F. is probably one of the most Christ like people I have ever met. He wants so much to come unto Christ and help his family to do it too. His girlfriend is a very shy, awkward lady that doesn't want to change nor talk with us nor come to church, and his children are alcoholics that have children with several different women, his dad listens to us but is a part of another church and after several lessons with him we had to drop him cause he doesn't want anything to do with us. In short he has NO support at home and he tells us that his 'friends' at his work always make fun of him cause he won't smoke or drink with them and that he is changing.
When we started teaching him he couldn't read 'hola' so he started reading and practices every night in the Book of Mormon and in a Himario that my comp gave him so he can participate more at church and so he can understand better the doctrine we are teaching him and at this point he can read whole verses by himself! He is so humble and prays and begs The Lord to help him as he tries to get better and tries to help his family improve as well. He will be getting married in about three weeks and baptized very soon afterwards. He shows up to church before the majority of the members and tells us that he feels the spirit in sacrament meeting. He gets a lot of help and support from Christ to help him keep moving forward and progressing, which is the only support that counts anyway.
Also I would like to share my new favorite chapter in the scriptures about missionary work.
1 Corinthians Chapter 2.
1.And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.
2. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
3. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
4. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
5. That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
6. Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
7. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
8. Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
9. But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
10. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
11. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man,but the Spirit of God.
12. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
13. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
14. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them,because they are spiritually discerned.
How true this chapter is. We all come on the mission in our weakness and fear and I can promise you that my lessons are anything but 'enticing words of mans wisdom' but that is the point. Joseph Smith wasn't called in spite of his weakness but because of it. I have been in countless lessons when we have tried to just teach appealing to peoples logic or to the doctrine alone and that goes NOWHERE. But when the Spirit comes in the room in even the most simple of lessons the lesson is made powerful and it changes people in a way that only the Spirit can. ONLY THE SPIRIT CAN.
To all that are going on a mission learn it way before you have a year in the mission - you don't change people - the Spirit does. If you want good lessons you don't do anything but let the Spirit talk through you. That's not to say don't study and work your butt off and do ALL you can, because that is exactly how you get the Spirit, but my point is do not rely on yourself alone, cause I promise you it will amount to nothing.
Just to finish up we had a cool experience with this. We started teaching a family the usual lesson of the restoration and they were bored out of their minds and making fun of each other and us and I'm sure were thinking "What is this crazy white kid talking about?"... So after about 5 minutes of us trying to help these people understand the restoration through pure doctrine, we changed up went straight to our testimonies of Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon and the invitation to read and ask God yourselves. Everybody changed as the Spirit came in the room and the Spirit testified so that they could understand that they could ask God and receive an answer. And because of that, not because of our 'enticing words' but because of simple testimonies and the power of the Spirit they asked us to come back and accepted a Book of Mormon.
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