Hello everyone!
I took part in something so sacred, and so sweet Saturday night. About
7 months ago I met a man who had second thoughts on whether or not he
was going to kill me when he met me. Elder Burke and I knocked on his
door, he thought we were cops. When he discovered we were
missionaries, he then gave this remark "I will never go to church.
Organized religion is a joke, and all they do is judge me." I can
still remember our response "Do you believe in Jesus Christ? Do you
think he was judged harshly?" The man invited us back for a return
appointment. As we walked away my faithful companion said "That man,
is our next baptism" As we entered the appointment, we talked about
his religious background. He believed that he was destined for hell.
From what he could tell, some were born in to the destiny of the
Devil, and some of God. He began to tell us all of the things he did.
He was raised on the streets in KCK. He was apart of a Vietnamese Gang
there.
In a moment like that, the spirit was stronger than I had ever felt
before, as I bore witness that he was NOT going to hell, that he had
just as much potential to get into heaven as I did, and I was going to
prove to him how that was true. We then taught him about the Gospel of
Jesus Christ. The Atonement, and the ability to be cleansed, and to
have a fresh view of God. A new life. I looked at this man, and tears
began to flow down his cheeks. We asked him how he felt. He said
"Elders, it feels as if you are taking a sponge and wiping away the
dirt from my soul." That was his first testimony of Jesus Christ. What
a powerful witness. As the months progressed, he quit smoking cold
turkey, he got married so he could live the Law of Chastity, he got a
new job so he could attend church on Sunday's. He prepared himself to
enter the waters of Baptism. On April 30th he was Baptized. I could
hardly recognize him when I saw him. I had the privilege of performing
the Baptism. Before we entered the water, I invited him to think about
all of the steps that he took up to this point in his life, and to
remember that it was by Jesus Christ that helped him get there. As he
was being baptized, he began to sob, and I couldn't help but think to
myself. "The weight of this mans burden is being lifted" as he comes
up out of the water. Later he told me that he thought the same thing,
and that he felt like he was floating on air. I found a deeper
understanding of friendship with him, I have seen him change, I know
that it was by the gospel that this all happened.
We found a kid who is in foster care. He is 17 years old. Has a lot of
anger issues, and the people he staying with are less active. We went
to visit them, and the kid asked us how he could serve a mission just
like us. We had a great discussion and I saw this big tough Samoan kid
soften up. We realized how big of a heart really has. We are hoping
that he can enter the waters of baptism soon. He can reach that goal
of being a missionary.
Here's another great experience we had this week. There is a lady that
has been meeting with the missionaries since 2012. She lives with her
boy friend, and has a few word of wisdom issues. Her answer has always
been that she can't decide if she should join, because she has never
gotten the confirming witness. She says that one day God will show
her. We had a really good lesson with her the other day, one that I
believe was delivered by the hand of God himself. There is no way I
could have asked the right questions, or said the right things. I do
not have enough wisdom. As we began talking I asked. "You have met
with missionaries for quite some time now, what is holding you back
from joining?" She began to give her generic answer. The one she has
given many missionaries. "I feel comfortable with the doctrine and
beliefs, I just need that direction of where I should go. God keeps
pressing me to choose which church" At that point I knew what I needed
to ask. But I waited until the time was right. We began teaching about
Obedience, blessings, and prayer. This started much discussion about
prayer.
By this point her boy friend had left for lunch, and it was just us,
the member present, and her. I asked "God speaks to our mind and
heart. Do you think that he would press you so much about an answer,
if this wasn't true?" I knew why I needed to ask that question, and
that specific moment. It was then, that I fully understood why she
hadn't joined. She began to sob. She opened up, and began to talk to
us about her relationship with the boy friend. It was at that point
that I had the impression "She is in an abusive relationship". She
started to talk about being trapped. She said she really wants to
follow the Law of Chastity, but she can't leave. With this in mind, I
couldn't really step beyond that info. We are instructed to give those
things to the Mission President. I left her with Mosiah 24. By the end
of the lesson, she had admitted that she knew it was true. She always
has. The spirit is the true teacher.
That about sums up my crazy week! This upcoming week is going to be
crazy too. I'm giving another training at Mission LeaderShip Council.
Love ya!
I took part in something so sacred, and so sweet Saturday night. About
7 months ago I met a man who had second thoughts on whether or not he
was going to kill me when he met me. Elder Burke and I knocked on his
door, he thought we were cops. When he discovered we were
missionaries, he then gave this remark "I will never go to church.
Organized religion is a joke, and all they do is judge me." I can
still remember our response "Do you believe in Jesus Christ? Do you
think he was judged harshly?" The man invited us back for a return
appointment. As we walked away my faithful companion said "That man,
is our next baptism" As we entered the appointment, we talked about
his religious background. He believed that he was destined for hell.
From what he could tell, some were born in to the destiny of the
Devil, and some of God. He began to tell us all of the things he did.
He was raised on the streets in KCK. He was apart of a Vietnamese Gang
there.
In a moment like that, the spirit was stronger than I had ever felt
before, as I bore witness that he was NOT going to hell, that he had
just as much potential to get into heaven as I did, and I was going to
prove to him how that was true. We then taught him about the Gospel of
Jesus Christ. The Atonement, and the ability to be cleansed, and to
have a fresh view of God. A new life. I looked at this man, and tears
began to flow down his cheeks. We asked him how he felt. He said
"Elders, it feels as if you are taking a sponge and wiping away the
dirt from my soul." That was his first testimony of Jesus Christ. What
a powerful witness. As the months progressed, he quit smoking cold
turkey, he got married so he could live the Law of Chastity, he got a
new job so he could attend church on Sunday's. He prepared himself to
enter the waters of Baptism. On April 30th he was Baptized. I could
hardly recognize him when I saw him. I had the privilege of performing
the Baptism. Before we entered the water, I invited him to think about
all of the steps that he took up to this point in his life, and to
remember that it was by Jesus Christ that helped him get there. As he
was being baptized, he began to sob, and I couldn't help but think to
myself. "The weight of this mans burden is being lifted" as he comes
up out of the water. Later he told me that he thought the same thing,
and that he felt like he was floating on air. I found a deeper
understanding of friendship with him, I have seen him change, I know
that it was by the gospel that this all happened.
We found a kid who is in foster care. He is 17 years old. Has a lot of
anger issues, and the people he staying with are less active. We went
to visit them, and the kid asked us how he could serve a mission just
like us. We had a great discussion and I saw this big tough Samoan kid
soften up. We realized how big of a heart really has. We are hoping
that he can enter the waters of baptism soon. He can reach that goal
of being a missionary.
Here's another great experience we had this week. There is a lady that
has been meeting with the missionaries since 2012. She lives with her
boy friend, and has a few word of wisdom issues. Her answer has always
been that she can't decide if she should join, because she has never
gotten the confirming witness. She says that one day God will show
her. We had a really good lesson with her the other day, one that I
believe was delivered by the hand of God himself. There is no way I
could have asked the right questions, or said the right things. I do
not have enough wisdom. As we began talking I asked. "You have met
with missionaries for quite some time now, what is holding you back
from joining?" She began to give her generic answer. The one she has
given many missionaries. "I feel comfortable with the doctrine and
beliefs, I just need that direction of where I should go. God keeps
pressing me to choose which church" At that point I knew what I needed
to ask. But I waited until the time was right. We began teaching about
Obedience, blessings, and prayer. This started much discussion about
prayer.
By this point her boy friend had left for lunch, and it was just us,
the member present, and her. I asked "God speaks to our mind and
heart. Do you think that he would press you so much about an answer,
if this wasn't true?" I knew why I needed to ask that question, and
that specific moment. It was then, that I fully understood why she
hadn't joined. She began to sob. She opened up, and began to talk to
us about her relationship with the boy friend. It was at that point
that I had the impression "She is in an abusive relationship". She
started to talk about being trapped. She said she really wants to
follow the Law of Chastity, but she can't leave. With this in mind, I
couldn't really step beyond that info. We are instructed to give those
things to the Mission President. I left her with Mosiah 24. By the end
of the lesson, she had admitted that she knew it was true. She always
has. The spirit is the true teacher.
That about sums up my crazy week! This upcoming week is going to be
crazy too. I'm giving another training at Mission LeaderShip Council.
Love ya!
Another Baptism
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