My Dearest Family and Friends! Where has the time gone?? It is already into February! Can you believe it? The islands are as beautiful as always and we are continuing to be blessed by Our Father in Heaven. I am sorry for not writing an update last week but I have one for this week!
It has been a great week for Elder Gunnell and I. We are trying to make the most out of every minute and have been blessed with some awesome people to teach.
Our Mission really had has been blessed because the work and efforts of two Senior Sisters named Sister Talataina and Sister Uchunibaravi. Sister Talataina(The spelling is way off. Island names are hard!) is from Samoa and Sister Uchunibaravi is from Fijji. These two widows could be best described as angels! They have worked out what we call "Rescue Visits" with the ward members.
These Rescue Visits are when a group of members go out with these two sisters and they go and visit the long lists of less active members. The Rescue groups show up at their door and tell the people they visit how much they love them and want them to come back to church. These efforts have brought SO many people back and have filled the church on Sunday! These Sisters spend a few weeks in each ward and move on to the next one. The members continue with the rescue visits as the sisters move on. It is a wonderful program and the work of the Lord is pressing forward!
We are working with a couple named Roslen and George. George is a less active member we found through the Senior Sisters Rescue visits with the members. As we helped George to come back to church it has given us an opportunity to meet his wife Roslen and to teach her the lessons. They have the most adorable little girl named Lisa!
I have seen an amazing change in this family as they have read out of the Book of Mormon and prayed. They are happier and look forward to our visits! Roslen has shared experiences she has had while reading the Book of Mormon and how she feels she is coming closer to Her Father in Heaven.We have worked hard with the ward to help the two of them get married this Saturday and after the marriage will be Roslen' s baptism! I am very happy and excited for this family. The Lord has provided so many blessings from his wonderful Gospel. I will try and get you pictures this next week! :)
One of the highlights of the week for me was doing an Exchange with the Efate Zone Leaders! I went to the Zone Leaders area which is called Black Sands! This was one of my old areas so it made me really excited to go! Shark Bait headed back to his old home! :)
I had the opportunity to be with Elder Cox. We had a great time being together and reflected about how we sat next to each other on the way to the MTC. We set goals to talk to as many people as we could and to share the message of the Restoration as simply as possible. I really learned some important things from Elder Cox about love in missionary work. The most important thing a missionary can have is love for the people He is teaching. This love will bless the missionary with the Spirit and the Spirit of the Lord will make us powerful instruments in helping others. If we are motivated by love we can beat all the hard things!
This coming week we will have the opportunity to do an exchange with the Tanna Zone Leaders. Elder Gunnell and I are pretty excited! We will fly to Tanna Island this Wednesday and come back late on Thursday. It is going to be a great adventure! I am excited to learn from the Zone Leaders there and see if we can help them. I will make sure to take some photos!
.
Something I really have been relaying on during this week is the Gift of Prayer. I read an article in the new February Liahona by Elder Juan A. Uceda. In his talk, he made a powerful statement. He said, "When you desperately need help from heaven, prayer can give you power to make the right decisions. A prayer from the heart is indeed a moment in heaven, and even though answers may not always be immediate, a moment in heaven can help you to chart your course in mortal life.
When we offer a might prayer, we have the attention of the most powerful, merciful, and loving being in the universe. We spend a moment in the heavens. And we all need a moment in the heavens, especially when we are going through difficult times."
I know this to be true! I know Our Father in Heaven loves us and wants us to speak to Him. He will always listen and help us feel love if we let Him in. Don't forget to pray! It really is our connection with Heaven and has helped me to keep going this week. I know we can overcome all things as we rely upon the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Let the Savior be Your Guide!
I Love you all so much. I pray for you every chance I get. Thank you so much for all the prayers on my behalf. I feel them throughout the week and they have helped me. I am looking forward to talking with you next week!
Love,
Elder LaMont, Your Alekken Ty, Shark Bait, Island Boy
Elder Cox and I working hard!
Getting ready to cross the River
No comments:
Post a Comment