This week was quite interesting. By interesting I mean that tons of stuff happened, yet I have no idea what to write about. One thing I know I want to write about is our lunch on Saturday, so I guess I´ll start with that.
My Dad told me before I left that I would probably teach people who live in houses smaller than my bedroom. This week was the first time that happened. We went to eat lunch at Hermana Simona´s house (a convert of 5 years) in Rancho Blanco. A long bus ride and a twenty minute walk on a dirt road past huge paintball and motorcross arenas and we arrived.
Hna Simona lives with her granddaughter and, if I understood right, her daughter too. Her property was about the size of a half court in basketball. Her house is in one corner and there´s an outhouse in the other. Her house is a square concrete shack with one window and a door. Inside there´s just enough room for bunkbeds, a table and chairs, a fridge and a stove. She had a pile of books (mostly church books) and a few shelves with plates and stuff like that. She had almost nothing, but she still made us a three course meal with soup, taquitos, and jello, enough to fill up four hungry missionaries.
We felt bad that she had made us so much food, but she seemed so greatful to have us there. After eating she asked us to pray for her house because they´re planning on building a new road through it. We sang her favorite hymn, "Count your Blessings", shared a scripture and prayed. This was truly a humbling experience. This sister had not given us much, but compared to what she had, it was a ton. It reminded me of Mark 12:41-44. She had really given us "all that she had, even all of her living". We know she will be blessed greatly for having endured this her whole life and remaining faithful. She has truly been blessed with humility, something I need to work hard to have, and still lack. My faith grew much stronger as she counted her blessings with great faith. This humbling experience only lasted a few minutes, and a short bus ride brought us back to passing Audi, Mercedes, and Cadillac dealerships. Yet I won´t be forgetting it any time soon.
Hermana Simona´s birthday is this week, so we bought her a scarf and gloves and the Relief Society president is getting a cake. Other than that experience, I don´t have much to tell. It was a great week. We had some great experiences and learned a lot. We could see the Lord´s hand in our lives daily. We have all been blessed so abundantly. We need to count those blessings. I know that Heavenly Father loves all of his children and blesses them individually and in different ways, but he blesses us all. Whatever trials we are going through, Jesus Christ has felt the burden. He can take the burden upon him. He is reaching out daily to help us (2 Nephi 28:32). We just need to accept his aid.
A Humble Abode, yet Marvelous Faith.
Monday, October 27, 2014
Monday, October 20, 2014
This week was another great one. I think I say that every week, but it´s always true. This week we found some great new investigators, helped others to progress, and helped a member prepare for his mission. We got shots, carried a bunch of furniture up a five story building with cacti lining the stairway, and throughout it all managed to not get soaked to the point that our shoes are wet for three days. All in all, I would call it a great week.
One day we went with an awesome member named David. He is the Elder´s Quorum President and returned from his mission a few months ago. He brought us to a couple of his friends that he has had since he was a kid. Because of this, we got a couple of great new investigators and his friends got the chance to hear the restored gospel. When he was teaching on Sunday he expressed how glad he was for having finally shared the Gospel with his friends. He said that his mom had told him he was brave, but he realized that he only had to be brave long enough to knock on the door. His friends not only are still his friends, but they are very grateful that he shared. If any of you are scared to share the Gospel, be brave just long enough to knock on the door. Your friends will be grateful forever.
On Saturday we went to the chapel to get shots. When we got there we found out they were flu shots. We went straight from there to the service project that I mentioned in the first paragraph. It was as hard as you think. Afterwards we went to Polo´s birthday party. He turned 19 and is about to submit his mission papers. We shared advice, gave him stuff to study, and read some scriptures. He is going to be a great missionary.
One day we had a family home evening with a recent convert. She invited her neighbor, and it turned out that she is a member of the church. She was baptized with her grandma when she was 13 and hasn´t been to church since. Now we are teaching her and her granddaughter. They are great. I feel they will progress really fast. They felt the spirit strongly in church, especially because it was the primary program, and the children always bring the spirit strongly with their simple yet strong testimonies.
All of these great experiences help me to know that God really does love his children. I can see his hand in my life and in the lives of others every day. He sent his son Jesus Christ to suffer and die for us because he loves us (John 3:16). I would compare God´s love to the law of gravity. Gravity is always acting on everything equally at a constant acceleration of -9.801 m/s. This means any given object in the world always has gravity acting on it in a constant force and in a constant direction. Many other forces act on any given object-- wind, friction, people or animals pushing it, or whatever it might be -- sending it moving in every direction. Throughout it all, gravity is always there. If you eliminate all other forces, we know the object will fall at this constant rate of acceleration. If you eliminate all other distracting forces from your life, the forces that pull you in every direction, God´s love will bring you to where you need to be. God´s love is constant. God´s love acting on you right now. You just have to trust in Him and let His love take effect.
Love,
Elder Jayson Fraser
One day we went with an awesome member named David. He is the Elder´s Quorum President and returned from his mission a few months ago. He brought us to a couple of his friends that he has had since he was a kid. Because of this, we got a couple of great new investigators and his friends got the chance to hear the restored gospel. When he was teaching on Sunday he expressed how glad he was for having finally shared the Gospel with his friends. He said that his mom had told him he was brave, but he realized that he only had to be brave long enough to knock on the door. His friends not only are still his friends, but they are very grateful that he shared. If any of you are scared to share the Gospel, be brave just long enough to knock on the door. Your friends will be grateful forever.
On Saturday we went to the chapel to get shots. When we got there we found out they were flu shots. We went straight from there to the service project that I mentioned in the first paragraph. It was as hard as you think. Afterwards we went to Polo´s birthday party. He turned 19 and is about to submit his mission papers. We shared advice, gave him stuff to study, and read some scriptures. He is going to be a great missionary.
One day we had a family home evening with a recent convert. She invited her neighbor, and it turned out that she is a member of the church. She was baptized with her grandma when she was 13 and hasn´t been to church since. Now we are teaching her and her granddaughter. They are great. I feel they will progress really fast. They felt the spirit strongly in church, especially because it was the primary program, and the children always bring the spirit strongly with their simple yet strong testimonies.
All of these great experiences help me to know that God really does love his children. I can see his hand in my life and in the lives of others every day. He sent his son Jesus Christ to suffer and die for us because he loves us (John 3:16). I would compare God´s love to the law of gravity. Gravity is always acting on everything equally at a constant acceleration of -9.801 m/s. This means any given object in the world always has gravity acting on it in a constant force and in a constant direction. Many other forces act on any given object-- wind, friction, people or animals pushing it, or whatever it might be -- sending it moving in every direction. Throughout it all, gravity is always there. If you eliminate all other forces, we know the object will fall at this constant rate of acceleration. If you eliminate all other distracting forces from your life, the forces that pull you in every direction, God´s love will bring you to where you need to be. God´s love is constant. God´s love acting on you right now. You just have to trust in Him and let His love take effect.
Love,
Elder Jayson Fraser
Rooftop Futbol Field on top of Walmart
Fancy Shopping Center
Monday, October 13, 2014
This week was yet another great one. Although many of our investigator don´t want to act on our message (and thus can´t progress) or have told us that they don´t want us to teach more, we have continued to work hard and have found more people to teach. We also aren´t giving up on those who aren´t progressing, but we have chosen to focus our time, or rather the Lord´s time, on those who will.
One investigator is named Jesus. He has heard all of the lessons and says he would be baptized, but he can´t quit smoking. He has had a tough time in his life and has been in a state of deep depression. He feels that smoking is the only thing that keeps him from plunging deeper into depression and ruining his life. We have helped him see that if it is God´s will (which this is) He will help him. This week he has made a ton of progress. He is already much happier. He wants to quit smoking. He wants to be baptized. He can see that this is the way out of his depression, and now he just has to put his trust in the Lord and take the leap. I feel he is going to make great progress. He is going to change, and it is thanks to God.
Algunos otros investigadores también parecen que van a poder progresar mucho. Tienen razones de cambiar sus vidas y deseos hacerlo. Sé que nuestro mensaje les ayudará y sé que en verdad Dioses lo que les ayudará. Well, I just realized I wrote that in Spanish, but I´ll leave it and let you guys figure out what it says.
Our P-day activities are always changing. We´ve play boliche, gone shopping for new corbatas, and played futbol. We have only played basquetbol once since I got in the mission field, and it wasn´t a P-day. I saw some people playing and remembered stories my Dad had told me from his mission, so we did what he did, or at least what I remember from his stories. We told them that if we won they would have to listen to our message but if they won they wouldn´t have to. The fact that we were in church clothes seemed to have no effect, and we smashed them. When we told them it was time to pay up, they all basically said "Umm...well good game. We´ll see you later." and ran off. Since then, however, we have seen a couple of them and they have accepted to let us teach them and their families. So we´ll see how it goes with them.
All of these and many other experiences strengthen greatly my testimony. To me they are proof that I am doing the will of the Lord. I know that our loving Heavenly Father lives, and I know that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of the world. I know that I am needed in the mission field in this time, and I know that whoever is reading this and considering not going on a mission is needed too. If it is at all possible, go on a mission. You will not regret it -- but you will if you don´t go.
One investigator is named Jesus. He has heard all of the lessons and says he would be baptized, but he can´t quit smoking. He has had a tough time in his life and has been in a state of deep depression. He feels that smoking is the only thing that keeps him from plunging deeper into depression and ruining his life. We have helped him see that if it is God´s will (which this is) He will help him. This week he has made a ton of progress. He is already much happier. He wants to quit smoking. He wants to be baptized. He can see that this is the way out of his depression, and now he just has to put his trust in the Lord and take the leap. I feel he is going to make great progress. He is going to change, and it is thanks to God.
Algunos otros investigadores también parecen que van a poder progresar mucho. Tienen razones de cambiar sus vidas y deseos hacerlo. Sé que nuestro mensaje les ayudará y sé que en verdad Dioses lo que les ayudará. Well, I just realized I wrote that in Spanish, but I´ll leave it and let you guys figure out what it says.
Our P-day activities are always changing. We´ve play boliche, gone shopping for new corbatas, and played futbol. We have only played basquetbol once since I got in the mission field, and it wasn´t a P-day. I saw some people playing and remembered stories my Dad had told me from his mission, so we did what he did, or at least what I remember from his stories. We told them that if we won they would have to listen to our message but if they won they wouldn´t have to. The fact that we were in church clothes seemed to have no effect, and we smashed them. When we told them it was time to pay up, they all basically said "Umm...well good game. We´ll see you later." and ran off. Since then, however, we have seen a couple of them and they have accepted to let us teach them and their families. So we´ll see how it goes with them.
All of these and many other experiences strengthen greatly my testimony. To me they are proof that I am doing the will of the Lord. I know that our loving Heavenly Father lives, and I know that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of the world. I know that I am needed in the mission field in this time, and I know that whoever is reading this and considering not going on a mission is needed too. If it is at all possible, go on a mission. You will not regret it -- but you will if you don´t go.
Monday, October 6, 2014
I have almost no time to email this week, so this one´s going to be short. But yet again it was another great week.
My favorite part of this week was General Conference. I loved all of the talks. I was planning on listing a few of my favorites and talking a bit about them, but I´m already out of time to email, so as David A. Bednar says, "I won´t rob you of this valuable learning experience." Elder Bednar´s talk was one of the best. Also Jeffrey R. Holland, Dieter F. Ukdorf (both), and of course the prophet Thomas S. Monson, just to name a few of my favorites. Search these and other talks and all the words of the prophets, modern and ancient, and I guarantee you can find the answer to any question.
To sum things up, we had a great week, felt the spirit, and learned a ton. Wehad difficulties, but nothing we couldn´t handle with the Lord´s help. We could find new people to teach and helped people come unto Christ, which is our objective as missionaries. As David A. Bednar said this week, we aren´t tring to bring people to our church, but rather we are trying to help others expierience the healing peace and joy that we have felt through this Gospel. May we all continue to seek to bring ourselves closer to Christ and feel the great healing power of His Atonement. May we seek to help others find these great and wonderful blessings as well so that we may all one day be admitted into the Celestial Kingdom.
Love,
Elder Fraser
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