So I guess I have a few Devotionals I need to report on. Here it goes:
On the 14th we had a Fireside and the speaker was Richard I Heaton, he is the Provo MTC Administrative Director. He have a very good talk on what we as missionaries should define as "success" or having a successful mission. He pointed out that many missionaries think success is having a lot of baptisms. However, that's far from what a successful mission should be. He stated that success is knowing that our efforts here are pleasing to the Lord. Success is influenced by missionaries hard work and faith.
Success in getting baptisms is a gift, not a reward. He said that we must do all that we can do to accomplish our purpose by inviting others to some unto Christ and expect nothing. Then we will have success. When I first heard this I was kind of taken back and thought that was kind of weird to say it like that. But he then explained that many missionaries think that if they're diligent, work hard and be obedient they should get baptisms and when they don't they get discouraged which can weaken our faith. Whether or not someone gets baptized it is up to that individual using his/her agency which is something that we can't control.
If we get to take part in helping someone become baptized, it is because God blessed us to have the opportunity to witness that miracle. He pointed out that our reward as missionaries for working hard and doing everything we are supposed to is Joy. The Lord will bless us with Joy, not baptisms.
I really enjoyed listening to this talk because it helped me realized that when I get into the field, if I don't get many baptisms it's okay. As long as I work hard and do everything I can to progress the Lord's work, then I can call my mission a success.
The next Devotional I want to share was on the 16th. David F Evans of the First Quorum of the Seventy spoke with us that night. His topic was what we know about our Heavenly Father.
What I got from his talk was the importance that we all know that EVERYTHING we have comes from our Heavenly Father. He explained how many people think that we have the Church and everything that comes with it because of Christ and what he did for us. But ultimately, everything leads back to our Father in Heaven.
We have the blessings of the atonement and Resurrection because if what Christ did for us. But he did it according to the will of the Father. The Savior's entire ministry on this earth was to do the will of the Father.
I know that I never thought of it like that and then we turned to 3 Nephi 11:32-36. I want each of you to go read those few verses again. It explains in perfectly. Everything comes from the Father and his plan for us was executed perfectly by the Savior. It's awesome all the things you can learn at the Devotionals and Firesides up here. I love it!!
This last Monday we learned that a Sister Missionary in our Zone has basically been sick since she got to the MTC. She got so bad that she spent pretty much all day in the hospital last Friday. But we found out that if she doesn't get better by this weekend she's being sent home. We decided to do a fast for her starting Monday night at 10 and ending it Tuesday night at 10.
I'd never fasted that long before and I'm sure that a lot of the missionaries in the same boat I was. But it was one of the coolest experiences I'd ever had. I never necessarily got hungry throughout the day. I was thirsty, but not hungry. As the day went on I could feel my strength go down though, especially after climbing 5 flights of stairs to get to our classroom. My mind was still alert and attentive but my body was just getting weak. But as my body got weaker my prayers for strength got stronger and I could feel myself regaining some strength.
The experience was so amazing. It was such a humbling experience and helped my faith grow even more. I learned to rely on my Father in Heaven and the Savior even more and I was strengthened. I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have to be here and have experiences like that.
I'm not sure whether the sister is staying or going. I know that it's all up to the will of the Lord. I hope she gets healthy again and can stay. But I guess we'll see. It was definitely a life changing experience for me though.
Love all.
Elder Caydyn
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