Happy Easter! Happy Easter!! Dearest Family and Friends! What a joy it is to again write to you this week! I hope you have had wonderful times reflecting upon The Savior, His Eternal Sacrifice, His Divine Role as Savior and Redeemer, and His Great Victory over Death! Not only did He conquer Death but provided a way for us too, that we might be victorious over both physical and Spiritual Death . How grateful I am for Him and His Eternal Sacrifice He Gives to All of us!
A powerful hymn has come into my mind several times this week titled "Come Unto Jesus" Some of my favorite Lines say:
"Come Unto Jesus, He'll ever heed you. Though in the darkness you've gone astray. His Love will find you and gently lead you From darkest night in to day, to day
Come unto Jesus, He'll Surely hear you, If you in meekness plead for his love. Oh, know you not that angels are near you From brightest mansions above, above Come Unto Jesus From every nation, From every lad and isle of the sea Unto the high and lowly in station, Ever he calls, "Come to me, to Me."
I testify The Lamb of God does call out to all of us. He has provided the way and if we come to Him I know we will find the peace and happiness we desire. Both for our Families and for ourselves, Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the Light. I know He lives! And Because He live I know you and I will live again too! What a great and Eternal Truth! Come to Jesus Christ. Even if you have lost your way. Please come back to Him. He is waiting. I promise and testify.
Things are going great for Elder Mallarme and I! We are working as hard as we can and trying our best to serve anyone we can with love, directing them to the Savior. I love my companion! Elder Mallarme is a great blessing in my life and I am so happy I have been given an opportunity to serve with such a special Son of God. I have loved speaking Bislama more with him. I admire his powerful and loving testimony of Jesus Christ. When he speaks I hear the conviction in his words and my heart feels with the Spirit. He is a trusted friend for me already. I have served with many wonderful companions throughout my mission. I love Elder Mallarme!
What a blessing General Conference continues to be in my life! I am so grateful for how we heard the Voice of The Lord and were invited to act, repent, and to come unto the Master, Jesus Christ. I have loved reading out of the Book of Mormon more during this week. I have also been able to review some of the things spoken during General Conference which have been very inspirational and have helped me already come closer to Christ. Again, I love my own notes and the ones my Family sent to me!!
One of the greatest treasures of this week was being able to witness the Theora Family's Marriage and Baptism! Max and Evelyn got married and then their family was able to be baptized! Their Children are Linda (the oldest), Etu, Robert-Lindsey, and little Amos. Only Linda and Etu are old enough to be baptized so the others will have to wait! I was able to attend even though I am no longer in the area! I will never forget when Max first saw me, he ran to me and we hugged! Full of gratitude for The Lord and His Gospel we rejoiced together! It was a very emotional blessing for me. To be able to see Max and Evelyn take their family into the waters of baptism was something I will never forget! I don't think I have ever been so happy in all my life. I was overcome with joy! This is what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is all about! Blessing Families and giving joy which will last for Eternity. I can't wait for them to be able to go to the temple together!
A cool experience this week! We had tons of appointments lined up on Sunday. However, Elder Mallarme got sick with the Flu and we really needed to get back to the house and rest. (He has recovered very well and is still getting better. He is a trooper/solider! Or a Sambeh as you say in his language!) I was a little disappointed, but we headed back to the house. On the way we passed a man I thought I recognized. I shrugged the thought off as I looked to my companion who looked like he was going to melt into the floor. Then the thought came again. "You know that man. Go back and talk to Him." This time I did not know if the thought was coming from me or the Spirit but I obeyed. I went back to talk to the man and I indeed did know Him. I meet him with Elder Hable about a year ago in July. His name is Julius and he is from Africa! We had offered a Book of Mormon to him and promised him He would find great treasures and the True Gospel for him and his adorable son. I asked him if he had read the Book of Mormon we gave him. He told me he had read a couple of pages but had not read more because he claimed he is so busy with work! I again testified to Him of the truthfulness of the Book and how if He prayed and asked God he would come to know it was true. I was amazed by what came out of my mouth because I don't usually have the opportunity to teach in English. Julius thanked me and told me he would read again and pray. I felt great after this experience and know that the Heavens lined up so I could meet Julius again. I am so thankful I listened to my prompting and that The Lord speaks to us through His Holy Spirit even through the smallest of Thoughts to bless all of us. We have many hunts during Easter for colorful eggs or candies. However, The Greatest Easter Hunt of them all is the Hunt for the Salvation of Souls! How awesome it is that we ALL get to be a part of this Hunt or work!
I would like to conclude with a small story from Elder Mallarme and I's experience. We contacted a man named, "Smitty" (about a 30-year old man) while headed back to our house about a week or so ago. We set up a time with him for later and when we went, he was not home. We followed up again in attempt to speak with him. This time when we knocked on the door, we meet his Father. Immediately he was angry with us. He demanded that we leave him and his son alone. He claimed to "know our Doctrine already" and told us he had much more knowledge than us. He told us he already had a religion and demanded we leave. This with many other insults left me a bit frustrated. However, we politely left and expressed we knew our message could bless anyone and it indeed came from a Living Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father who have restored the Gospel. As we were leaving, and I was getting more frustrated I thought back to something Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf said during conference. He stated that receiving ridicule for sharing the Gospel message is an opportunity to suffer on behalf of Our Savior and His divine message. I thought back to this and started to feel love for the man who had talked so strong to us. I felt sorry for him that he was lost and needed help. I offered a silent prayer in thanks for the experience and the opportunity to stand as a witness for the Savior. I prayed for the man and asked for him to feel love and that one day his heart could be softened so he could experience the joy of hearing the Gospel message and be able to come unto Christ. My heart filled with more love and I felt joy and peace which I know comes form the Spirit. I prayed that we might have success in finding those who were interested in hearing the message of the Restoration, that we might be able to recognize them. My heart filled with even more love and I felt so happy to be able to serve and speak to others about our precious message. I know Heavenly Father loves the man who was so rude to us and I hope he really will find his way. My joy continued that day as we found many who were willing to let us speak to them and let us set up return appointments. It was the most people we have contacted all week and the most during Elder Mallarme and I's Companionship. I came back home filled with gratitude for a Loving Father in Heaven who heard my silent prayers and turned my frustration to love and joy through the words of one of His living Disciples. How great is my joy! I love serving as a Missionary!
All My Love to you my Family! I hope your weeks are great!
Love,
Elder LaMont/ Your Alekken Ty/ Shark Bait/ Island Boy/ A Very Happy Elder
Max and Evelyn Linda (the oldest), and Etu
Theora Wedding pictures
Theora children
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