Welcome Elder Thorpe!

        When new missionaries are introduced into the field, we have a special meeting for them to meet their companion. We sat on opposing sides of a theater in the Temple Visitor Center, and I had this feeling that my new companion would be the one sitting in the very back. Sure enough, we were both called up to be companions! I have a great love and respect for this man Elder Jim Thorpe. He is so bright, and so genuine in his love for the gospel and for the scriptures. My biggest worry about a new companion is always whether or not they will have a lot of and the right kind of motivation. His drive is his abiding testimony of the fullness of the gospel, and his strength is his care for the people. He has left behind his computers and the world of gaming he loves, to take on a mission for The Lord. It's such an honor for me to be his first companion here in the greatest mission in the history of life.
I wanted so badly for him to have a great first week in the field, so I set up as many appointments as I could. The first night we went out knocking on doors. We actually had a few great contacts! One stood outside with us for half an hour and opened up to us about his concerns of drinking alcohol. That night I felt that we should call the brother in the hospice house to visit with and strengthen him. We shared scriptures from the Book of Mormon, and he liked them and expressed how he would like to show them to his sisters. Then his sister walked in to come visit with him! What a miracle is that?? She was so nice to us and open to talking about religion. That night we got to go to a special priesthood meeting on the 7th floor of the temple. That was one of the holiest experiences in my entire life. I can't quite describe how I felt there, other than that it was the most glorious meeting place I have ever entered. Perhaps that is a lot like what the halls of heaven feel like. I felt like I was home surrounded by the loving families of the Patuxent Ward.
      The next evening we had one of the grandest experiences of my mission thus far. We got to our appointment a little early and decided to knock a couple doors. The second door a man opened the door to reveal 6 children all under 11 standing there staring us down! We had a great conversation about families and he allowed us in to talk more. Elder Thorpe and I bore our testimonies of how the gospel blesses individuals and families, and we all started to tear up. We have a follow up appointment this Thursday! The following lesson we had was amazing. It was with a young father Elder Fisher and I met over a month ago. He was on a business trip to Spain, then a mission trip in Uganda to help out an orphanage. He is such a great guy! And has a firm testimony of Christ and the power of repentance. We brought with us a recent convert from the other ward, who was previously a minister in the Lutheran church for 12 years. The man we were visiting had also invited a pastor from his church over for the discussion. Talk about a potentially dangerous situation! It started out very contentiously, as verses of the bible were thrown at us to prove that we were heretics to Christ. Brother Casto lovingly rebuked the pastor for being disrespectful and trying to aggressively convince us of our error, rather than trying to bring us closer to Christ by persuasion. I have never witnessed such a powerful, controlled correction before, but it was definitely done out of love, and it changed the spirit of the entire discussion. By the end the two men had accepted the challenge to read the Book of Mormon and sincerely ask God, if it is true. It was so remarkable for us to be a part of that kind of discussion, and I hope that these men find that what we teach can add to their faith, and bring a fullness of light and knowledge to their understanding of Christ.
     I feel The Lord helping me now more than ever. He's guiding me, He's changing me, and I am so happy! It's so worth it to put your trust in Him, and love the journey.

Power in the Gospel

     When I look at this picture, I am overwhelmed with a feeling of joy and gratitude. These two men are so important to me, they have been my best friends through all the ups and downs of my life, they're my brothers! But from our childhood, they never liked each other. It always caused contention and my heart to ache, because I love both of them so much, I always wanted them to feel that for each other. They are both amazing individuals, and I wanted them to see that. I've prayed for their relationship for so many years. Imagine a family where their was brotherly love and kindness between every single member? That seemed like a goal worth working for to me. The problem is that it's not a natural thing. When you don't like someone, you don't like them and it's difficult to overcome how you criticize and dislike them. I think so many spouse and family relationships are torn apart because of this natural affect. But the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ has the power to change us. It has power to change the way that we see things through repentance, and power to change the way that we feel through the atonement of Christ. I've seen my own self change in these ways. This picture is a testimony to me that the gospel works for others as well. The fulness of the gospel has been restored and it blesses families, how it has blessed my dear family.
I have an even greater urgency and determination to share the gospel now and throughout my whole life. We had a great opportunity to teach a devout baptist this last week. We scheduled to practice teaching a lesson to a member family, and decided to do some finding in the area while we waited for the time to arrive to head over there. The first door we knocked the man stepped outside and was willing to hear us out. He accepted the challenge to read the Book of Mormon, and I gave him 2 Nephi 31 to study, which talks about baptism, I don't know why I felt to give him that scripture. He told us we could come back, so we went about trying to find someone in the neighborhood that might come with us. The member that we taught in the evening had home teaching the day that the appointment was scheduled, but he suggested another member down the street, that we hadn't even thought about. We went over to ask if he would join us and he was happy to do it! It was perfect because this baptist's wife is Japanese, and the member's wife served her mission in Japan! They got along so well, and we had an amazing conversation about the restoration of the gospel. He is going to Japan to visit his wife's family for a few weeks, but we'll definitely be seeing him when he returns.
Saturday we got to go to the Washington Nationals baseball game as a mission. For the first time I felt like I was home with the entire mission there, because I've gotten to know so many more missionaries over the past year. Last year I knew only a handful of other missionaries. I love this mission so much, and I'm grateful for all the great men and women that I've gotten to meet and serve with. I am most grateful for my companion Elder Fisher. Though he is a relatively new missionary, I have learned more from and with him than I've learned as a missionary. I'm going to miss him this next transfer, but I know he will do great things for this mission throughout his service. The gospel brings such great blessings into our lives. Hold to it.

Acquainted with Grief

     Hundreds of years before Jesus Christ was born, the prophet Isaiah foretold the kind of experience the Son of God would have on this Earth.
"He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not." (Mosiah 14:3)
      I'd like to focus on the fact that he was acquainted with grief. To me that means he was very familiar with deep sorrows that come from loss and rejection. Now why was that an important part of His life? Isaiah knew that it would be so, and we knew it was definitely fulfilled when His dear cousin John was killed, and as he suffered for our sins in the Garden. I honestly don't completely know the answer, but I think it might have to do with our development of spiritual strength.
     I don't mean to be dramatic, or daresay that I know anything of the grief that Christ knows, but I get to taste it on my mission and hope that this might help you through the grief that you will find. Yesterday I found out that one of the gentlemen we've been visiting and blessing in his home and in the hospital will now be admitted to hospice in some area far away. He's in his early 60s and has just had a world of health problems since he joined the church. He got hit by a truck, was diagnosed with lung cancer, and then couldn't eat for the past month. He knows grief like I have never seen, and I just stood there wishing I could take his pain from him.
     The youth of our ward just went on a pioneer trek this last week. Before they left, they anticipated that the most difficult part might be walking such a long distance, or being away from their phones and family. A majority of them expressed that they found the most difficult part was the women's pull. During this time, the young men had to pull off the handcarts, and allow the women to pull the cart up a good size hill by themselves. The women struggled, but even more so, the young men grieved as they watched their sisters and friends fight their way up the hill. These boys would cry when they talked about how they felt during that time. We often question how God can let tragedy happen to us on this Earth, but I see it as an act of love and strength. If He stepped in to save Christ, none of us would be able to overcome death. I am grateful for the knowledge that we will certainly live again. I know that because I know Christ lives! He is acquainted with grief, and He is acquainted with triumph!

The Spirit of Truth!

   There isn't an entry I could write that could tell or capture all the wonderful things that have happened this week. Something that ties all of it together though is how the spirit of God enters into our hearts and minds to tell us what is true. That is what helped the McNeelys to know that being baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is what God wanted them to do. It's what confirmed to me in my heart that what they were doing was right. It also touched their son, who said that he saw this look of peace in their faces as they were being baptized that he had never seen before, I saw it too. It is such a great gift to us to be able to receive feelings of joy and comfort through the Holy Ghost, so that we know in our hearts when we're on the right path.

     "The Spirit of God speaking to the spirit of man has power to impart truth with greater effect and understanding than the truth can be imparted by personal contact even with heavenly beings. Through the Holy Ghost the truth is woven into the very fibre and sinews of the body so that it cannot be forgotten." Joseph Fielding Smith

     Elder Fisher and I have had many doors opened to us because we seek to just touch the people with the spirit, and hope that they will decide to investigate more. We were knocking doors in the neighborhood that we found the Chinese lady, and we met her husband! He also was not interested.. But their neighbor was a very nice young man that stepped out to have a chat with us. He knows several of the youth in the Ward from high school and he already has a great perception of the church. We were so happy to give him a copy of the Book of Mormon and challenge him to search its contents. I know that if he does, he will feel something that confirms that it is a book from God. Further down the street we met another lady that made sure we knew she was catholic, but invited us to return this week. Later that evening, we were knocking in military housing, where people are a lot more respectful and courteous. We were being eaten alive by mosquitoes! They were all over every household's front porch, and I swell up really badly after I get bitten :P I just forgot the bug spray in the car.. We got a few return appointments, but the entire time this young girl followed us around on her scooter. I think she could recognize by the spirit of truth that we had something that she wants for her family. Children are so pure and innocent, we need to be like that. I'm learning that I don't need to convince anyone that what I have to say is true, I trust that God will take care of that because it is true and He loves the people that I meet. Remember that as you share what you believe with the people around you.

It's a Privilege!

"One of the great privileges of being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the privilege of contributing to the growth of the Kingdom of God through paying tithing." (Preach My Gospel pg 78)
        I found it really interesting that they used the word privilege to describe this sacrifice that we're asked to make. Usually we look at giving of our substance, like paying taxes, as an obligation. However, when it comes to sacrifices for building the kingdom of God, we consider it a privilege. That's because in retrospect, it will be a fantastic thing to have been a part of. Think of the pioneers of our nation. While they struggled through hardship and trial, I'm not sure that they considered what they were doing to be a privilege. But when we look at what they accomplish now, we honor their lives and legacy. So it will be as we make sacrifices to build the kingdom of God.
        This week there were a few moments that were not pleasant, but I consider them a privilege to have experienced. We knocked on doors for hours out in the sun and humidity. One evening we met this couple very familiar with the church. She is from Utah and her grandparents are actually members. When she was 9 her grandmother tried to have her baptized without her parents permission, so she has very negative feelings towards the church. They teased us a lot but it was funny and I thought we might be able to really get to know them! But then they turned us away. As we moved down the street we heard some music and laughter coming from this other house. As we walked by we tried to be friendly and offer to share something with them, and this man walks out and tells us whatever we give him he'll throw away. And so that's what he does! He just opens up the trash can and throws one of our cards right in. That just shocked me! I didn't know that people could be so openly rude. Later in the week we were knocking near the bayside, and we actually knocked on a Chinese person's door! She was from Taiwan, and it felt so weird to be speaking Chinese again, but she also wasn't interested. Although rejection isn't fun, I still feel privileged that I even get to be a missionary and take part in such a great work.



Try and always have that attitude about things that God asks you to do.