We worked at a sunflower field this week. You have to be happy when you are surrounded rows and rows of beautiful sunflowers, and you get to ride a tractor.
This week I answered a few questions about serving a mission. I hope this is helpful to anyone who is thinking of serving.
1. Can
you tell a difference when you are teaching with the spirit?
Of course there is a huge difference when we teach with the
spirit. In D&C 42 it says “And the spirit shall be given unto you by the
prayer of faith and if ye recieve not the Spirit ye shall not teach.” I testify
of this spcripture. The spirit is absolutely the key to the conversion. If the
investigatores dont feel the spirit there is in no way that they will accept
our message. Missionaries can feel when they are teaching with the spirit and
when they are not. It is so important to be able to channel the spirit into the
lesson with questions and adapting the lesson to the needs of the
invesigator.
2. How many times a week are you rejected and how do you deal with
it?
To give you a little bit of a clue of how many times we are
rejected here is a picture of my agenda on a bad day. Circles mean they were
set appointments, the X’s through the time means we were rejected, and the
check means that we were accepted and we taught something. This is an example
of an extreme day when nobody accepted us . Not all days are like this but it is
true in the missionyou are rejected A LOT. If we are turned away right up
front, i dont feel that bad. Normally we just laugh it off and keep going.
However, when we have a recent convert, or less active, or an investigator that
we have been teaching for a whie and they reject us it really hurts becuase
these people have knowledge and basic understanding of the gospel principals.
Even though it is really hard for missionaries to accept rejection we have to
realize and remmeber that every person has their free agency. As missionaries
if we taught with the spirit and did all that we possibly could and they still
decide to reject the gospel we cant do anything more, and we have to move on.
Rejection for me has been really hard but the longer I am out the better I have
learned to deal with it.
3. What were your biggest concerns as you began serving a mission?
Our personal concerns change throughout the mission. At the
begining of my mission my biggest concerns were mainly about adapting to a new
culture. Don’t get me worng I was really excited to be in a new country. But
honestly I was really nervous to be somewhere where I didnt speak the langauge,
and I had no knowledge of the customs. The first few months out were all about
adapting to the Peruvian culture as well as the missionary life in general. No
music, no tv,and all of the rules were a big adjustment. After a few I adapted to the mission
lifestyle and my concerns changed. I was no longer focused on myself but more concerned
for the people that I was teaching.
I can remember in the CCM
discussing our fears.We went around a circle talking about our biggest concerns
and one elder said that his biggest fear was having fears. This really made an
impact on every one. God doesnt want us to be worried or fearful. Doubt and
fear come from satan. We are here to do the Lords work and if we have fears we
arent trusting that God will help us along this journey. In D&C 6. 33 it
says “Fear not to do good, my sons for whatsoever ye sow, that shall ye also
reap therefore, if ye sow good ye shall also reap good for your reward.
Therefore, fear not, little flock, do good, let earth and hell combine against
you for if ye are build upon my rock they cannot prevail.” If anyone has fears before entering the
mission field I invite them to get rid of their fears, put your confidence in
God and trust that he will help you through whatever trial you encounter. You don’t
ever need to be worried. That applies to life in general, not only for the
mission field. Fear is something so natural but really it is a weakness that we
need to overcome with faith in God.
4. What talents and abilities do you have that have been helpful
as you preach the gospel.
The biggest resource any missionary possess is a testimony. If
your desires and testimony are in a good place you are set to serve a mission but
if you are thinking about other things, if you desire to be doing soemthing
else or if you dont have a strong testimony about a gospel principal people
will notice. The other day we were teaching an investigator, W. He had recieved lessons years before but
never felt the testimony of the elders. When we taught the lesson of the
restoration of the Gospel he was left speechless. He commented to us that he
believed. In previous lessons he wasnt convinced but our convition and our
testionies helped him understand the restoration of the gospel. If you
can, FIND YOUR TESTIMONY before you come out. That will be a big help!!
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