Where we can grow

I didn't realize how comfortable I was getting in the White Plains 2nd ward until I attended the DC 2nd young single adult ward this past Sunday. I have been way out of my comfort zone this entire week. I was overwhelmed at church with the difference in the feel and culture of the ward, everyone is my age! It's weird talking to girls again and it's intimidating to talk to these great return missionaries. They all do so well at fellowshipping all that is required of me is to teach. The Ward is so amazing that people will just show up after hearing about it. There were two young adults from American University that just came to check it out, how cool is that? If every Ward was able to build such a dynamic congregation, I wouldn't be surprised if people in the community just showed up for church as well. Living in the district once again is a blast from the past, but I have an entirely different perspective now. I drive the streets I once rode my bike with Elder Synelnikov in our caravan, and I can almost see a young Elder Lim peddling up 14th street trying to keep up. We had to stop by several apartments and one of them is the very first one I lived in with Elder Mclane. The Washington DC zone has been such a big part of my mission life, it's good to be back where I began. I think I have come here because there are more ways that I need to grow, and I have to get out of my comfort zone to do that.

Last night we had a few extra minutes at the end of the night so we started making our way down to the metro to contact people. The First person we met was a visiting Japanese student that has been here for 3 months. She was so nice to us, but we couldn't communicate very well. So we called another missionary that speaks Japanese and got her info, it was so cool! Another reason I might have been sent here is to teach the new investigator we met this week. His name is Ivan and just moved here from Virginia. He has been in the U.S. for a few months and is originally from ShangHai! A Chinese person to teach in the district! He is one of the most choice Chinese people I have ever met and taught. He sincerely wants to learn the truth and come closer to God. A lot of times when I teach Chinese people it's just to satisfy their curiosity, I had a different feeling about this guy. Another extraordinary individual we met is a recent convert in the Ward from Sri Lanka. After many years of exposure to the church, Heavenly Father continued to reach out to him until he accepted the gospel. He is now the most passionate person about the gospel that I have ever met. He is infamous in the Ward for being a missionary and doing service for others. We all got emotional as he talks about bringing the gospel back to his home country. I can imagine both these men one day becoming significant leaders in the church.

I have so many plans and ideas for how I want to work this next transfer. My new companion's name is Elder Grant Fuller from Indianapolis. He is a great missionary that I have revered for a long time now. It's been so much fun to be his companion this week, I can tell we're going to do great work here. This week has been a shock to my system, but that's good for you! The Lord won't let us stop growing. 

That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day. D&C 50:24

The Path of Peace

WML Brother Heath

"As we examine the path Jesus walked, we will see that it took Him through many of the same challenges we ourselves will face in life." President Monson
A few nights ago I learned that I will be transferred this week to a new area. My immediate reaction was to panic as I realized that would mean leaving all the people that I have grown so close to here. I can't begin to say how much I love the members of the ward and the investigators I have worked here in the White Plains 2nd Ward, they feel like family to me. I didn't know I could care so much and so deeply for an area after leaving the Patuxent Ward just a few months ago. The hardest part of missionary life for me is the separation from those that you grow to love. I like the way Elder Hansen put it to me once, that we go on missions and have our hearts broken over and over again. There is pain of leaving family, pain of rejection, pain of broken commitments, and then pain of leaving again. How are we supposed to enjoy and endure a mission?
Last night we attended the Why I Believe fireside at the temple visitor center with a recent convert of the ward. The speakers were a very impressive couple just called to be Stake President in one of the stakes in the mission. They told of how they have lost two of their six children, and what a difficult tribulation that was to bear. He said that six weeks after their son had been born, the baby needed to have open heart surgery. Brother Denna needed to return to his studies in school so he went and collected all the assignments he had missed in the previous week. As he sat down to complete them, he could not focus at all, his heart was with his family. So he went to the temple. He doesn't remember the words spoken there at all, but as he sat in the celestial room he heard the words, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27)

This week I was very nervous about changing the reporting system that we use to coordinate missionary efforts with the Stake Presidency. I didn't quite know what they wanted, and I'm not sure they did either. That's the nature of work projects I guess. But when the time came to put the information together we prayed for divine assistance. I had a vague image in my mind of a good way to present the information. As the Stake President examined our report he remarked, "I really like this," and that sweet peace hit me again.

That is what Jesus Christ does for us --through His miraculous atonement, he provided means for us to find peace. Not a calmness that fleets away after your concentration is broken, but a powerful assurance that carries us through the darkest trials. I felt that peace as I knelt before my Father and asked Him why my heart was to be broken again. The thoughts that came to my mind were that I don't understand why I need to move now, but that the Lord has a purpose and if I trust Him He will provide another great experience for me. I am so glad the Christ lived the hard life that He did so that he can walk with me through my mission and through my life. Let's do all we can to follow Him and find His peace along the way.

The Struggle is Real

Prophets Among Us

I never thought I would have the privilege of meeting a member of the first presidency in my life, let alone on my mission. Elder Harden Eyring has served as the director of the visitor center for 2 years, and his older brother President Henry Eyring came to present the culmination of his brother's service. I remember when Elder Eyring first arrived and he had a fireside while I was serving in the city. Over his mission he has been working to get a scale model of the Washington DC Temple that shows off the interior. There is only one other model for the Salt Lake temple and they are now planning to make one for the Rome, Italy temple. It is a remarkable object. It stands 9 feet tall and shows every part of the temple with exactness. Every piece of furniture, the color of the walls and the upholstery are all exactly replicated by a 3D printer. President Eyring came to introduce the model to the community, and to also address our mission personally.


The first thing that impressed me was his relationship with his brother. People ask Elder Eyring if it's weird to see his older brother address the world in general conference. He said that when he was 19 in a job interview he was asked who his hero was, and he immediately responded his older brother Hal. All growing up the 6 years age difference did not affect their closeness. The 16 year old President Eyring would always spend time with his 10 year old brother Harden. I want to be that kind of family man, I want to be that kind of brother.

I thought that President Eyring would start out his remarks with some sentiments about his brother, but no, he is all about His Father's business. He started looking at us deeply, scanning the audience left to right. He asked them to turn the lights up brighter so that he could see into our eyes. He explained that he wants to help us to be better teachers, and that teaching has the greatest impact when it's done on an individual basis. He said that to teach with power you need to be able to use the spirit of discernment and that is something you must pray for. He didn't just tell us that though, he showed us with real power. He immediately began to address the needs of our mission based upon his spiritual promptings. He said that we're not loving the people like we should. We need to trust that Heavenly Father knows every person on this earth. He stated that he doesn't know how it's possible, but he knows that He does. Every person we meet is not by chance, and we should ask for the love that Father has for them. He continued to look at us and go to different topics, and I reached out to him with my eyes. I didn't know what my concern is, but I know I have one. Then in a moment I felt his eyes lock with mine, and he proclaimed, "You're having a hard time knowing that you have been forgiven." I felt like he was talking directly to me. That's something I've been franticly studying my entire mission. He declared, you need to trust the atonement. The Holy Ghost is the cleanser and if he is your companion, you have been forgiven and you need to move on. I felt the spirit burn within me and I knew it was an answer to my prayer. Perhaps it took so long to receive that answer, because Father wanted me to receive it through a prophet of God. That took my testimony of prophets to another level. I know he is a prophet, there is no other way he could have known my struggle and be able to minister to me personally. Trust that the Lord is in control, and that he leads the church through inspired righteous men. Remember that the Lord knows you, and that he will send his messengers to answer your prayers. I am so grateful that I got to be on my mission at this time and not in school. I'm having experiences that are just so special and out of this world.

A Mission Year

If a young man is able to begin his mission by his 18th year, then serves faithfully for 2 years, he will have dedicated 10% of his life to the Lord. In every mission, there will be one full Gregorian calendar year that he serves as a full time missionary. Missionaries refer to that as their "blackout" year. 2014 was the complete year dedicated to my full time mission. At the beginning of this New Year, I have great desires to continue to do the work of the Lord. Even though I won't be able to spend another complete year in full time service, I want to do all I can to make it another blackout year to be engaged in missionary work! 

This past weekend we had a zone conference that we were asked to give a training in. The topic was on becoming converted as a missionary. That's something that I am earnestly trying to achieve. Elder Thornton discovered the story of Peter's conversion. In Matthew 16 we read that Peter knew that Jesus was the Christ, the son of the living God. But in Luke 22, Christ commands him that when he is converted, then he can strengthen his brethren. After 3 years of walking with the Savior, Peter still had not been converted! Yes I've been a missionary for a while now, but even 2 years does not guarantee that we are converted! We invited our mission mom Sister Cooke to teach us about effective prayer because we really feel that is the beginning and changing force in conversion. As we taught about conversion, I realized that we can tell we are converted the more we think and act like the Savior. We are trying to change to become the kind of person that He is. I asked the missionaries to imagine if Christ was their companion, what His attitude would be towards them and towards the people. In all aspects of who I am, I want to be more like Him. The closer we are to following His example, the happier we will be. It takes effective prayer and total submission to the will of Heavenly Father, but it turns out to be the easier way to live.

I don't know how to express it, but I feel this anticipation and excitement boiling up inside me about missionary work. It makes me want to try new things and meet more people. I think that is an indicator that the atonement is changing me into a more converted person. Sharing the gospel is tough, salvation is easy, but we can receive the strength and the motivation to do it as we submit our will to the Lord. Let's give Him 2015 to do good and share the gospel!