Trials and Faith {Miguel's Missionary Moment}

September 23, 2013

"Crazy week!! So not a ton of missionary work went down this week.  My companion has depression and we had to go to Atlanta all day on Thursday so he could go to the doctor.  He got evaluated, and it took all day. Then Friday morning President Wolfert called me and asked me questions.  Then he he set up a time to meet with my companion, and told him he thought it was best for him to go home.  We had a long day... it is sad...I love my companion, he is a stud!  So the area sort of paused for 3 days because we didn't know what was going down.  Then the next day we had to bike to the church so my companion could tell his family in an email and it was just pouring rain! We got soaked and just biked through big puddles, but after all that fun we were still just out of it and didn't know what to do.  Then Sunday was finally a good day...Church seemed to take forever and until our after dinner appointment.  We had an awesome lesson with Zion.  He had gone to youth conference that weekend, and he was super depressed because he came home to his bad situation.  He felt terrible and we came over and talked about how, if there is light then darkness cant be there because darkness is nothing compared to the light.  My companion was just listening to me and another member talk about this, and when we got back to the apartment he called President and told him he won't go home.  It is awesome he is staying!! I'm excited, but now we have to catch back up on everything.

That's what went down...

Elder Hamer"

September 30, 2013

Elder Hamer

Hey family!!!!

This week was good...I actually get to go to the Atlanta temple next Friday! That is gonna be cool.  I haven't been in a while.  This week has been good.  We got a bunch of referrals, but right now its been kinda hard to find people who will progress.  I think it is just the missionary cycle find, teach, baptize, then find again.  

This week we had a 2 hour class on missionary work at church and a member of the Seventy was there.  It was awesome when he talked he talked about how the missionaries are here to help the member not the members help the missionaries.  He talked about how we need to be used to full advantage, and have us help their friends receive the gospel. It was cool.  I hope the Ward acts on it, if not then it will be sad.  We did find three people that seemed pretty interested! We are excited to go and talk to them and teach them.  This one guy named Marlon works for the Church and we see him all the time at Church.  He is legit and he has a wife and a 8 month old daughter in Columbia still. We are teaching another couple named Matt and Tammy.  They are a refferal from a member who is their boss so it should be legit, too. The mission president talked about how if we go door to door two hours a day that the Lord will bless us.   Luckily, I am known as one of the missionaries who does the most tracting in the mission so I already do it. 

I have been reading Ether 12 a lot this week.  I love how Moroni's story plays into it.  He talks about how he is weak in writing, but the Lord commands him to make the record and he trusts the Lord that the gentiles will be brought to the truth if he acts and he will be made strong in his weakness. I think that if we all apply that to missionary work more, we can invite a lot more people.  If we have faith, and just invite, the Lord will give us what we must do and we can be made strong. I just think we wait to long to invite.

Ether 12:26-27 "26 And when I had said this, the Lord spake unto me, saying:Fools mock, but they shall mourn; and my grace is sufficient for the meek, that they shall take no advantage of your weakness;  27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

Elder Hamer!"