Have Faith (Week 13)

Hola mujers y hombres, Bebo agua! I've been grinding that Spanish on Duolingo if you know what I mean, haha. 

 

Yesterday on Sunday I was studying Faith in Jesus Christ and this is one of the first things we teach to people, is that they need to have faith in Jesus Christ that what we are teaching them is true. And I've been thinking a lot about how I'm going to grow and turn into a better person while I'm on the mission, just as I've seen my brothers grow, but I realized that just as I have taught others about having faith I realized that's exactly where I have to start as well. So I started having faith in Jesus Christ that through the power of His Atonement I will grow and will be a better person. I think about the future and how I will have changed. I'm not sure what that looks like but I'm believing in something that I can't see and by doing the small things each day, and becoming 1% better everyday, I will grow and change into a better person . It's amazing what our faith in Jesus Christ can do. Believe in and be positive that something will happen and your whole life will be magnified and changed for the better! Start with faith! 

1 Nephi 7:12 says "Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him? Wherefore, let us be faithful to him."

Outdoor oven

This week was pretty solid. We taught good lessons and found lots of new friends to teach and people who were interested in talking to us. We've been teaching this teenager, Jocinto, who is 17 and he's so awesome, innocent and funny, and after we studied the Book of Mormon together, I asked him if he would follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by proper authority, and he said yes! So we now have him on date for October 30th but we might be moving it to this Saturday the 23rd! 

On Wednesday we decided to contact all of the unbaptized children in the ward and we went to the first home and this child's name is Xaviar. He wasn't home at first but his uncle was home so we talked with him and he was very happy that we had came over because he needed the interaction and he doesn't get to talk about the gospel that much with anyone. After about an hour of talking, Xaviar and his siblings and their mom showed up and we just started teaching him and his sibling joined the lesson too. Xaviar is a golden child and he knows so much already. He hasn't been baptized because of his father who lives in Texas but not for long because we invited him to be baptized so now he'll baptized on November 13th! 

I went on exchanges with Elder Lee and we went down to his area and we met with this guy named Clifton who is on date for baptism, and he asked if we could give his girlfriend a blessing because she was pretty sick. So we did and afterwards me and Elder Lee talked about how cool it was and how we felt the spirit so strongly and how we both felt like we are becoming men as we give these priesthood blessings. The next day we came back and we asked how Clinton's girlfriend was doing and he said she was doing awesome and felt amazing and wasn't sick anymore; so it was awesome to see that as we gave a blessing the power of God was manifest and it healed this woman of her sickness.

I'm so honored and grateful to be a member of the restored Church of Jesus Christ and a bearer of the Melchizedek Priesthood! I'm so grateful to be part of the only church on the earth that has the Priesthood keys to lead and direct God's work!

Te quiero!

-Elder Alec Shockley