many times it will happen now. We are, so far, 2 for 3 righteous peoples that have inhabited this land and have been destroyed. We now have to decide: Will we be raised up for our obedience, or wiped from the face of the earth for our disobedience? Of course there are differences in these last days than in those times, but God is constant and he will have His justice. Whether it be a person, a family or a nation, He will continue working as He has in the past. We call it the "Nephite-cycle", but the Jaredites did it first. Righteousness, sin, repentance. Righteousness, sin, repentance. Hmmm.....

 

I love you!!!! I am praying for you and I really hope that things are going well in the majority of your days!!!

Elder Heath