Letter to Mission President

3/5/17

Weekly letter to the Mission President:

We had a pretty crazy week at church, and had three different individuals just walk in before church. One older man was a little crazy and just got up and left in the middle of the sacrament prayer, but another one was invited by his co-worker to just come and check out our church sometime so he did in the morning, not realizing our church wasn't until the afternoon. While studying on the front steps of the church garnered a few weird glances from members walking by, I don't think we would have met those other three people. This last week I was on exchanges with Elder Garlick and Elder Jorgensen. Elder Garlick is doing awesome work, and I admire his love for others and diligence in finding. The only thing Elder Facer and I are working on with their companionship is helping Elder Chiu have more opportunities to take the lead of the area. Elder Jorgensen and Joly are doing good too, they just feel like they could use a few more solid investigators. I talked with Elder Jorgensen for a while about it and helped him realize that if they are obedient, working hard, and trying new things, the rest might just be patience. They have a lot of energy, so I think they will do great. One big take-home I had from Mission Leadership Council was about the key indicators. I sort of realized that they weren't measuring our efforts and success so much as the progress of our investigators, and that makes a big difference. Now when I see red I don't think "I'm a bad missionary", but "Oh no! My investigators aren't progressing! What can I do to help them??" There are a few companionships in our zone that I think would really benefit from that insight, so I will share it with them this next week. Thanks for an awesome MLC President, we're excited for the Mission Tour next week!

Friend asking about the biggest lesson learned on my mission that I want to apply throughout my life:

I feel like at the beginning of my mission I worried a lot about all the little things. I wanted to do all the little things right like a good missionary and didn't know how to be like those awesome missionaries. It was a big list of little things to do better. I often wondered why my mission president was so awesome and smart and knew all the answers to the thousands of questions we ask him about missionary work. Then, it sort of hit me. When we understand our purpose as missionaries, we don't need to be taught the little things. They come automatically. There is a scripture and I forget where, but if we keep our covenants we don't have to be commanded in every thing. When we understand our covenants and purpose as missionaries or even as children of God, the rest makes sense. We are guided by that knowledge. I don't know, that was a big lesson I learned on my mission, and I feel like my mission has taught me so much about this higher law that shoots down roots that become the everyday thoughts and actions in our lives. That's what I want to apply throughout my life. I want to constantly learn and be taught about this higher law of heaven.