June 18, 2018 - Faith I need more of it

Cape Meares

Faith is something I think we all wish we had. I mean in Jacob Chapter 4 verse 6 it says this: 

"Wherefore, we search the prophets, and we have many revelations and the spirit of prophecy; and having all these witnesses we obtain a hope, and our faith becometh unshaken, insomuch that we truly can command in the name of Jesus and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea." 

If that isn't cool to think that through faith we can command the earth to move or the waves of the sea to obey us, then i don't know what is. For right now though i have been focusing on showing more faith in Christ and him helping me through all of my trials.

This past week had its ups and downs but mostly ups! We have an investigator named Latasha who is making a ton of progress and the gospel is changing her life! We put her on date for July 14 and she is so excited. Richard is still progressing well and is loving the gospel. It really shows when he is out of town and he goes to church at another church building! 

Near the end of the week I got pretty sick and so that slowed down the work some but it is all good now and the work is moving on again! While I was resting, i was reading through a lot of Thomas S Monson talks and one thing really stood out to me that he said in a few of them. He said this "In Lewis Carroll’s classic, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Alice finds herself coming to a crossroads with two paths before her, each stretching onward but in opposite directions. She is confronted by the Cheshire Cat, of whom Alice asks, “Which path shall I take?”

The cat answers, “That depends where you want to go. If you do not know where you want to go, it doesn’t really matter which path you take.” Unlike Alice, each of us knows where he or she wants to go. It does matter which way we go, for the path we follow in this life surely leads to the path we shall follow in the next." 

From this I learn that we need to set goals on where we want to go and then set smaller goals on how we want to get there and come up with a plan on how to achieve those goals. As Dieter F Uchtdorf once said, do the little things as perfectly as you can and the big things will fall into place. These little things like reading the scriptures and praying daily can make all of the difference in our lives, i have seen it in my own so I have a firm testimony of the blessings that come from doing the small things in life.  

Octopus Tree

Rat Rod

June 11, 2018 - FINISHERS WANTED

Earlier today I was reading a talk by President Thomas S Monson that I really liked and am going to try to apply to my missionary efforts. It is called Finishers Wanted. He tells stories of great men who have done wonderful things and then fall short because they get distracted. He then tells a story of Paul and how he changed and how he finished. This life can be kind of crazy with all of the trials we go through every day. He gave us some tips on how we can be finishers and get through all of our trials.

1. The Mark of Vision. It has been said that the doorways of history turn on small hinges, and so do people’s lives. We are constantly making small decisions. The outcome determines the success or failure of our lives. That is why it is worthwhile to look ahead, set a course, and at least be partly ready when the moment of decision comes. True finishers have the capacity to visualize their objective.
2. The Mark of Effort. Vision without effort is daydreaming, effort without vision is drudgery; but vision, coupled with effort, will obtain the prize.
3. The Mark of Faith. Long years ago the psalmist wrote: “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man: It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.” (Ps. 118:8–9.) Recognize that faith and doubt cannot exist in the same mind at the same time, for one will dispel the other.
4. The Mark of Virtue. “… let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly. …” (D&C 121:45.) This counsel from the Lord will provide staying power in the race we run.
5. The Mark of Courage. Courage becomes a living and attractive virtue when it is regarded not as a willingness to die manfully, but the determination to live decently. Have the courage
6. The Mark of Prayer. When the burdens of life become heavy, when trials test one’s faith, when pain, sorrow, and despair cause the light of hope to flicker and burn low, communication with our Heavenly Father provides peace.
Link to talk: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1972/04/finishers-wanted?lang=eng

I think with these steps we can get through all trials but to make it even better start with step 6. If we council with the Lord in all our doings then he will lead and guide us to where he wants us to be. He will help us to reach our fullest potential so we can one day be like him and live with him again.

It has been kind of slow out here in Tillamook, but we aren't getting discouraged because I know that God has a plan and will help us through it. We have a few people who seem to have a lot of potential at the moment. We are working with Richard and his wife Paige. Richard is loving the gospel and has seen huge blessings from coming closer to our savior. His wife is hesitant but she is making progress. We are working with another girl named LaTasha and she is absolutely loving everything she is learning. She loves to read from the Book of Mormon and came to church on Sunday and felt the spirit so strongly.

We had a few days where we were out walking in the rain, it doesn't sound very fun but there are ways to make everything enjoyable. Life is a beautiful thing and we need to be living it to the fullest of our capabilities and God will come up with the rest. Let's all be finishers and not fall short.

3 Nephi 15: 9 Behold, I am the law, and the light. Look unto me, and endure to the end, and ye shall live; for unto him that endureth to the end will I give eternal life.

Having a bit of fun!

It's super hard to rely on the Lord in all we do. I still struggle with it a lot but I have seen many blessings come from it! At the stake conference here in Forest Grove when Elder Whiting talked to everybody he said go to the temple weekly. If you go to the temple once a week it's a commitment but if you go monthly it is an inconvenience. So that really stuck with me.

June 4, 2018 - Airplanes!

Today I finally got to go to the air museum! Just outside of Tillamook there is a big huge blimp hangar from World War II. they have made the inside into an air museum with a bunch of cool planes and helicopters. My favorite plane was the little one that I'll put a picture of at the end. This week was a pretty good week though. Our investigator Richard put himself on date. It is a little bit far out but we will work with him more and see if we can’t make it happen sooner! We stopped by on Sunday because he wasn't at church and he 100% thought that it was Saturday so that was pretty funny. We are teaching another man named David who is super solid and loves learning about the gospel and has seen blessing come from it already! It is absolutely amazing how willing the Lord is to bless us if we only ask!

I am doing really well. This past week I have been working a lot on relying on the Lord in everything I do. This has been super hard because the natural man in me wants to be prideful and say I can do this but that not the best solution I have found. The best way is to do as stated in Alma 37: 37 "Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day." This scripture has helped me a ton this past week in always remembering to be humble and to trust in the Lord and council with the Lord in everything I do. I have seen many blessings come from it. Every day my testimony of the truthfulness of this church and Jesus Christ get stronger and stronger. I know our Savior lives and loves every one of us. I know he watches out and cares for us every day. He is amongst everyone waiting there to help. 3 Nephi 27: 29 "Therefore, ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for he that asketh, receiveth; and unto him that knocketh, it shall be opened."