Week 17 In Fort Lauderdale....

Well Garret tells me there has been some murmuring going on at home... maybe you should all read presidents email this week... haha

I want you all to know that I really am trying to tell you everything that I can about what I do during the week! I try to take pictures, but I can only write and take pictures on P-day, and most of P-day we are trying to get stuff done, we don't have time to be tourists. I try to take pictures, but I can only do it when I am allowed and most of the time when I am allowed there isn't anything to take pictures of, so I apologize.

But this week has been a good week, we have done alot of learning about FAITH, and how to cultivate it and what chapter in the Book of Mormon do you think we read again? ALMA CHAPTER 32!!! woooo! everytime anyone talks about faith thats what we read, and its always the same... or at least that's what I thought. But it all depends on how you look at it and what you try to learn going into it and so when I was given the commitment I decided this time I was going to LEARN form it and so I did! I learned so much more about myself and why I felt I was under-using the tools I had been given. It was because I had planted the seeds, and learned they were good BUT I had not been doing my part on cultivating that seed and growing and nourishing it and so that is what I am doing. What I am going to become. I will become a person that grows big trees, and does hard things, because I can with the LORD. So thats what I learned when it comes to personal study and while it seems small and insignificant and something that I should have already know it was a huge revelation to me on why I felt that I knew so many thing about the gospel and the atonement and missionary work, but I hadn't yet feel them change me. It was because I "knew the seed was good" but I hadn't letten it "take root".

And you know its little things like that that make me realize how lucky I am to be in the FFLM I get to not only learn and be trained on how to teach the gospel or do misionero like things I get to learn and be trained and become someone, I am changing and I am realizing that who I already am is COMPLETLY different than who I was. And it is for the better. I am becoming a disciple of Christ and that is what is making the difference, I am learning that if I want to feel joy and happiness in my life it comes from appling simple true gospel truths to EVERY PART OF MY LIFE. Even just down to my cleanliness, I am realizing how I can have a clearer and purer thought proccess just by making my surroundings cleaner and more organized. and now I feel that that has become who I am.

I have also started to realize that the more faith that I do have the more miracles that can happen in my life. Like Carlos (see my email to President) we just decided to have Faith and believe that we would find a family to teach that would have a real desire to learn and understand the true Gospel of Jesus Christ and BOOM ther IT was! I know that we can MAKE miracles as we have faith this has been an incredible week and I wanted you to know about it.

And I am learning I need to manage my money better and maybe have some MSF saved for emergencies, this month there were some big spends, I had to buy new tags from the office because I thought that I lost one of mine, and then 5 minutes after I had ordered them BOOM there was the one I lost, I had been looking for 2 days! BAH! and othere things that add up, and then I also hadn't been buying the most healthy food, and we hadn't been able to have lunch at the apartment alot and so we had eaten out alot... phew no money! thats why I used my personal card alittle recently... BUT its not happening no more. I am leaving my cards at home and on p day I pull out the cash that I need for the week and then I split it up and whats in my pocket is all I can spend. I am going to budget myself WAY MORE! so... I am learning though.

I thank you for you letters and keeping me updated on the family, I can't beleive how much is going on! Dad's growing up adn learning to be a good sport when he plays games he doesn't like, Leah shooting and LIKING IT, Garret getting all hulked out and what not and of course Mom just sounds like crazy Mom doing more that super woman (remember the more Vitamin C-lestial you take the more you can do... but it only works if you sleep too). The Jerky was amazing too and the other jerky has started to disapate. When it comes down to it if I leave for transfers... I think alot of that crap is staying... I HAVE WAY TOO MUCH JUNK FOOD! but its okay because I share... try to... I share when people ask... and they can't really ask for it if they don't see it or know about it... haha my cuboard is in a secret spot...

Oh and Dad when it comes to transfer info... we hear NOTHING before hand we will find out who is leaving and who is staying on Monday next week, and then where on Wednesday. But we all make predictions, or wishes, I really want to stay here I love the Ward and am learning a ton of spanish here and I hear horror stories of spanish missionaries not learning much spanish because they end up in an area thats not spanish!! I NEED TO LEARN MORE SPANISH!!!

 Any way love you all!

 STAY STRONG!! PUSH ON!!!

 ELDER PARK

 

things I think I might need/ want... just hints.

Barrons Spanish idioms Book

OnGaurd throat lozenges (?)

     these are the happiest things for you throat... but they involve that voodoo    essential oils crap... not sure what to think about them BUT they are better than ANY cough drop get them at doTerra... thats what I hear

A tie rack for my closet

A rain jacket anything not insulated

a Gripperizer those stupid grip strengtheners...

     I want one ever since I fell on my hand in the longboard crash and on my bike its weak and soreish i need to fix that

 

 

any way love you!!

Letter From The President, January, 20 2014....

Dear Missionaries,

 

I pray everyone is working well with the faith scriptures I assigned last week and that we are increasing our expertise on teaching better “Doctrine, Principle, and Application”. I am hearing some amazing stories from those that are applying these principles.

 

On occasion I will get communication from previous missionaries who share their thoughts and gratitude on the things they learned in this amazing mission. I am always impressed with the number one principle they come to understand is critical for our highest potential of success. I wanted to share a few quotes from their letters testifying of this principle:

 

“How grateful I am that our mission focused a lot on obedience, because of it we as the Ft Lauderdale, Fl missionaries were able to gain our own personal testimonies of the importance of obedience through the miracles and blessings that took place while we served faithfully. We were obedient because we loved the Lord and knew that this was his work and not ours. Why go on a mission then if disobedience was going to take place? It would just defeat our purpose as Representatives of Christ!”

“One of the first things that comes to mind when people ask how our mission was so successful, is our culture of obedience. I don’t even have to hesitate when giving that response. I learned quickly as I entered into the Fort Lauderdale mission that there is a difference between being obedient, and being exactly obedient, and that we were an exactly obedient mission. I learned that being obedient brings blessings, but being exactly obedient brings miracles, which was what we expected and what we prayed for as Fort Lauderdale missionaries. With harvesting, and inviting people on the spot to be baptized, there is no way that it could have worked without us personally exercising the highest standard of obedience within our companionships. We had faith, and we knew that if we were obedient that the Lord would lead us to those that were ready and prepared not only to be taught, but to be baptized.”

 

“First and foremost, obviously is that we were obedient. Especially after returning home, I have not yet heard about another mission that kept the high standards that we did and understood why. That desire to be exactly obedient was something that had to be worked at every single day, if obedience came easy then there wouldn't be as much growth or learning from God. That desire to be obedient was cultivated out of our love for God and to strive to improve each day. It was the foundation for every miracle experienced.”

 

I have realized that those who don’t embrace obedience early, most likely get caught in the dangerous and infectious sin of “murmuring”. Laman and Lemuel were prime examples of how murmuring created a large burden on their family. Because they did not seek God’s will to be obedient through God’s appointed leaders, they succumbed to murmuring instead:

 

“And thus Laman and Lemuel … did murmur because they knew not the dealings of that God who had created them.” (  1 Ne. 2:12 .)

 

Just as it created a huge burden on their family and their people, disobedience and murmuring will cause a tremendous negative weight on a companionship, District, Zone, and Mission. It will stifle progress as well as the Spirit, and can slow the work to a halt. Faithful people in the scriptures refused to lower themselves to murmuring even during hard times because they knew God would bless them for their obedience:

 

“Behold, [perhaps] ye are unsuccessful; … if so, we do not desire to murmur. …It mattereth not—we trust God will deliver us, notwithstanding the weakness of our armies.” (Alma 58:35, 37)

 

   In the early days of the Church, Thomas B. Marsh shared his experience in murmuring and how the Spirit was lost because of it:

 

“I must have lost the Spirit of the Lord out of my heart. … I became jealous of the Prophet … and overlooked everything that was right, and spent all my time in looking for the evil; … I thought I saw a beam in Brother Joseph’s eye, but it was nothing but a mote, and my own eye was filled with the beam; … I got mad and I wanted everybody else to be mad. I talked with Brother Brigham Young and Brother Heber C. Kimball, and I wanted them to be mad like myself; and I saw they were not mad, and I got madder still because they were not. Brother Brigham Young, with a cautious look, said, ‘Are you the leader of the Church, Brother Thomas?’ I answered ‘No.’ ‘Well then,’ said he, ‘why do you not let that alone?’”  [Testimonies of the Divinity of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Its Leaders, comp. Joseph E. Cardon and Samuel O. Bennion, Independence, Mo.: Zion’s Printing and Publishing Co., 1930, pp. 103, 105.]

 

Being obedient in contacting everyone brings power to “Doctrine, Principle, and Application”:

 

“We met this awesome guy this week. While we were harvesting we saw him sitting outside his home. He had his head down, and his hands on his face. He looked really sad. We felt like we needed to talk to him. We told him who we were, and why we were there. He accepted the prayer, and after the prayer he felt the spirit so strong. You could see it in his eyes. He said he felt relieved and when we invited him to be baptized he said, ‘yes, why not!’  We have been teaching him and he is very receptive to the spirit. Last night as we taught him using ‘Doctrine, Principle, Application” we taught him through Christ he can be cleansed from sin he said, ‘wow that's powerful!’ He is awesome and he is excited for his baptism!”

 

Being obedient to teach to the investigator’s needs and not with a recurring, cookie cutter, or memorized lesson:

 

“I was pumped to apply Doctrine-Principle-Application to our investigators. As soon as we got back we went to go teach one of them. She has been unsure and nervous about baptism for the last week because she's been baptized in other churches before and she didn't have a good experience. She told herself ‘I'm never going to get baptized in another church ever again.’ So we decided to teach her about the Plan of Salvation. We taught her about how God's work and his glory is our eternal life and immortality; then we talked about how our work is to keep his commandments. We shared a scripture about baptism and asked her what she needed to do. She answered ‘I need to repent and get baptized!’ We said, ‘Exactly!  Will you repent and be baptized this Sunday?’ Without hesitation she said yes! It was so amazing to see how she was able to overcome all doubts as we put our trust in God's perfect Doctrines!”

 

We can even teach our members to commit using “Doctrine, Principle, and Application”:

 

“We once again discovered the strength of bringing members with us. How incredible! A recent convert that just received her endowments on Saturday came out last night, and while we were focusing our invitation to continue preparing for baptism to our investigator, the member interrupted and said, ‘the spirit has changed here, with just 2 of you baptized. Imagine how powerful it would be if all 5 of you were. Baptism is the only door we can enter, there is no other way. Will you be baptized too? (focusing on the others).’ One looked at her in shock (we had invited him multiple other times) and said, ‘yeah, I'm going to be baptized this Sunday.’ It was incredible. Another then looked at us and said, ‘do I have to change what I wear?’ We responded, ‘You will have the gift of the Holy Ghost, and God will let you know what you should do.’ She looked at us for a minute, ‘You know, I was telling my mom after church today about long skirts, I used to make fun of them but now they look so elegant to me.’

 

Elder Maxwell teaches us concerning obedience and murmuring:

 

“Perhaps when we murmur we are unconsciously complaining over not being able to cut a special deal with the Lord. We want full blessings but without full obedience to the laws upon which those blessings are predicated. For instance, some murmurers seem to hope to reshape the Church to their liking by virtue of their murmuring. But why would one want to belong to a church that he could remake in his own image, when it is the Lord’s image that we should come to have in our countenances?... The doctrines are His, brothers and sisters, not ours. The power is His to delegate, not ours to manipulate!... nonmurmurers are permitted to see so much more... Elisha’s counsel, (2 Kgs. 6:14–17.) can help Church members today to silence our murmuring. Regardless of how things seem, or come to seem, in troubled times, “They that be with us are more than they that be with them.” My brothers and sisters, if our lips are closed to murmuring, then our eyes can be opened.” (Elder Neil A. Maxwell, General Conference, October 1989)

 

As we are obedient and go forth without murmuring, God will bless us with His countenance. Others will see Christ in you!!!

Our resolution is to achieve 175 Baptisms !!! January can be our miracle month!!!

You are Amazing!!! You are Incredible!!! You are Wonderful!!! And you are in the “Exciting Mission”!!! Remember our promise and that our names will be sealed in the Temple!!!

We Love you, We Pray For You, We can do this, We have work to do!!! Christ’s countenance comes to those who are obedient without murmuring!!!

 

 

President Don E. Anderson

Week 16 In Fort Lauderdale....

Well, where do I even start? Thank you for the package.I got a package from the Leishman's! That was super fun and it really brought a smile to my face, the candy bar game was awesome, and reminded me of home! I am sending you a package with some stuff that either I have no purpose for here and are distracting or that I don't want to throw away, AND THE THUMB DRIVE WITH PICTURES!!!

Well this week has been fun because they were taking the District Leaders up to MLC (missionary leadership conference) I went on a part day exchange with Elder O******* the companion of the other district leader in our zone and then after that and exchange with Elder L***, let me tell you those are weird... We sometimes forget that we are on exchange and it feels like last transfer. But its very fun and I am starting to realize that I hadn't been taking full advantage of him so now when I get him I do! This week I have worked on BECOMING!! Don't worry I will explain latter in my letter home.

I want to tell you how AWESOME you all are: 

LEAH!!! you go girl shoot up a storm! I want to see those crazy groupings you were telling me about! And you better learn how to play "We need thee every hour" you've got 2 years! Get on it! 

GARRET!!! Rock n' Roll good buddy! If you need another drop rest you can take the one on my bow and I was going to offer you my arrows but 1. I think I already did that and 2. I think they are probably too short for you... How tall are you now? What ever, its ridiculous STAHP!! and I am gymin' it up out here every morning 30 minute work outs... watch out! 

MOM!!! I don't know what IROP is... but good luck and have Fun in St. George it still will not be as warm as it is here! 

DAD!!! Coyote blasting... IT BETTER HAPPEN... and when it comes to service we HELP EVERYONE. Most of the time its just help bringing groceries in and sweeping for people, but we offer it to EVERYONE!! We move a lot of people too, that's my favorite, we just see people moving and help, then we pass out cards... Then they call and we take them videos and copies of the Book of Mormon. They read it and tell us its nothing like the Broadway show but they like it and then we baptize them... at least that's the plan... Normally we don't get to far past the first part and we haven't made it to that last step with anyone yet, but we have heard and done the rest!

This week has been a week of personal growth, I have realized more and more in the passing week what it means to be a missionary, and truly I have realized that it is all dependent on broadening President Anderson's vision. I realized that the vision that the Lord has set for me as a missionary is, our purpose, " To invite others to come unto Christ, by helping them receive the restored Gospel, through faith in Jesus Christ and his Atonement, Repentance, Baptism, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.". I realized that everything that I do needs to be more centered on this purpose. I need to align my goals with this purpose and as I do so I can align my actions to help the mission, my zone, my district and my area achieve our goals. The broader I look at things the more I can realize how I can help. And most of that comes from talking with my companion about what he learned at MTC and the exchanges that I have had recently with the Zone-Leaders. I feel that they are really helping me progress myself. They are building me up and I am excited to use their teaching to better myself and my teaching skills. I have made it my goal to learn from others and to apply, study and re-apply the things that they teach me and that I learn from training's. This week I really felt I learned the most from Elder C******, he has really shown me the importance of controlling my thoughts.  He himself has been making an effort to do so and in turn has taught me a lot. That's one thing I have noticed about him, when he finds something that he needs to improve, he fiercely attacks it and gives it his all to try to improve and he is constantly trying to improve. He is never satisfied and continually introspecting and that has really made a difference in me.

In the Book of Mormon this week, I studied out scriptures on Faith and Hope to really try to 1. understand the difference and 2. to really improve those attributes in myself.  This week at District Training Elder C******* gave us a commitment to do the attribute activity in Preach My Gospel, and that was an Eye opener. I didn't even get through Faith and Hope and I realized that I needed to improve on those 2 attributes so I stopped right there and started with the scriptures that are listed in the activity. I felt them instantly increase, the most important thing I think I learned was about Hope and how I could improve myself and my attitude by having more hope for the future and more hope in myself. That has been a real miracle.

Most of all I want you all to know that I love you and wish the best for you! I thank you for all that you do and your support. I have SO MUCH CRAP I don't know what to do with it! NO MORE CANDY and wait awhile on jerky we weighed it and before the deer jerky I have 6 Pounds of jerky... let me eat it in peace! :) I love it!

ELDER PARK the best!!

Week 15 In Fort Lauderdale....

Hello~

Ok, when it comes to the Jelly Bean (Festiva), I will cry, but if you remember you had convinced me that it was going to be the end of her when I left. I said a pretty deep and sorrow filled goodbye to her, we left on good terms understanding that the sacrifice would bring forth blessings. I promised to keep the spirit of the little rally car in my heart and she promised that she would move on to bigger better things. I will be fine.

I got another package for the new year from grandma and grandpa... We hadn't even made a dent in the last one... but we did eat some of the banana bread and that stuffs as good as gold! This week was a little slower, but I did learn a lot. I learned that while it is important to use every means possible to get a family or person baptized (the S******* Family) you still need to always be preparing people for the next week. The person that we had lined up for yesterday did not get baptized and it is probably because we didn't give him enough focus the week before. Now I understand that I need to really give my all to every person that we meet.

When it come to getting sick... nope. :( I got progressively worse through out last week and I think because I was refusing to be sick I got it all Saturday, Sunday and today. Every part of me is weak and sore and sad... haha but its pday and I am not stressing. I feel that if I just let my body recuperate throughout today that I will be all hunky dory. It doesn't help that last week we were on bike in the rain because Elder U******** was sick, now we have the car back.

Also, I now understand what Mom was saying about some Chiropractors being QUACKS on exchange I had to take Elder U******** to the Chiropractor and he basically told us that Elder U******** needs a very specific vitamin that he makes that will immediately be absorbed through a Chinese method of taking it. He also told us to use our hand on our bellies to treat stomach aches... It was really wierd, I just felt wierd in there and it made me REALLY want an adjustment, but now only from Uncle Robb. SO... haha. So, I have been having some discomfort in my back could you ask uncle Robb for some ideas on stretches that I can do to strengthen my back and prevent the need of him...?

The S******** are amazing they apparently partied with the ward at the New Years dance... it went til 3 in the morning at the chapel. Latins Party HARD. We celebrated the New Year by coming home an hour early so as not to be caught out in the craziness at night. That meant either we could get everything done early and have some fun... or get everything done and go to bed early... we chose the latter! Everyone else celebrated by staying up late! We went to bed early! haha

This week I had the most amazing personal study's and its all thanks to Elder A**, on an exchange with him this week I expressed that I felt that I wasn't using all the tools and potential that I had been given. I felt as if I came in and barely learned the basics and they were teaching me level 10. I told him I felt that with the tools I had been given I felt I could be a better missionary, I just needed help figuring out how to apply them on my own, and so through out the exchange he asked me all kinds of questions and I thought nothing of it. I just continued asking him questions. And yet I never felt like it was directed at helping me with my problem, and then the next day we had studies and thats when I just asked him, in comp study will you teach me this and I said something I thought was important. He said" no", that threw me for a loop. He said he was going to teach me about being accountable. He told me basically that I wouldn't be able to come up with applications for principle that I had learned in training's from docterine, if I didn't hold myself accountable to the applications and commitments that I was given in those training;s, and that's what I have realized that the roleplay, and other little applications and 'formats' that I am given are given for a reason and if I apply those I will slowly learn how to find others. It reminded me of the saying, " a wise man learns from his mistakes, but a wiser man learns from the mistakes of others." and I realized that more often than not thats whats happening, they are teaching me what they have done that works and are merely suggesting I try it and then as I try it come up with my own way.

Anyway LOVE YOU MUCH!!!!

ELDER PARK! 30 secs to spaare!!

Letter From The President, January 6, 2014....

Dear Missionaries,

I was reminded recently from an investigator of the perception they have with us as missionaries. They so often put us on a pedestal because of the "power and authority" we obviously emulate. In “Guide to the Scriptures, the definition of “Power” and “Authority” are:

Power

“The ability to do something. To have power over someone or something is to have the ability to control or command that person or thing. In the scriptures, power is often connected with the power of God or the power of heaven. It is often closely related to priesthood authority, which is the permission or right to act for God.” (Guide to The Scriptures, Power)

Authority

“The permission granted to men on earth called or ordained to act for and in behalf of God the Father or Jesus Christ in doing God’s work.” (Guide To The Scriptures, Authority)

I reflected on the tremendous responsibility we have to the world to be worthy of that mantel:

"As an authorized representative of Jesus Christ, you can teach people with power and authority that “redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah,” and that no one “can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah” (2 Nephi 2:6, 8)... When you were set apart by priesthood authority, you received the right and privilege to represent the Lord. You received a ministerial certificate that verifies that authority to the world... In addition to authority, you are also to exercise power in your work. The authority that you have received can lead to power. Indeed, spiritual power is one evidence that your authority is real. Spiritual power is a gift that makes it possible for you to do your work more effectively. Your power and authority should be evident as you work and teach. Power may be manifest in many things you do... "(PMG p.2, 4)

The scriptures are full of the examples of great missionaries magnifying the "Power and Authority" they had been given to bring the Gospel to others. King Noah witnessed this with Abinadi's testimony:

“Now it came to pass after Abinadi had spoken these words that the people of king Noah durst not lay their hands on him, for the Spirit of the Lord was upon him; and his face shone with exceeding luster, even as Moses’ did while in the mount of Sinai, while speaking with the Lord. And he spake with power and authority from God; and he continued his words." (Mosiah 13:5-6)

Alma and the four sons of Mosiah reflected on this blessing of "Power and Authority" that God had given them:

“... they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; for they were men of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God. But this is not all; they had given themselves to much prayer, and fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and authority of God." (Alma 17:2-3)

Nephi and Lehi magnified this mantel as well in bringing thousands to the waters of baptism:

“And it came to pass that they did preach with great power, insomuch that they did confound many of those dissenters who had gone over from the Nephites, insomuch that they came forth and did confess their sins and were baptized unto repentance... And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi did preach unto the Lamanites with such great power and authority, for they had power and authority given unto them that they might speak, and they also had what they should speak given unto them— Therefore they did speak unto the great astonishment of the Lamanites, to the convincing them, insomuch that there were eight thousand of the Lamanites who were in the land of Zarahemla and round about baptized unto repentance, and were convinced of the wickedness of the traditions of their fathers.” (Helaman 5:17-19)

Because of the great conversion of the Lamanites (new members) that resulted from the “Power and Authority” they were taught by Nephi and Lehi, they in turn taught others with the same “Power and Authority”:

“And it came to pass that many of the Lamanites did come down into the land of Zarahemla, and did declare unto the people of the Nephites the manner of their conversion, and did exhort them to faith and repentance. Yea, and many did preach with exceedingly great power and authority, unto the bringing down many of them into the depths of humility, to be the humble followers of God and the Lamb.” (Helaman 6:4-5)

The Lord will bless us as we show forth “Power and Authority” and keep going even after the first miracle:

“A miracle we witnessed happened while harvesting last night. I kid you not President, We found 4 incredible families. Every single door we knocked, we ran into an incredible miracle. This first lady brought us in and told us she knew a member, we invited her to be baptized, and she accepted along with everything else. The next door we found a man who wasn't too interested, we prayed and during the prayer a lady came out (but I didn't stop saying the prayer) and she knelt down, and after the prayer was crying. It turns out that she had learned from the missionaries in Nicaragua. She believed José Smith to be a prophet and the Book of Mormon was true. We gave her another book, and the both of them accepted baptism. The next door we found a Latin party going on. We knocked (but were a little scared) but it turned out the spirit was right again. They accepted us, turned off everything, knelt down, and after the prayer the young mother had tears in her eyes. She and her grandparents all accepted baptism, and before we could invite them to do anything they wanted us to come back and to go to church next Sunday. After that we were walking and saw a man flying a remote control helicopter. We ran over and offered a blessing and he was super resistive. We started being more personable with him about his helicopter and soon he told us all about his family. His two daughters ran from the house and came and said the prayer with us. After they were all smiling and all accepted baptism after we shared the doctrine of eternal families.”

“Power and Authority” will reveal itself as we are obedient and faithful:

“One miracle we saw was while we were harvesting on Friday. We saw that our harvest numbers were lacking a little bit so we made some plans on how to improve that. One of those plans was to harvest for an hour a day no matter what!! Even if we had appointments, we knew that God would provide a way. Well as we were getting close to being done harvesting we had about 5 minutes left and knew we needed to finish strong. So we both picked a door that we really liked and decided to knock on it. Right away we knew it was going to be a miracle house.  A woman answered and she looked a little shocked. When she asked us what church we were from she was even more shocked when she found out we were Mormons. Turns out she is from Idaho, and that she was a Mormon herself. We must've had a shocked look on our faces as well because she started singing Book of Mormon Stories to us. She looked us in the eyes and said ‘you can't fake that can you’, it made us all laugh. Then we were able to meet her 2 daughters who are not members!! Can we say MIRACLE!!”

We can inspire our members to exercise “Power and Authority” linked with our mantel as Representatives of Jesus Christ:

“We had an investigator who had been struggling with quitting smoking. We had prayed and fasted for her, but she didn't believe she could do it until the end of this month. When we told her she could do it now, she became upset with us.  She had unexpectedly gone out of town the Sunday before Christmas and wasn't expected to get back till after the New Year. We got a phone call from her on Christmas telling us she was on her way back. We met with her the next day and brought over a member who had also quit smoking. The spirit was so strong as the member told her ‘why wait? You can quit smoking now.’ Then she reached out her hand and asked for her lighter. Our investigator gave her the lighter and then said, ‘wait the Holy Spirit told me I need to do something.’  She reached in her purse and gave her the last cigarette, and she broke it in four!!! We were so proud of her. She told us. ‘It's over, I know it is. Jesus took the cigarettes from me.’ As we left she threw her ash tray away. When her neighbors asked her for cigarettes she told them ‘I don't have any, I quit smoking. I'm done. Jesus took it from me.’ This Sunday she was baptized and confirmed.  After she came up out of the water while she was still in the baptismal font she prayed and thanked our Heavenly Father. She has so much faith. She told us she had waited 34 years to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and now she had it.”

The Apostle Paul taught that “Power and Authority doesn’t only come in what we say or proclaim, but by the Spirit we invoke:

"For our gospel became not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake." (1 Thessalonians 1:5)

The Lord will continue to "honour" us with "Power and Authority" as we remain worthy to be entrusted with it:

"Eli the priest was relieved of his calling when he permitted wickedness in the house of the Lord. The Lord said, 'For them that honour me I will honour.' The great...  power and authority with which we have been entrusted must be exercised by those authorized to do so who have proven themselves worthy to do so. Only in this manner will our acts be sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise and thus be honored by the Lord." (President James E. Faust, General Conference, April 2001)

Our resolution is to achieve 175 Baptisms !!! January can be our miracle month!!!

You are Amazing!!! You are Incredible!!! You are Wonderful!!! And you are in the “Exciting Mission”!!! Remember our promise and that our names will be sealed in the Temple!!!

We Love you, We Pray For You, We can do this, We have work to do!!! We have been given the “Power and Authority” of God!!!

President Don E. Anderson

Week 14 In Fort Lauderdale....

In the Blue Lagoon area, we had to arrange a marriage. It was incredibly stressful,  because they needed to get married and they needed to get licences (of the driving kind) to get a license (of the marriage kind), and then they had to get the ceremony actually preformed, but the Bishop was out of town, the Stake President and the Bishop of the neighboring ward wasn't going to be available either.

The couple had to go and get there license on Friday and they didn't have transportation, and of course we found out that the court closes in 2 hours, so we frantically start trying to call the leaders in our ward to give us suggestions on who to call to get help. We called EVERYONE we could think of, Ward mission leader, Bishop, Elders Quorum President, the works and everybody was either out of town, sick or working. And I was beginning to feel stressed and couldn't see it working out. That's when Elder P****** (we were on exchange) said, "lets send a call to God." and as soon as he said that I felt an incredible peace come over me. And so we said a prayer, as crisply as if you were talking to me, O*** came to both of our minds, O*** was the guy that Elder P****** and Elder U******** had baptized the Sunday before and was getting confirmed that Sunday. We called him, he dropped everything and came and helped the family out, it was incredible.

I just wanted you know we did baptized the S******* family! So we had to find someone to perform the marriage last minute, all of this happened Friday and Saturday. Luckily the Ward Mission Leader found a member of the Ward that is a Notary, and she was able to perform the marriage during third hour of church. Then we baptized them after church. It was really amazing and the best part was that when we went to visit them last night. When we got there, they had friends over to celebrate their marriage. They then proceeded to tell us that it was no problem they would love to still meet with us. So, we talked with them for about 15 minutes and then they said that we ought to teach their friends! And that was that!  We shifted the focus and they helped us teach their friends, testifying and clarifying like champions. It was amazing to see the change that had taken place, going from people that had no desire to be baptized or married for that matter, to members. The craziest part was the feeling in the home when we came back it had totally changed! It felt like a members home, full of love and the spirit it was one of the most satisfying feelings ever. (How amazing is that?!?!)

Also, my thumb drive was returned, Elder B**** didn't write the address correctly, so I will add a few more and send it again!

Also we, as an apartment, have started to get sick and I refuse. So, if you have any ideas on how to fight it off that would be great, I was going to buy some EmergenC but that stuffs expensive. So I bought some Vitamin C but there isn't very much in the bottle and that was expensive too! I also don't know if I should be taking some kind of other vitamins too, and if I should what type?

What is kind Garret buying? (Garret is getting a new Bow)

And Leah should know that learning to play the piano is a useful tool for when she serves her mission, and that girls that can shoot a gun are cool. scary... but cool! (Leah just started taking piano lessons and is going to take Hunter Safety.)

Anyway I want you to know that it's all going good and what not! and I love the people, and the weather... speaking of that... I might be turning into a flower... I FROZE last night, I was shivering and I had to get up and look all over the house to find an extra sheet! So what I am saying is that last night it was so cold that I needed 2 cotton sheets on me, boy was that terrible! (Suck it up, Buttercup! Delicate little flower!)

O*** willingness to help out at the last minute taught me some things. 1- it strengthened my testimony of prayer 2- it helped me really see what being Christlike really means. I decided that I want to be like O***, he was willing to drop everything he was doing on his day off to help a friend in need. He wanted to help that family get baptized and that's what my resolution for the year is going to be, I am going to always be willing to help, no more thought at what it will cost me, no more hesitations. I am a tool of the Lord and I will let him use me however he needs.

LOVE YOU ALL TONS!!!

Elder Park

This was an incredible week, full of incredible things.

Letter From The President, December 30, 2013....

Happy New Year Missionaries,

This being a time of “renewing”, “resolutions”, and “recommitting”, I often think of the great resolutions that come from the great prophets in the scriptures. One of the greatest was Nephi when he resolved:

“I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.” (1 Nephi 3:7)

Most sincere resolutions begin with the words “I will” because it has more power and conviction that we will actually achieve it.  That is one of the reasons we use the words "will you" as we help investigators make commitments. The answer "I will" is a strong answer of the commitment or "resolution" they make. The person that uses the term, “I will”, and rarely accomplishes the task, is one that doesn’t understand the importance of the pledge or oath that is made. In the scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon, the term “as the Lord liveth” is used many times to emphasize this promise or resolution. Nephi amplifies his resolution later in the same chapter when he says:

“But behold I said unto them that: As the Lord liveth, and as we live, we will not go down unto our father in the wilderness until we have accomplished the thing which the Lord hath commanded us.” (1 Nephi 3:15)

The term "as the Lord liveth" united the great Prophets and missionaries in a partnership with God in carrying out the resolution. Elder Bruce R. McConkie explains it well:

“Nephi made God his partner. If he failed to get the plates, it meant God had failed. And because God does not fail, it was incumbent upon Nephi to get the plates or lay down his life in the attempt” (Elder Bruce R. McConkie, General Conference Apr. 1982)

When people are properly taught, they rarely will fall away if they make and live those commitments and resolutions. When the oath was made in proper teaching in The Book of Mormon, there was a three way partnership made with the investigators, the teachers, and God:

"And as sure as the Lord liveth [that is an oath], so sure as many as believed, or as many as were brought to the knowledge of the truth, through the preaching of Ammon and his brethren, according to the spirit of revelation and of prophecy, and the power of God working miracles in them—yea, I say unto you, as the Lord liveth [a second oath], as many of the Lamanites as believed in their preaching, and were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away” (Alma 23:6).

We also learn in the scriptures that The Lord will make commitments or resolutions to bless us or punish us for our commitment or resolution (or lack of). A few examples in the scriptures are:

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Mathew 5:28)

 “Therefore, saith the Lord: I will not utterly destroy them, but I will cause that in the day of my wisdom they shall return again unto me, saith the Lord... And now behold, saith the Lord, concerning the people of the Nephites: If they will not repent, and observe to do my will, I will utterly destroy them, saith the Lord, because of their unbelief notwithstanding the many mighty works which I have done among them; and as surely as the Lord liveth shall these things be, saith the Lord.” (Helaman 15:16-17)

“As often as thou hast inquired thou hast received instruction of my Spirit... Be faithful and diligent in keeping the commandments of God, and I will encircle thee in the arms of my love.” (D&C 6:14,20)

"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee... [Again in verse 13]... I will help thee... [Again in verse 14]... I will help thee.” (Isaiah 41:10, 13, 14)

God always comes through and resolves to bless us as we ourselves commit and make resolutions to Him. Brigham Young teaches us that as we do our utmost best in those resolutions, in our aligning with God's will, He will step in and help us accomplish it:

“I have learned years ago that the Lord stands at the helm that guides Zion’s ship. … Unless we work exactly to the line that is marked out by him, our works will be in vain. This has been my experience from the beginning. In every branch and avenue of our lives we must learn to work to the line of truth. It is for us to know what ought to be done, and then do it. Though there should be no earthly prospect of accomplishing it, we can certainly try; and if we try with all our might, that act will prove at least a resolute and determined mind, adorned with patience and perseverance. And if, with all our resolute endeavors we are still unable to accomplish our purpose, the Lord will be very likely to stretch forth his hand and give the victory” (Discourses of Brigham Young, 441).

The Lord will bless us as we are resolute in opening our mouths to everyone:

“We went harvesting ... the other day and found an incredible lady walking her dog down the street in the dark. After we said the prayer she looked up with tears in her eyes and told us that she knew that God sent us to her. She told us to follow her back to her house to offer a prayer for her daughter... then she took us to her cousin's house and said, ‘You have to get a prayer from these church people!’ She was determined to let us pray with everyone she knew! If it was up to her, we would have prayed with everyone in the neighborhood! She is amazing and we are excited to help her progress towards baptism.”

The Lord will bless us to teach with power as we open our mouths to everyone:

“The other day, we were out walking and we saw this woman walking her dog with her 3 kids. We went over and started talking to them. They loved the prayer we offered and when we invited them to be baptized, the mom said how it's something she knows she needs to do but never done. Then the kids asked us what baptism is. We explained how we make mistakes in our life but when we are baptized, it's like taking a bath and all our mistakes are washed away. The kids then turned to their mom and said,’Oh mom!! Can we do that! Please!?’ The mom said, ‘Of course we will do that! We need to go to church first to get ready!’ They are all planning to get baptized on the 5th! As we followed the promptings of the spirit, we were able to find the elect!!!”

The Lord will “stretch forth His hand and give the victory” as we do all we can and open our mouths to everyone:

“Starting with Wednesday transfer day, we needed six more blessings to reach eight by Wednesday. My companion had a great complex picked out and as we got there we got the first four easily and 2 of them were amazing spiritual blessings. We had soo much faith after those four blessings and we knew we were going to get the next two easily! As we continued nobody was answering and when they did they refused the blessing! It was so strange... An hour had almost gone by without any more blessings. We were determined to keep going until we could get at least two more. We finally decided to pray. We were running out of time. After the prayer we were lead to a door which was an awesome lady, our fifth blessing and an amazing referral. Sadly by the time that blessing was over we had run out of time. We needed to get home. As were walking back to our car we were scanning the parking lot for someone to contact... nobody.... We decided to say another prayer asking the Lord what we should do. We wanted to reach eight by Wednesday so badly but we needed to be obedient and home on time as well. After the prayer we all looked up and my companion asked ‘well, have we done all we could do?’ ... it was that very second that I saw movement in the corner of my eye. It was a person! A guy walking down a little hidden walkway on the edge of the parking lot. We all without any words headed straight to him... he was awesome! He knew God sent us to him that very moment! We had an amazingly spiritual blessing with him and he accepted everything! That night my faith grew sooo much. I was soo humbled and happy as we offered a prayer of gratitude.”

President Uchtdorf teaches us the importance of making resolutions and reaching our potential:

“[A] regret people express was that they failed to become the person they felt they could and should have been. When they looked back on their lives, they realized that they never lived up to their potential, that too many songs remained unsung.... I am speaking of becoming the person God, our Heavenly Father, intended us to be... Our Heavenly Father sees our real potential. He knows things about us that we do not know ourselves. He prompts us during our lifetime to fulfill the measure of our creation, to live a good life, and to return to His presence... Why, then, do we devote so much of our time and energy to things that are so fleeting, so inconsequential, and so superficial? Do we refuse to see the folly in the pursuit of the trivial and transient? Would it not be wiser for us to ‘lay up for [ourselves] treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal’?  How do we do this? By following the example of the Savior, by incorporating His teachings in our daily lives, by truly loving God and our fellowman... We certainly cannot do this with a dragging-our-feet, staring-at-our-watch, complaining-as-we-go approach to discipleship... As sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, we are capable of so much more. For that, good intentions are not enough. We must do. Even more important, we must become what Heavenly Father wants us to be... We do matter. We determine our happiness. You and I are ultimately in charge of our own happiness... The path toward fulfilling our divine destiny as sons and daughters of God is an eternal one. My dear brothers and sisters, dear friends, we must begin to walk that eternal path today; we cannot take for granted one single day. I pray that we will not wait until we are ready to die before we truly learn to live. (President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, General Conference October 2012)

Our resolution is to achieve 175 Baptisms !!! January can be our miracle month!!!

You are Amazing!!! You are Incredible!!! You are Wonderful!!! And you are in the “Exciting Mission”!!! Remember our promise and that our names will be sealed in the Temple!!!

We Love you, We Pray For You, We can do this, We have work to do!!! As we do all we can, the Lord will do the rest!!!

President Don E. Anderson