Dearest Family and Friends! Another great week gone too fast in these beautiful islands! Missionary work will hands down be the hardest thing I have ever done, yet the most rewarding and fun. I have found the most joy can be found through missionary efforts. The adversary tries and clouds our minds into thinking about ourselves, reminding us how tired we are, that it is too scary to share our beliefs, and a whole lot more bull like that. Don't let this fool you! The biggest joy in my life, in all of our lives can be found by living the Gospel and then sharing it with others. One of my all time favorite heroes in my life is the prophet Gordon B. Hinckley. He has so many great quotes and knows how to help me understand what true happiness is! I have been taught by a great missionary that we should share quotes. I am thankful for the many they have shared with me. They lift and inspire! They help in so many different ways! What are some of your favorite quotes?? :) Here is one which touched me this week.
He said, " You can make the Church stronger by the manner in which you live. Let the Gospel be your sword and your shield...
I see a wonderful future in a very uncertain world. If we will cling to our values, if we will build on our inheritance, if we will walk in obedience before The Lord, if we will simply live the Gospel, we will be blessed in a magnificent and wonderful way. We will be looked upon as a peculiar people who have found the key to a peculiar happiness."
-- Gordon B. Hinckley
How blessed we are to have this splendid Gospel in our lives!! It is the Good News from the Lord Jesus Christ if we will accept Him as Our Savior, Keep His Commandments which he has given us, and Always remember Him, we can receive a remission of our sins. We can be qualifiers of Salvation, Eternal Life, and even Exaltation. Yes! All which God the Father Has and wants to give to you and me, His beloved Children. Use Christ's Atonement. Awake from the dust and always remember you can be saved. You don't have to do this alone. You can't do it alone. You were never meant to. I encourage you to look through Doctrine and Covenants 11: 28-30 and Moroni 4:3, 5:2 These scriptures have touched my heart this week! I know they will confirm to you this great Hope which the Gospel of Jesus Christ gives to each and everyone of God's Children by the power of the Holy Ghost (Moroni 10:5)
How grateful I am for a Savior who forgives me time and time again. No matter how many times I slip up and fall down he is always there to lift me back up. Sometimes the weight of sins and the guilt hurt, which comes, and consumes us. Sometimes I feel like Nephi and my weaknesses and distance away from heaven make my cry. How I wish sometimes I could but be more like the Savior. How I wish I was quicker to avoid temptation. Or less quick to become angry. However we don't have to feel like this. I don't have to feel like this anymore when I repent and come back. The Savior takes it all away through our Faith and diligence to repent. All we have to do is try our best. He always makes up the rest. How greatly I need the Sacrament each week. This is what gives me hope to keep going. Don't stop coming to church. If you're not going, get yourself back!!! Don't let the adversary trick you to be too scared to go back or keep trying. I testify with all the energy of my heart and soul it will help you be happier and help you stay and come closer to a Father in Heaven who is calling out for you by name, wanting you to return. Wake up from the dust and never forget where you come from! What your Divine Potential is if you will but come unto the Savior, repent, keep his commandments, and then come to church and be made clean once again through the Sacrament. I am so thankful I know these truths for myself. I know God Lives. I Know the Book of Mormon is the word of God. The Priesthood is restored and can bless us. Joseph Smith is the prophet of the church and see saw God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. The Atonement of Jesus Christ can heal us from any infirmity trial, sickness, and sin. Don't you give up. Keep going. Head for the light!
This leads me to another quote by our Beloved Prophet Russell M. Nelson. I know He is the chosen Prophet today and that he guides this work under the direction of a Living Jesus Christ. He said, "Salvation is a individual matter. But Exaltation is a Family Matter." I know these words are true. I know the importance of family cannot be expressed enough. We need our Families. Why is the adversary attacking the family in so many different ways -because they are so important. They our key to experience all the Joy our Father in Heaven has for us.
Let's talk about this wonderful week shall we? First of I have to explain my email title. This week I am coming up on my Year Mark! It's all a little bit unreal for me. The journey has indeed felt long and hard at times but it still doesn't feel quite like a year. It is definitely a good wake-up call for me saying, "You really don't have all the time in the world... Better make the most of it!"
If I remain in the Office for another transfer I will also be hitting my year mark in the office. Now this is a landmark, which not most missionaries have hit, nor would they want to. When I tell people I have been there for that long they usually just tell me, " Ohhhhh Sori lo yu...." However, I have come to learn the Lord puts us where we are most needed to better ourselves and those around us. Through some prayers and more humility I have come to love my Office Responsibilities. They also help other missionaries to be out in their area everyday. Yes, having extra Office Duties like Travel Elder or Assistant have made for a busy and sometimes insane schedule
(Hey Momma. Do you remember me telling you I was excited how a mission would help me have a good sleep pattern? Yup. That went put the window a long time ago. Sometimes we have to get up super early to catch a flight or stay up late helping President. Same thing as a Travel Elder. Maybe when I get home I'll have a normal sleep routine!)
But I have come to almost love it. I have learned how to balance time more. Office Duties vs trying to get to the area to teach those wonderful people I have come to love. My Momma once told me that an idol mind is a Devil's Workshop. He has a pretty hard time keeping up with all my business. Poor dude. I think he might be getting tired! ;)
Anyway, we have this tradition in the Office. It involves amazing Milkshakes made from an "American" restaurant in Vila. Foosball gets pretty competitive in the Office when we play to say the least. We came up with this standing rule. If you beat someone 10-0 or skunk them then the other companionship has to buy milkshakes for you. Elder Hable and I have become a feared team in the office. We beat Elder Bischoff and Elder Wilson 10-0. Elder Wilson has been in the Office a long time with me so he knew the rule. However Elder Bischoff is on his way to the beautiful island of Malekula and was absolutely shocked when Elder Hae and I schooled him last P-Day. We like to "Shake things up!" ;) I'll send a picture of our victory!
This week we had Transfer week. It is a time the Assistants help President welcome new missionaries and say goodbye to the ones going home. It was especially hard this time because some of Elder Hable's and I's best friends from our missions left this transfer. The hardest goodbye for me was seeing my old companion Elder Burbank go. We only served together one transfer and it is one, which has had a profound effect on me. I taught him the ropes of Travel Elder and helped teach him Bislama (He started his mission in New Caledonia the French part of the mission) however he taught me so much more. Including how to keep an accurate Area Book, How to Work really hard in Missionary work, how to balance office work with work in the area, how to love the people, how to relax in hard situations, and especially to Love Missionary Work. I will always be grateful for our one transfer. He sure will be missed. I couldn't thank him enough for his good example, certainly I feel The Lord will bless Him in so many ways for helping me greatly during the hardest point of my mission and for serving with his while heart.
The new arrivers were awesome! We even had a few Elders from Utah and one from England! Dad, his favorite team is Manchester United and we had a almost nonstop soccer communication about what has been going on while I have been out. It's funny how to other Elders in the group this is a language they don't understand. Dad, did you know Pierre-Emerick Aubaneyang is at Arsenal?? Giroud is at Chelsea? Manchester City won the Premier League?? I talked to the other Elders from Utah about the Jazz. They were a little taken back that the "Assistant" wanted to talk about sports. They relaxed and we jabbered a lot about the Jazz. Donavan Mitchell is the real deal I am hearing? Dad you certainly were not lying. I will be so excited to watch Sports with you again. My MTC Mission President once told me that talking about Sports is a waste of time in missionary work. I absolutely 100% disagree with this! There is a time in a place but it helps get my mind off of negative thoughts or influences and even helps me relax. All good things are of God. And Sports in my eyes are certainly of God!
Alrighty, let's conclude with some Miracles! Sorry, sometimes I don't really know what to put in these emails. But I just try and write what I would tell you. I have heard that most of you like these updates so I am not too worried. But if you have specific things you want to know just ask! Would love to answer! :) If nothing else please know I try hard to send, love, words of encouragement, and bear testimony of what I know is true and am learning to send to each and everyone of you. Certainly, I don't feel like it helps as much as you helped me but I thought I would give it a go!
Miracles of the Week: A lot of time was spent in the Office this week doing all kinds of things in preparation for transfers. However the Lord has blessed us in so many different ways. Sunday was one of those days we were just on fire. We have realized due to some circumstances our three people on date will need to be changed to a later baptismal date. However this did not stop us. For some reason we have recently just been getting so many blessings. I am attributing it to our new study plans as a companionship and personally. The Spirit is with us even more than before and Sunday the Spirit helped us do amazing things. We found 3 new families to teach! One of the families is so excited about the Book of Mormon. When we told the Papa that the book of Mormon holds all the truth that was lost from the Bible he couldn't wait to get his hands on it and read it with his family. I already love them so so much. We have been teaching a young 12-year-old boy named Richie and a 17-year-old young woman named Jessica. We were able to meet them through their aunt whom invited them to church! And Guess what?! We were able to get permission from their Grandma (She does not the lesson unfortunately. Maybe one day.) and then they both accepted a date.
Life is just so good. I miss and love you all. Thank you for your support and love to this part of the world. I hope you know you all are all in my prayers. So much love to you!
Love,
Elder LaMont/ Your Alekken Ty/ Shark Bait/ The Come Back Kid
Elda Hable, Elder LaMont and crew
...amazing Milkshakes made from an "American" restaurant in Vila.
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