So, this week was great! We went to Temple on Friday, and
then had interviews. It was very nice being able to talk with Pres. He had
given an assignment (as he mentioned in his letter) that we should each go
through the Missionary Handbook and find those things we need to work on
- our weaknesses. I went through and then went through again, even reading the
scriptures (they really help drive things home; I'd suggest it) and made a
list. Pres. and I were able to discuss how things were going with my companion,
the area, and then my list. It was a very nice experience.
Saturday, we baptized Justice and Thomas, two young men who have been coming since E. Bies, E. Larsen, and I opened Kaneshie waaaay back in January. They finally got baptized! It was an interesting baptism. We had it right after Seminary, so there were a decent number of young men and others there. The Young Women were also having mutual, so they attended. There was no presiding authority, but the Assistants came and E. Rich presided. One of the young men gave the talk, and then we had the baptism. Thomas' mother and friend even came! It was nice. During E. Rich's concluding remarks, the light went off, so we on'd our torches and he kept going. You could tell we've done this before; haha. Sunday, Thomas' mother came, as well as Justice's, for the confirmation! We were able to work with the Relief Society President and other sisters and got them to stay the whole 3 hours. They both really liked it. With some work and some help, we should be able to baptize them as well.
Patrick Osei came; he should be baptized very soon. Godson came as well; he also should be baptized by June's end. Williams also came (that makes 3) and he's very excited for his baptism, also at June's end. Bishop called another Ward Missionary, making 2 sisters, 8 elders, and 1 Senior Couple. We were able to get most of the Ward Missionaries to meet after Church and we set up a time to meet weekly for Coordination and training. They also released the old Ward Mission Leader and will call Br. Sackey - the previous Assistant who's been doing everything anyways - to be the official Ward Mission Leader, which means he'll be able to call an Assistant to help. That should really help him. Bishop is working with us to bring some of the investigators in his area into the Church, the leaders are starting to call the people from the Progress Record, and overall things are looking very well. We found some families that should be baptized in July, and Kaneshie is getting ready for a great harvest, with a high prospect of many fruitful seasons hereafter.
With Kaneshie doing so well, it should then come as no surprise to you all that I have been Emergency Transferred to Tema.
Sunday evening, during planning, Pres. called and asked me to go to Tema and be the Zone Leader. He said this was an Emergency Transfer and I'd have to report to the mission home by 1000 Monday morning. I accepted, we finished planning, and then I started packing; haha. Pres. said that, once again, there are things that need cleaning up and fires that need putting out. He asked me to report here and that I'll be here until I finish. It seems that every transfer I've been involved in, it's been when the Ward is doing great, and area (or District) is showing great promise, and somewhere else something is burning; haha. The Ways of God truly are one eternal round.
As I write this, I'm in Tema. My companion is E. Madamombe. He was my Zone Leader while I was in Teshie, after E. Schmidt left. Kinda funny; Kaneshie I was under E. Malley, whom I was his District Leader (and companion), and now I'm companions with E. Madamombe, who was my Zone Leader. He's a great guy. He leaves in 2 weeks, so this should be an interesting rest of the transfer, and a fun last 6 weeks; haha. From the few reports I've been given (I don't like asking for too many details) it seems that the whole Zone is having trouble. I've got my work cut out for me. But, if I do it right, it's not me doing it anyways. "Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things" (Alma 26:12). It will be a very interesting last 6 weeks, (technically 8 weeks) but it should be a great learning experience. I'm excited for it.
I'll end here with Pres.'s letter. It pretty much hits on everything we discussed about at Interviews. I like it very much.
" Dear Elders and Sisters:
There are times in our lives when we are asked by the Lord and His servants to do things that invite us (or others) to ask, "why?" Most of you are familiar with the response Adam gave to an angel when the angel asked him, "Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord?" Adam's answer was something from which we can all learn: "And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me" (Moses 5:6). Adam didn't understand the purposes for offering sacrifice, but he was obedient to the Lord's command and did as he was asked. I admire such faith and courage. The prophet Nephi gave a similar response when explaining why he was keeping two sets of scriptural records:
Nevertheless, I have received a commandment of the Lord that I should make these plates, for the special purpose that there should be an account engraven of the ministry of my people. Upon the other plates should be engraven an account of the reign of the kings, and the wars and contentions of my people; wherefore these plates are for the more part of the ministry; and the other plates are for the more part of the reign of the kings and the wars and contentions of my people. Wherefore, the Lord hath commanded me to make these plates for a wise purpose in him, which purpose I know not. (1 Nephi 9: 3-5)
Many of us have a difficult time keeping one journal let alone two separate records. Nephi was obedient to following the Lord's direction even though he didn't understand why.
The prophet Isaiah wrote the following: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8-9).
Thanks to each of you who willingly accept assignments and direction even though you don't aways understood the reasons why. I am so grateful when a missionary responds to a new assignment by saying, "thank you, president" instead of asking, "why?" I will usually try to help a missionary understand "why" but I fear a blessing has been lost by their lack of faith.
Several years ago, a missionary was called to serve a mission in his home country and was struggling to understand why he had not been called to a foreign mission like many of his friends. This young missionary was also very hesitant to take part in contacting and teaching when he first entered the mission field. The following is a description of this young man's experience as told by Elder Gerald Lund of the Seventy:
Some years ago, [Elder Steuer— the young man's mission president] served as mission president in São Paulo, Brazil. It was his practice with newly arriving missionaries to give them real “missionary experiences” on their very first day as full-time proselyting missionaries. To do this, after their orientation and a dinner at the mission home, they would be sent out that evening with their assigned companions. The seasoned missionary would take the new missionaries out either tracting, street contacting, or giving discussions.
In one of the groups of new missionaries, there was a Brazilian elder who came from the far north of Brazil. It took this missionary about three days travel by bus just to reach the MTC in São Paulo for his initial training. On that first evening, after having a good meal, President Steuer announced that the new missionaries would then go out and do missionary work. This new missionary’s companion decided they would go tracting, a frightening experience for this shy new elder. The senior companion said he would take the first door and told his companion to watch closely how it was done as the second door would be his.
The young elder protested, saying he was too frightened, but his companion proceeded to the first door. When this young elder knocked on the second door, the senior companion stepped back and indicated for him to proceed. He shrank back. When the door opened, to the young elder’s utter astonishment, the person standing there was his older sister. She had run away from home three or four years earlier. The family had not heard from her since and had no idea where she was, or even if she was still alive. One can imagine the sweetness of that reunion and the tears of joy that were shed that night.
As he concluded this story, Elder Steuer said two things that deeply impressed me and made the point I’m trying to make. He said, “Not only was his sister one of the first nonmembers he contacted in the mission field, but she became his first convert baptism as well.” (Divine Signatures, pp. 18-20)
I also know of a senior couple who was called on a mission to Alaska (USA) after having told their bishop and stake president that their only request was to serve somewhere where the weather was warm. Alaska was the last place they wanted to serve (because it is generally so cold), but they accepted the call anyway. Several months into their mission they knocked on a door only to find that the person who answered was their daughter whom they had not seen in many years and whom they feared had died after she had run away from home. The family was reunited and healed only after this couple was willing to submit their will to the Lord's.
There are people the Lord has foreordained each of us to meet while we are serving our missions. The sad truth is that some of us will not meet these individuals or families because of our lack of obedience. Even if we do meet them we will not have the power to teach them effectively if we are not keeping the commandments and abiding by the counsel found in the Missionary Handbook. There are many blessings we do not receive because we are not willing to follow the Lord's counsel. Some of us are guilty of wanting to do things our way and not to follow the Lord's direction. Some of our missionaries watch movies or television when the Lord has asked us not to do so. Others of us spend too much time at members' homes or in our apartments when they know they ought to be out working to build the Lord's Kingdom. Each of us needs to remember that our loyalty is first to the Lord and His servants and not to ourselves or to our companion or to other missionaries. There are tremendous blessings in obedience and a withdrawal of the spirit when we disobey.
Oh how I pray for each of you. Please be as obedient as you know how to be. If there are things you need to stop doing and other things you need to start---- do the right thing now. Don't hesitate. If you need to speak with me, write me in your weekly email or call me. I will be more than happy to respond. I love you and am dedicated to help you succeed. The success of our mission and the success and happiness of our lives in the future depends upon our obedience to the Lord's command even though we may not always understand the reasons why.
Much Love and Affection,
President Judd" ("My Thoughts Are Not Your Thoughts," June 18, 2012).
Whenever anyone speaks of exact obedience, I always think about the stripling warriors. When the Nephites were under attack, and the Lamanites were about to overpower them, we can learn much from how the stripling warriors acted in that situation.
"And as the remainder of [the Nephite army] were about to give way before the Lamanites, behold, those two thousand and sixty were firm and undaunted. Yea, and they did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness; yea, and even according to their faith it was done unto them" (Alma 57:20-21).
Are we sometimes like that? John Bytheway talks about that in his talk, Righteous Warriors. When the rest of the Church is about to give way to pressure; when the rest of the mission, or the quorum, or the Ward is about to give way to worldly things, to doubts, to public opinion, there is always a small portion who remains "firm and undaunted." These are today's stripling warriors. Are we among? Do we obey "every word of command" from the prophets "with exactness?" Or do we pick and choose the counsel we're going to follow. 'I'll pay my tithing, but I don't need food storage.' 'I'll study my scriptures, but I don't need to worry about debt. I'll be fine.' 'It doesn't hurt to watch this movie, just this once. All my friends are.'
We must be like the sons of Helaman. We cannot afford to go through life with any disobedience. As Pres. said,
"There are people the Lord has foreordained each of us to meet while we are serving our missions. The sad truth is that some of us will not meet these individuals or families because of our lack of obedience. Even if we do meet them we will not have the power to teach them effectively if we are not keeping the commandments and abiding by the counsel found in the Missionary Handbook. There are many blessings we do not receive because we are not willing to follow the Lord's counsel... There are tremendous blessings in obedience and a withdrawal of the spirit when we disobey."
Not all of us are Full-Time Missionaries, but we are all serving our missions. We are all sent here to fulfill our callings, and we are not released until we die. Remember, every day of your life is one less day on your mission. Time is short, and you cannot call it back. Are we living life and serving our missions therein with such diligence and exactness that we will not have regrets when it are transferred to the other side of the veil? We cannot "procrastinate the day of [our] repentance" (Alma 13:27); we never know when we might be Emergency Transferred.
I pray each of us would take time to examine ourselves, to seek out our weaknesses. The May Ensign is out; in it contains the counsel of the Lord's prophets. I would exhort each of you to read it thoroughly, prayerfully, and faithfully, and humbly seek out the things you are doing that you should not, and the things you are not doing that you should. I promise you, if you will do so "with real intent, having faith in Christ," (Moro. 10:4) Christ "will show unto" you your "weakness" (Ether 12:27). Once you know that which you must improve on, I invite you to "come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness" (Moro. 10:32). As you do that willingly, becoming "submissive, meek, humble, patient, [and] full of love," (Mosiah 3:19) Christ will "make weak things become strong unto [you]." (Ether 12:27).
I testify this is true. I am so thankful to have this Restored Gospel in my life. I am so thankful for my testimony of Jesus Christ that I have, for it has blessed me without measure. "Behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God" (Alma 26:11). I testify that these things are true.
I love all of you! Read the Book of Mormon each day, study the words of the prophets we have received (May Ensign/Liahona), and earnestly seek ways you can improve. I know God will help you, and you will receive joy without measure for doing so.
Have a great week! Take care, and God bless!
--Elder Collings
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