On Wednesday last week, we had the
awesome opportunity to visit with Elder Brent H. Nielson of the Seventy, who is
on the Missionary Board of Administration...I think that's what it's called.
Anywho, he came to visit with the whole mission as part of a mission tour that
he was doing here in the Southwestern missions of the USA. We prepared
ourselves by reading some talks by David A. Bednar about the atonement. Both of
the talks focused on the power of the grace of Christ in the atonement, how it
influences us, and how it influences our investigators. I took notes as fast as
I could the whole time he was talking. I had been having some tough times right
before that with how much some of the leaders in the mission were operating as
administrators, and less like ministers. Then, Elder Nielson started relating
some personal experiences, and began to expound on the scriptures in a way that
it was like everything he was saying was specifically for me, and his words
gave me hope and peace regarding my less than Christlike emotions. It
completely changed my outlook on things, and gave me a brighter perspective. I
guess that I'd gotten so sick and tired of how some people were handling
things, and I let the spirit of contention enter my heart. As Elder Nielson
spoke and taught, I felt the Spirit teach me, not in a reprimanding way, but
rather, in a loving way. I felt my thoughts turned to what I could do to
influence the others, even though I wasn't a leader of great stature or rank, I
could still influence others by one of the members of the Godhead. After all,
if we all act and live like Apostles, then we surely will have an equal portion
of the spirit as they receive. One of my favorite phrases of the day was
"We have all been saved by grace, but have we been changed by grace?"
As I studied Mosiah 1-4 this week, I've noticed that the whole purpose of the
atonement is to reverse the effects of the fall of Adam. The carnal nature that
we received when we were born, is one of the things that must be overcome by
the atonement to be fully received back into Father's presence. He then shared
personal experiences that hit the core of my being, and I felt that everything
he said resonated within me. It was a really awesome experience. His wife even
bore testimony of when he was presiding in the Philippines as an Area Seventy.
When the huge typhoon hit, they were missing 240 missionaries. She testified
that she saw the Spirit rest upon her husband, and that the Spirit showed him
what to do to find those missionaries. Normally, whenever Sister members of the
church bear testimony, I don't really feel it very strongly. This time, I think
it was one of the strongest testimonies that I've ever felt out of any human
being. That whole day was amazing. We then went and dropped off our packages to
the H's, and shared a message with them about what we'd learned from Elder
Nielson. Afterward, we visited a member family, and shared the "He is the
Gift" message with them.
Thursday, we had weekly planning and
the likes. We planned for all of our investigators, and tried to more
effectively plan the use of "He is the Gift" in all of our contacting
strategies and teaching appointments. We then visited with Hna. G., who
won't be going anywhere for Christmas. We asked if we could come spend some
time with her for Christmas, and she happily agreed. After, we went to visit
with B., and talked to B. about receiving the priesthood. He's
going to talk to Presidente V. tonight about receiving it. We then had
coordination with Hno. H., and talked a bit about the things that we
would be doing with the new Branch Presidency, and how we would be helping all
of our less-actives. We even talked to Presidente V., and he knows the
stake president over our area, and is planning on asking if the Spanish-speaking members can come to the branch. If he says yes, then we'll
have several more members in our area to visit!
Friday rolled around, and we had
district meeting. We planned to have district meeting and then help Presidente
V. with distributing presents around the ward that had been given through
the Secret Santa program. The Sisters arrived 20 minutes late, so we waited.
And waited. Then we had district meeting on the importance of personal
testimony vs. rote testimony, and went out to give out the gifts to all the
members. We then went to try and find some less-active members from the wards
in PQ, and returned home for dinner. We then visited the B., and talked
to them about what they'd be doing for Christmas, and shared with them a lesson
about what Elder Nielsen had shared. We also talked to A.about getting the
priesthood, and he met wit Presidente V. on Sunday. We're visiting them
tonight to see how it went! We then tried to contact some referrals.
Saturday, we had all of our
appointments in the morning. We went to see F. at 9:00, but he wasn't
there; we went to see L. at 10:00, and had an awesome lesson about reading,
praying, and attending church. He's so ready to know everything, and we gave
him some passages in the Book of Mormon to read. We then tried to contact a potential
investigator. We then did some things around the area for the day, got our
studies done, and went to visit with Hno. L. and his family. His ex-wife was
there visiting, and while we were there, she was pretty not happy looking. She
doesn't like the missionaries much, and so we kept our message to just the
video of He is the Gift and the video "Angels from the Realms of
Glory".
Sunday, L. and F. came to
church. They enjoyed the lessons, and in sacrament meeting, L. asked us when
and where we had baptisms. We were caught by surprise, and explained how things
went. We then went to visit J. and B., and shared a short message with
them. Their new baptismal date is for the 10th of January. We then visited a
less-active member in a dialysis unit and shared the Plan of Salvation so that
Elder G. could practice his Spanish.
Yesterday was the mission Christmas
Devotional, and it was an awesome meeting. We got to have breakfast with
everyone, and I got to see some missionaries that I haven't seen or talked to
in a really long time. We then went out and started working in our area. We
went to try some less-actives, but they weren't home. We then went and found
one less-active that I haven't seen in a really long time. We got to share "He
is the Gift" with him, and invited him to share it with as many people as
he could. We then went and contacted a referral that we had received from the
YSA sisters. We ended up sharing the "He is the Gift" video, and
smoothly transitioned into the Restoration. The Spirit really influenced what
we said, and the lesson went so well. The Spirit was strong, and we invited
them to keep meeting with us. We ended up adding all four of them. A.,
J., D., and T. There are more there, and we're hoping to teach them
as well. After that, we went to a Branch FHE, and it was a blast! They had some
of the guys that were there who had brought instruments, and they played some
music and sang.
All of our investigators are doing
well. We'll be caroling for Christmas Eve, since we won't be able to get any
appointments with people, and we've got some plans set up to go do things on
Christmas.
Merry Christmas to everyone!
-Love, Elder Crook
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